posted 03-17-2006 06:46 PM            

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Hello:

We are restoring an old boat that had golden drawer pulls, bathroom sink facuet & door handles all in what we've been told was done with mercury guilding. Can you pls advise anyone in the Florida area who could assist with this?

I could possibly remove the fixtures if they could be restored....as always cost is a concern.

Many thanks for your time & interest,

Pamela

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posted 03-17-2006 08:17 PM            

mercury gilding: This thread briefly outlines the process of the technique, but mostly explores the safety-concerns of using pieces manufactured through a process involving mercury.

Please explain mercury gilding to me: This thread also briefly explains the technique, and raises the issue of safety, although it quickly turns into a discussion of quite another kind.

As to who could assist you with the restoration of your boat hardware (fixtures), I wouldn't know right away. If you are seeking someone to recreate and perform the original gilding process, the apparent hazards (as described in the above threads) would lead me to believe that it is neither practical nor advisable, as it would seem to pose a threat to anyone who practiced the technique.

I would not be surprised, however, if modern science has developed a way for someone to perform the job in such a way as to avoid the dangers... My over-active imagination is cooking up visions of silversmiths in biochemical protection suits, sliding their arms into a quarantine tank through glove-like sleeves to manipulate salt cellars and spoons.

Can a person safely perform mercury gilding today, and if so, does anyone indeed do so? Or if not, is there a preferable safer method to achieve the same result, i.e. would a person suggest gold-electroplating to restore a mercury-gilded item?

posted 03-17-2006 09:04 PM            

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Simply from a health and safety standpoint, I suspect eclectro-plating (sic) would be a better bet.

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Indeed, Dale, no question about it. I guess, what I'm getting at, is whether it would be advisable, from a preservation or curatorial standpoint, to perform electroplating to restore something of value that was originally mercury-gilt (and I've no idea whether Pamela's boat fixtures were indeed mercury-gilt, or old enough to have been so—The question is as much hypothetical as necessarily pertinent here). My rather naïve supposition is that mercury-gilding and (gold) electroplating are essentially two different avenues to the same result, but I'm almost certain that the results would not be absolutely identical.

posted 03-17-2006 09:25 PM            

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In such a case, would it be advisable to electroplate something which was originally mercury-gilt?

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I suspect the difference would not be all that great. And further, since gold plating does not usually last long on utilitarian objects, I would suspect that the pieces had already been electro-plated at some point. In a 150 year old door knob, 60 years ago, or so. It is not clear, to me at least, that be looking at something one can say readily and definitively that it was mercury gilt or what ever.

posted 03-18-2006 04:51 PM            

For a boat and salt water I would ask for a good platting my guess would be at least 15 microns or more... 3 can be rubbed off with your thumb!