Mercury

[Stuart Samuel]

I’ve run into a few antique light fixtures (usually 19c. French) through work that I’m pretty certain were amalgam plated. Mix the mercury and gold, smear the paste that results onto a surface, boil off the mercury. Gives a really fantastic finish, looks like solid gold, nothing like electroplating.

 

[Ian Moss]

Thanks for all the discussion. Looks like I had better take it to the local waste facility and be done with it.

 

[JustaDB]

I collected...PCB oil from old transformers.

One of my first real jobs was driving an 18' body job 3 ton freight truck. Hauled a lot of different stuff over the course of my employment there, including, occasionally, some power transformers. All we had was our backs & a two-wheeled cart to move freight. Tried to move one of the transformers one day off the pallet & onto the loading dock, ended up dumping it on its side. Some slippery fluid started leaking out, never thought much about it, picked the transformer back up & moved it onto the dock.

Wasn't 'til years later I found out about PCB oil in transformers. Don't know if this was said animal or not. Was in early 80's, if timeline helps.

 

[Tom O]

I’ve run into a few antique light fixtures (usually 19c. French) through work that I’m pretty certain were amalgam plated. Mix the mercury and gold, smear the paste that results onto a surface, boil off the mercury. Gives a really fantastic finish, looks like solid gold, nothing like electroplating.

Apparently that’s where “ Mad as a Hatter “ comes from breathing in the mercury fumes as they put gold plating on their creations.