This section is from the book "The English And American Mechanic", by B. Frank Van Cleve. Also available from Amazon: The English And American Mechanic.
Fine gold, 5 oz. (troy;) nitro-muriatic acid, 52 oz. (avoirdupois;) dissolve by heat, and continue the heat until red or yellow vapors cease to be evolved; decant the clear liquor into a suitable vessel; add distilled water, 4 gallons; pure bi-carbonate of potassa, 20 lbs.; and boil for 2 hours. N. B. The nitro-muriatic acid is made with pure nitric acid (sp. gr. 1.45,) 21 oz.; pure muriatic acid (sp. gr. 1.15,) 17 oz.; and distilled water, 14 oz.
The articles, after being perfectly cleaned from scale or grease, and receiving a proper face, are to be suspended on wires, dipped into the liquid boiling hot, and moved about therein, when, in from a few seconds to a minute, depending on the newness and strength of the liquid, the requisite coating of gold will be deposited on them. By a little practice the time to withdraw the articles is readily known; the. duration of the immersion required to produce any given effect gradually increases as the liquid weakens by use. When properly gilded, the articles are withdrawn from the solution of gold, washed in clean water and dried; after which they undergo the usual operation of coloring. $c.
A "dead gold" appearance is produced by the application to the articles of a weak solution of nitrate of mercury previously to the immersion in the gilding liquor, or the deadening may be given by applying a solution of the nitrate to the newly gilded surface, and then expelling the mercury by heat.
 
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