Use of silver rather than gold as a conductive coating for scanning electron microscopy has the considerable advantage that a silver film may subsequently be removed with neutral aqueous reagents, as a result of complex ion formation. Farmer's reducer contains ferricyanide and thiosulphate ions, and accomplishes the removal of silver in a particularly gentle manner without deleterious effects upon a variety of substrates. The silver coating appears equivalent to gold as regards image stability and resolution, but long-term storage does necessitate precautions to prevent tarnishing.