First, clean the articles to be plated. To remove grease, warm the pieces before a slow fire of charcoal or coke, or in a dull red stove. Delicate or soldered articles should be boiled in a solution of caustic potash, the latter being dissolved in 10 times its weight of water.
The scouring bath is composed of 100 parts of water to from 5 to 20 parts of sulphuric acid. The articles may be put in hot and should be left in the bath till the surface turns to an ocher red tint.
The articles, after having been cleansed of grease by the potash solution, must be washed in water and rinsed before being scoured. Copper or glass tongs must then be used for moving the articles, as they must not afterwards be handled. For small pieces, suitable earthenware or porcelain strainers may be used.
The next stage is the spent nitric acid bath. This consists of nitric acid weakened by previous use. The articles are left in until the red color disappears, so that after rinsing they show a uniform metallic tint. The rinsing should be thoroughly carried out.
Having been well shaken and drained, the articles are next subjected to the strong nitric acid bath, which is made up as follows:
| Nitric acid of 36° Bé | 100 volumes |
| Chloride of sodium (common salt) | 1 volume |
| Calcined soot (lampblack) | 1 volume |
The articles must be immersed in this bath for only a few seconds. Avoid overheating or using too cold a bath. They are next rinsed thoroughly with cold water and are again subjected to a strong nitric acid bath to give them a bright or dull appearance as required.
To produce a bright finish, plunge them for a few seconds (moving them about rapidly at the same time) in a cold bath of the following composition:
| Nitric acid | 100 volumes |
| Sulphuric acid | 100 volumes |
| Chloride of sodium | 1 volume |
Again rinse thoroughly in cold water. The corresponding bath giving a dull or matt appearance is composed of: