Year: 1885

page_text: I, JOHN SLATER of the Nile Street Works. Burslem in the County of Stafford
Potter do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in ornamenting glass china or
other vitreous surfaces.
For this purpose I take platinum sponge and grind it with flux and turpentine
until very fine and then apply it to the glass or other vitreous surface wherever
I desire subsequently to cover the surface with a further coating of copper or other
metal-I then fire the article in the usual way and afterwards immerse it in an
ordinary depositing bath and deposit copper or it might be other metal on to the
parts which had previously been painted or printed over with the platinum
composition. It will be found that the copper attaches itself and adheres very
firmly to the platinum. The copper may subsequently be engraved and afterwards
gilt or lacquered as desired.
In place of using finely powdered platinum as the base of the metallic paint with
which the vitreous surface is in the first instance painted or printed other finely
powdered metals might be used.
.

page_text: I JOHN SLATER of the Nile Street Works Buralem in the County of Stafford
Potter do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
This invention has for its object improvements in ornamenting glass china or
other vitreous surfaces.
For this purpose I take platinum sponge, and grind it with flux and turpentine
until very fine and then apply it to the glass or other vitreous surface wherever
I desire subsequently to cover the surface with a further coating of copper or other
metal-I then fire the article in the usual way and afterwards immerse it in an
ordinary depositing bath and deposit copper or it might be other metal on to the
parts which had previously been painted or printed over with the platinum
composition. It will be found that the copper attaches itself and adheres very
firmly to the platinum. The copper may subsequently be engraved and afterwards
gilt or lacquered as desired.
In place of using finely powdered platinum as the base of the metallic paint
with which the vitreous surface is in the first instance painted or printed other
finely powdered metals might be used.
In order that my said invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect I will proceed to describe more in detail the manner in which I prefer
to conduct the process.
The flux which I find most suitable to mix with the platinum sponge is known
as N° 8 and consists of two parts borax, three parts red lead, and one part flint,
calcined together in a reverberatory furnace and afterwards ground to a fine
powder.
I take of the flux 2 parts, and of platinum sponge 10 parts. I grind these
materials together with sufficient turpentine to render the mass pasty and when
the grinding is over and when the preparation is required for use I further thin it
with turpentine to a consistency convenient for application with a brush to the
article to be ornamented. The article when it has been painted (or printed) with
the platinum sponge is fired at a temperature just sufficient to attach the platinum
firmly to the surface. After firing I immerse the article in a bath such as is
usually employed in depositing copper.
I connect the article with the positive terminal of a galvanic battery, a copper
plate immersed in the bath being connected with the negative terminal as usual in
electro deposition.
It is necessary that every part of the pattern should be placed in electrical
connection with the battery and this is done in the following manner.
I suspend the article to be operated upon in the depositing bath by means of fine
copper wires, so adjusting the said wires as to place them in contact with that
portion of the article already coated with platinum or other metal and by which
means a deposit of metal is obtained.

page_text: The copper is thus deposited to any thickness desired and may afterwards be
engraved and it may be gilt and lacquered as desired. In place of platinum sponge
I may employ pure platinum, silver or gold.
Also in place of depositing copper on to the article after firing I can conveniently
deposit gold, silver, copper and tin proceeding in the ordinary manner for depositing
these metals on platinum.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
The process for ornamenting glass china or other vitreous surfaces consisting in
painting or printing the same with platinum sponge or other finely divided metallic
matter mixed with flux, then firing the article and afterwards depositing copper or
other metal thereon substantially as described.