Plating?

[R.Quecke]

Hello!
hope everyone is well.

I am doing a commissioned piece that the client plans on it being plated, I am curious to how much detail will be kept/lost, if any. It’s steel, and will be done gold, so I know is multiple metals. I don’t wanna do a bunch of work if it’ll be lost. Any of y’all have experience with this? I appreciate any help, suggestions, ect.

thank you all.

 

[John B.]

Other than bulino work, and with a good gun plater ,almost nothing should be lost.
But beware of pre-plating polishers wiping out your detail.
Search the forum for info on knowledgeable and reliable gun platers.

 

[monk]

i've only had otorcycle parts plated. the engraving was deep enough that there was no noticeable loss of detail. extremely fine cutting would likely suffer some loss. i've also brush plated a few parts. the brush technique is just a "poormans" way to do things. some of the brushwork was done on fairly light cutting with no apparent loss. brushplating is quick & easy, but is not suitable for hi end items.l

 

[Chujybear]

I just did a bit of plating.. for fun i plated an extremely oxidized piece of copper,, the different shades of oxide shon through... i think the layer is measured in microns

 

[mitch]

As John said, beware of plating companies that will buff the ever-loving-%#@& out of your piece. In fact, even if you are excruciatingly specific about that, you still may need to stand guard with a loaded shotgun while they do it. I've heard, and seen, the horror stories of platers who "thought it would look better with just a bit more polish"...

 

[jmyates]

I have quite a few things gold plated in my work, I use Red Sky Plating in NM.I lose very little detail.I do specify that they plate "as finished" so they do no additional polishing beyond what I've done.You can also specify how thick you want the plating.I've been very pleased with their service.

Mitch

 

[JJ Roberts]

I remember talking with Ron Nott who sent off a Colt SAA he engrave to be plated some at the plating shop buffed the gun to the point where the engraving was hardly noticeable Ron had to have the gun striped of the plating and had to re-cut all the engraving. J.J.

 

[quickcut07]

Back when I did some of that I had the plating shop buff the stuff first. Supposedly none to be done after. Worked good, only one small issue I seen and the owner didn't. That item was one of a few left in the copper state while the others were chromed out.

Eric

 

[Sinterklaas]

When I plate jewelry. Be it gold or rhodium plating. All scratches that are visible before plating, will also be visible after plating. Plating is very thin it is micron territory. So jewelry must be polished very well.

If your piece is being polished before plating. Then you can absolutely loose details from your engraving. Therefor it is best to finish the piece yourself.

 

[jerrywh]

I have done a lot of plating, Gold,Silver, Copper,Nickle. John B is correct.

 

[R.Quecke]

I love and appreciate all of your replies. I am doing a rotary tattoo machine, steel frame. I am Friends with the builder of the machine and will be very specific about no buffing. I am now very excited to see this thing plated. Again, thank you all.

 

[sam]

I've had work totally wrecked by plating shops. MAKE SURE you tag it with reminders not to polish. Talk to them. Talk to the owner and the manager. Talk to the governor and the pope. You can't be too careful. If it somehow gets into the hands of the polishing guy, it could be toast. I tell them to degrease and plate, and that's it.

 

[John B.]

Talk to the governor and the pope. You can't be too careful. If it somehow gets into the hands of the polishing guy, it could be toast. I tell them to degrease and plate, and that's it.

Degrease and plate only. You can take what Sam said to the bank !

 

[silvermon]

i've only had otorcycle parts plated. the engraving was deep enough that there was no noticeable loss of detail. extremely fine cutting would likely suffer some loss. i've also brush plated a few parts. the brush technique is just a "poormans" way to do things. some of the brushwork was done on fairly light cutting with no apparent loss. brushplating is quick & easy, but is not suitable for hi end items.l

Hi Monk,
Calling brush plating a poor man process is a bit misleading. Brush plating is an industrial process that is not meant to be decorative in any way. One of the primary early applications was depositing soft metal on to hardened landing gear bolts to lubricate the assembly. It is also common in tool and die shops that do custom one-off tools, again to provide lubrication. Using a brush plater for decorative work is a poor application of brush plating, though there may be special circumstances that can take advantage of the process. The brush plate rectifier I use for tool and die is several thousand dollars, far more than a bath machine. The industrial chemical mixes can be quite expensive too. I have a couple that are several hundred dollars for 3 ozs. Newer tool steel alloys are reducing the use of brush plating.

 

[mitch]

I've had work totally wrecked by plating shops. MAKE SURE you tag it with reminders not to polish. Talk to them. Talk to the owner and the manager. Talk to the governor and the pope. You can't be too careful. If it somehow gets into the hands of the polishing guy, it could be toast. I tell them to degrease and plate, and that's it.

hold their family hostage until the job is finished to your satisfaction. there is no such thing as being TOO proactive.