Comments on: Silver http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/11/29/silver/ Yesterday's tomorrow, today. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 04:15:36 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: NikFromNYC http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/11/29/silver/comment-page-1/#comment-1015050 NikFromNYC Sat, 12 Jan 2008 08:08:53 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/11/29/silver/#comment-1015050 BTW, this "silver" coating reaction doesn't actually STICK to anything, which is why the mirror industry, even now, not to mention 19XX, had to then plate copper, and THEN paint the back, and your old mirrors still de-laminate at the edges, don't they? I want to strangle this kid. Why? I am a lamp designer. I used to use scratch resistant (very hard silicone rubber coated) acrylic mirrors for my lamp, but I had to "anneal" them or they'd crack, and that was a drag (extra step). Silver tarnishes unless you varnish it, but then you start to learn more about various varnishes than you ever want to know. So? So use hard-anodized aluminum bonded to a phenolic backing, instead. Only antique restorers use silver for mirrors any more. Now days, there's *no* metal. I kid you not. They use microchip machines to makes 200 layers of opposite "dielectric" films (the OPPOSITE of non-reflective binocular lens coatings), to make "fake Mica" type of of gift-card-shiny mirrors. But they don't offer it in hard sheets, just films. Homicidal tendencies aside, uh, hasn't 3M been making survivalist "space blankets" out of metallized Mylar for about half a century? Is this kid dead yet? Prolly not. "Hey baby, I was in Pop. Mech. in '45, doing gold plating...wanna satiate moi?" BTW, this “silver” coating reaction doesn’t actually STICK to anything, which is why the mirror industry, even now, not to mention 19XX, had to then plate copper, and THEN paint the back, and your old mirrors still de-laminate at the edges, don’t they? I want to strangle this kid. Why? I am a lamp designer. I used to use scratch resistant (very hard silicone rubber coated) acrylic mirrors for my lamp, but I had to “anneal” them or they’d crack, and that was a drag (extra step). Silver tarnishes unless you varnish it, but then you start to learn more about various varnishes than you ever want to know. So? So use hard-anodized aluminum bonded to a phenolic backing, instead.

Only antique restorers use silver for mirrors any more. Now days, there’s *no* metal. I kid you not. They use microchip machines to makes 200 layers of opposite “dielectric” films (the OPPOSITE of non-reflective binocular lens coatings), to make “fake Mica” type of of gift-card-shiny mirrors. But they don’t offer it in hard sheets, just films. Homicidal tendencies aside, uh, hasn’t 3M been making survivalist “space blankets” out of metallized Mylar for about half a century?

Is this kid dead yet? Prolly not. “Hey baby, I was in Pop. Mech. in ‘45, doing gold plating…wanna satiate moi?”

]]> By: NikFromNYC http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/11/29/silver/comment-page-1/#comment-1015013 NikFromNYC Sat, 12 Jan 2008 07:58:20 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/11/29/silver/#comment-1015013 It's 1945. This spoiled brat is turning out batches of SPOONS instead of LSD?! He could have ruled the world, and made history, but a guy who piloted planes for the Military did that instead, known as Mr. Sunshine. It’s 1945. This spoiled brat is turning out batches of SPOONS instead of LSD?! He could have ruled the world, and made history, but a guy who piloted planes for the Military did that instead, known as Mr. Sunshine.

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