The goal or this page is to make people aware of the possibility to whiten brass at home rather than to explain the process as it is fairly straightforward and there are YouTube videos on the topic.
Silvering can be done at home using two relatively inexpensive compounds and results in the brass taking a whiter tone. It works on both flat and frosted surfaces. However, as it is a surface treatment, if you remove material while beveling or frosting, the original brass colour will reappear.
My experience shows it is easier to silver brass when it is a sheet rather than a pre-cut dial as this allows for larger circular motion and avoids issues with edges.
I have used decal paper on silvered dials and the transfer works well, however, with the heat and maybe the glue, the silvered dial takes a slightly yellow hue, which is annoying when you went through the trouble of silvering the brass.