For polishing brass dials of clocks a lathe is required, although it is not absolutely essential. If only a few dials have to be done, the following hand method, although tedious, will doubtless answer well. The surface of the dial must first be well rubbed down with a pad of leather and very fine emery powder; then go over it again with another leather pad and a mixture of oil and powdered pumice-stone or tripoli. Now prepare a silvering bath made as follows. Dissolve 1/4 lb. of cyanide of potassium in 16 oz. of distilled or boiled water; in another vessel dissolve 1/2 oz. of nitrate of silver in 16 oz. of water, and, when dissolved, throw into the vessel a spoonful of common salt, stir well with a stick, and allow to settle. Now dissolve some salt in water, and when the silver solution has settled mix in a few drops of the salt water solution. If there is any cloudiness, salt must be added; stir and allow to settle. If the salt water does not produce cloudiness, the water must be run off and the white deposit or precipitate carefully preserved. Well wash the deposit with boiling water by mixing, allow to settle, and run off.

Now to the white deposit add about 1 pt. of clean water, and afterwards, by 1 oz. at a time, the first prepared cyanide solution, till the white powder is dissolved; stir well after each addition of cyanide. Make up the bath to; gal. If, on placing the article to be silvered in this solution, a black deposit results, water must be added; if it coats slowly, add white precipitate. Now well warm the clock face, and coat with a layer of beeswax the part that does not need silvering. Immerse the article in the silvering solution till well covered with silver, then take it out, well wash, clean off the wax, and polish the whole surface with jewellers' rouge and oil applied with a very soft cotton pad. An alternative method for silvering is as follows. Dissolve .1/2 oz. of nitrate of silver in 1/4 pt. of cold water, and add 1/2 lb. of cream of tartar with 1 1/2 lb. of common salt ground fine; mix and stir well, adding water till of the consistency of thick paste. Rub this paste on the dial, after rough polishing as at first, for a minute or so. When silvered, clean with a little wet whiting, wash in cold water, and dry.

Coat the brass face with thin transparent hard varnish.