creating an image on silvered brass

[metrovick]

Hi, I'm a complete novice and dont know any technical terms so please accept my appologies. The truth is I'm an amature clock restorer and keep comming up with the same problem. I often have to restore clock dials which in the past have been printed on silvered brass. To do this I have to paint the numbers on by hand which takes days. Is there a process by which I can produce an image- preferably black- on a re-silvered dial. If that is not possible would it be possible to create a faint image that I could paint in. It is nearly always possible to scan or photograph the old dial before removing the old printed surface.
I would appreciate any info of any kind, maybe someone knows of a publication dealing with this sort of thing.

 

[Hertz van Rental]

Afraid all the methods I can think of are complicated and messy - especially for one-offs. Batch production would be a different matter...
The only thing I can suggest is:
Produce a copy of the original dial on paper.
With a needle prick holes around the outlines of everything you want to copy. Make the holes around 1mm apart.
Fix the copy in position over the new clock face.
Get some pigment through the holes onto the surface - a chalk bag was the old way. An airbrush might work though.
Remove the paper and join the dots.
I think you can see the principle.
Hope this helps.