Sustaining the plate with special presses.  I begin to polish the copper (Fig. 1) first with a pretty tough cloth wheel and using a thick polishing paste until the scratches and imperfections are removed from the surface.  Afterwards I put a softer wheel on and use a lesser grade polish to obtain the necessary shine.

When this step is completed the silver-plating process begins.  First remove the grease from the plate in an nitric acid tub at 10%.  It is rinsed in water and ran through a degreasing electric tub.  After one or two minutes it is plated by means of electrolitical methods.

This is achieved in two seperate buckets with chemical products.  One product for the degreasing and the other for the silver.  In the first bucket there is a stainless steel plate of the same size or larger than the silver plate that is connected to the positive pole and submerged in a corrosive chemical which degreases the copper completely.  The copper plate is connected to the negative pole and receives the bombardment of electrons that come from the positive plate.  The voltage in this tub is 6V. 
When this procedure is finished, the silver bath is begun.  Like the previous process but done in another bucket containing a chemical which is a solution containing the molecule form of silver in its composition.  This chemical can be bought at silver stores.  The positive pole is connnected to a plate composed of silver 900 and is of equal or greater size than the plate to be silver-coated.  Through applying 1V, silver electrodes are transmitted from the silver plate (positive pole) to the copper plate (negative pole) within 1 or 2 minutes.  This is what forms the the matallic silver coat of around 40 micrones.  To finish this process put the recently silver-plated plate in an acetic acid bath at 10% to stabilize the pH of the plate.  Because the silver bath is very high in alkali afterwards it is rinsed in water and left to dry naturally.
Different volts are used for either bath.  Degreased with 6V and plated with 1V, but always with 15 amps.
To finalize plating, which takes 1 or 2 minutes to obtain the thickness of 40 micrones, the plate is rinsed in acetic acid at 10 %, water and left to dry (Fig. 4).

Before sensitizing, it should be freshly polished so the silver plate comes out whitish and with the needed mirror like surface (Fig. 5).  It is softly polished with a cotton wheel and a high shining paste. 

We place our plate in the chassis of the photograph machine and the sensitizing process is begun (Fig. 6).

Daguerre used to use only the Yodo.  A few years later, in 1814 the Bromo was included in the process.  This is the method I exercise. 
We need a few boxes that have wide mouthed recipients for the Yodo and Bromo, with covers that permit the plate to be received by the chassis (Fig. 7).

Plate Sensitization

First the plate is exposed to the resumblimado Yodo until the surface obtains a yellow coloration.  This is controlled by observing with a 3200ºK light.
Afterwards it is exposed to the Bromo vapores, that have been mixed with Calcium Hydrate to prevent rapid evaporation.
When the surface turns an intense red (this is observed by the method used in the previous step), the plate is again returned to the Yodo for the same amount of time as in the first exposure. 
Following this step the plate shouldn’t be exposed to any type of light in that it has now been sensitized.

The Exposure
The chassis is placed in the camara and the picture is taken.  The exposure time varies between 8 seconds and 3 minutes. 
Maybe for curiousity`s sake one could say that the daguerraotype is between 12 and 13 points less sensitive than a 100 ISO movie and is more sensitive to ultraviolet rays (UV) which are visible to light.  This why an image taken between the hours of 10 00-16 00 is more vivid, than shots taken during other times of the day even though the light intensity is elevated.
Developing
Now that the shot is taken, the plate is developed with mercury vapores that are produced by placing mercury in a box identical to the previous ones but that has an electric heater inside it to raise the temperature of the metal to between 60º and 80ºC.
The image should be controlled using a red lightbulb. This process takes takes between 1 to 3 minutes. To finish, it is settled in Tiosulphate (hypersulfate) at 6% and is rinsed and left to dry naturally.
I wanted to make clear that the time for each shot depends more on the work done to each one, the quality of the polishing, the temperature and humidity of the environment, the quality of chemicals, the light quality, etc.  This is why saying that everything will turn out as desired and in a specified time would be misleading. 
It is also pertanent to make clear that the chemicals with which you work are extremely toxic.  One should always take the precautionary measures recommended by the industry.  This includes using gloves, a surgical mask, protective clothes and eyewear and between the stages there should be motor powered aircirculation. 
Like I explained before, because I work with plates measuring 63 x 63mm, the entire polishing kit, silver, sensitivity and developing processes are designed for this plate size.  If you wish to change the format you should adapt a new suiting format. 

Artesenal Work

The plates require many hours of arduous work and experimentations to able to acquire a skilled hand in this very difficult process, especially in these fast paced times.

Since there is no existing negative you cannot copy the image many times over, each daguerrotype can be converted into only one piece of work, that represents its own uniqueness in time, space and the photographed model.
How this is done is of enormous relavence.  Certainly all photography has these intrinsic qualities, but the daguerrotype carries the burden of its image’s exclusivity and the intimacy that this represents. In photography its really important that we do not see the object that contains the image, but when we begin to work with antique processes and especially with dagerrotipos, the object aquires greater meaning. It is my belief that the container ( the object that contains the dagerrotipo that is) becomes part of the piece.
At first, I felt the same with the “tiraje” process (Gum Bichromate, Bluelines, Kallitype), but even more so with the duguerrotype. 
We should point out that having almost complete control over the process’s totality is very exciting.  Other added details such as frames, illumination, poses, etc. Will be reflected in the final image. And moreover, the time.  Working with contemporary processes (negative-positive, analogic or digital) imply a great increase in the velocity of the work and process.  In retrospect the classic techniques’ execution time is quite long.

A daguerrotype takes many hours of preparation.   The reader will understand then that we are talking about different concepts of time.  A daguerrotype requires many seconds and sometimes minutes to be able to print itself.  This means, above all when people pose they should be ready to be still and believe in what we are doing to be photography.  By the way the model should be rested and relaxed to the point that their facial expresions transmit tranquility and patience.  There shouldn’t be either harsh nor forced expressions.  There should neither be smiles nor contracted foreheads. There should be  relaxation and tranquility.

It is note worthy to estimate how far the spectator should stand away from an enormous image in a frame.  The daguerrotype requires one to approximate at which point a special comunication is established between the observer and the portrait.  The more intimate the better.