It seems like months ago Yvette's friend, Britney, decided to try her hand at making mirrors.
As you can see above and below there is quite a bit of chemistry involved in creating a mirrored surface. From my very basic knowledge of mirror-making, and my background in photography, it appears that what causes a mirror to be a "mirror" is a thin layer of silver that is sealed, so therefore should never tarnish.
Fascinating, Right?
Britney got this set from AngelGilding.com, and it pretty much included everything you needed to begin making mirrors (minus the round glass that you see in the photos).
Once the pieces of glass are clean and oil free, she pours a solution evenly over all the workpieces. I presume this solution might have a salt of some kind because comparing it to Salt Prints of photography, you first coat the paper with a solution of salt and water before sensitizing the surface with Silver Nitrate.
Silver Nitrate is a very dangerous chemical and extreme care should be used when handling it. In fact Silver Nitrate will react to the natural salts on your body in the presence of sunlight causing black/brown smudges on your skin. And it isn't like paint to get it off, the silver chemically bonds with the skin and only comes off in time.
With all those warnings out of the way, Britney was ready to sensitize her glass.
Almost instantaneously the glass began to fog and turned a warm gray. The reaction was happening!
Yvette played a huge role throughout the whole process. I was lucky enough to grab this capture as she was cleaning up the chemistry.
All done! I can't wait to see what Britney decides to do with all her new mirrors!
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