Patent ID: 6902761

Claim:
A method for metal-coating a surface in the interior of a glass tube, with the metal-coated surface being a cylindrical shell, the method comprising the following steps: the glass tube is sealed off at either end; the glass tube is brought to a horizontal position; a sensitizer solution is introduced into the interior of the horizontal glass tube in such a quantity that the interior of the glass tube is only partly filled, whereby the flow speed for the introduction of the sensitizer solution is chosen such that essentially no disturbing wave movements or splashes occur; the sensitizer solution is kept at rest within the interior of the glass tube for a certain dwell period; any excess of the sensitizer solution is removed from the interior of the glass tube after a certain dwell period; a mirror-coating solution is then introduced into the interior of the glass tube, with substantially the entire interior surface of the glass tube being wetted by the mirror-coating solution; and any excess of the mirror-coating solution is removed from the interior of the glass tube.