Fired Silver Paint: Silver Oxide Paint with Silver Nitrate Added Just Before Use (Gray, Erie Resistor 1954, Ex. 5)

A paint for putting silver electrodes on ceramic, glass or mica. Silver oxide and a little ceramic flux are held in polyvinyl alcohol dissolved in water. The wet paint conducts electricity, so a capacitor can be measured while it is being painted. On firing, the silver oxide turns into a silver film held on by the flux. This version adds up to 3 % silver nitrate just before use, which makes the wet paint conduct better. Source: Robert B. Gray, US 2,695,275 (Erie Resistor, 1954), Example 5. Not given: which flux, and the firing heat. Bismuth subnitrate, one of the fluxes Gray names, is ours. Picture drawn by Youblob.