Touching up worn-away silver

[jimpjorps]

I've got a silver-plated euphonium with a couple spots on the bell where the silver's worn away, maybe about 0.5" x 0.5" in size. They're not in typical hand contact places, so they're very visible when I'm playing the horn. I'd like to at least make them less visible and protect the exposed brass.

Is there a home method I can use for either retouching or protecting these spots without having to shell out for a full replating at a place like Anderson's or set up my own electroplating studio in my bathtub? I wouldn't mind something that I have to occasionally reapply, since I don't use the horn too often.

[RickF]

There is a way to touch-up silver plate that I read about on TubeNet. Mark, who is also a member of our forum here, posted about it a few years ago. He said it worked better than expected, but didn't know how long it would last.

Here's a link to that post:
Medallion "Wipe on" Silver

[jimpjorps]

Looks worth a shot for $20. I'll take the plunge and see how it goes.

[jimpjorps]

For anyone curious: I ordered it last week and it arrived today. I cleaned the spots with the provided jewelry cleaner, then rubbed in the liquid silver with the included sponge. Results were mixed, on the good side: it's a little cloudy compared to the existing silver, and the edges of the original worn-away patch are fairly visible up-close, but it did put down a decent layer of metal that completely covers up the exposed brass. I'm going to see if the appearance changes over time, and if it remains cloudy I'll try taking a buffer to it, giving it a more thorough cleaning with my usual silver polish and reapplying the silver.

For the $20 I spent on it, though, it did about as well as I expected; the brass patches are now covered, even if nobody would mistake it for a professional repair, and from more than a few yards away it looks fine.