•I am in the business of repairing woodwind and brass instruments. Replating of parts is something we deal with on a regular basis. On parts that need to be plated we do all the "prep" work, then we ship the parts to another company to do the actual plating. The chemicals used in plating (if you wan...

•Here comes my two (copper) cents worth. I have had a lot of plating done for car restoration. My shop guy (Arliss at Advance Chrome Plating in Nashville) says that _all_ commercial chrome plating is so-called triple chroming, involving the aforesaid layer of thick copper for build-up, polishing, ni...

•Interesting thread(s). I have professionally restored Pre-WW1 cars for many years (not doing it now, though). Plating has evolved over the years and, yes, most of today's nickel used for plating is not the same as nickel used during the years we usually deal with. In the Prewar years, plating was u...

•Please don't use chrome on parts for an automatic musical instrument made before the 1950s, for two reasons. First, it makes the parts thicker, so you'll spend a lot more time removing it from shafts, holes and old threads before you'll be able to reassemble the parts. Second, it doesn't look origi...

•I've had lots of fun doing plating with copper, but I've never tried it with real machine parts. It might prove useful for some applications in the restoration of mechanical music instruments. I use a solution of battery acid (from the auto parts store, four bucks) copper sulfate (from the garden s...

•Can anyone suggest a plater who they're very satisfied with, for plating musical instrument parts? I'm in the process of restoring a very rusty set of Deagan shaker chimes, and need to find a plater willing to work with me in bits and pieces without gouging me on the price. The problem is that the ...

•Anyone ever try to chrome a plastic part? Doug Anderson

•On the subject of electroless nickel plating, there is a company named Caswell that sells all kinds of plating kits including various sizes for electroless nickel plating. The kits come complete with everything you need including instructions and help. The web site is http://www.caswellplating.com/...

•For chroming metal parts I'd suggest calling your local hot rod clubs or antique auto clubs. Car freaks spend a lot of their time having chrome work replated and would know the best people to hire. Plating does require a number of stages of work, however; it's not just dip it and go. My maternal gr...

•On plastic parts like the model car kits, the chrome isn't plated in the strict sense of the word -- it is vacuum deposited on the plastic inside a large chamber. Little strips of the chrome alloy are bent in half and hung on the frame that holds the plastic parts. It has to do with electrical char...

•I have successfully used a plating kit from Samson Technology that is both safe and simple to use. The chemicals are mostly in paste form and the actual plating is done at low voltage using an AC adapter. It is most useful for small parts but I have seen a large gold plated bathroom faucet. Most me...

•Can anyone suggest a plater who they're very satisfied with, for plating musical instrument parts? I'm in the process of restoring a very rusty set of Deagan shaker chimes, and need to find a plater willing to work with me in bits and pieces without gouging me on the price. The problem is that the ...

•I think I am the one that started the questions about metal plating. Some guys do it at home with kits and some go to fine platers in their own area. I was afraid to ship anything across country having already had bad luck with some Wurlitzer parts for a Solo Violin model piano. I bought some nicke...

•I am having a hard time finding someone to do the nickel plating required on a Wurlitzer 105. No one does plating in the town I live in. Those I find use electroless plating, and I'm not sure this is what I need for the exterior parts. Has anyone out there had luck with a firm that offers good plat...

•Jim: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been very tough on the plating industry. They require that platers account for every gram of metal they use. They also require so much rinse water filtration that most platers will tell you that the water that they put down the drain is actual...

•Jim, I get my plating for restoration done by New England Chrome Plating. They always give me great service and prices. There is a minimum charge. http://www.newenglandchrome.com/ Once, on a build-up coin piano, I had made a mess of soldering the coin drop. On my request, they cleaned up my mess an...

•Hi, Jim Quashnock in Texas asked about electroless nickel plating. I don't know about your local sources, but there is a company near me that sells plating kits. There are basically three types of kits: electroless plating, for electrode plating, and Plug N' Plate. For $100 you get all the chemical...

•I don't know anything about electroless plating. But any decent chrome plater can do nickel plating. A good chrome plating job (typically called "show" chrome, but also used to restore parts that are pitted), is a three-phase job. After cleaning the part, it is sequentially plated with copper, nick...

•There are lots of plating shops in Texas. You just have to look. One in Houston specializes in antique nickel plating. I think the company is named Speed and Chrome Plating. I used one in Dallas for pot metal plating, since it was close to me. I currently use one in Bossier City, La., Moore's Metal...

•I have had piano parts nickel plated by Acme Plating, Inc., 1831 Launa Drive, Montrose, CO 81401 (phone 970-249-8996). The work I had done was of good quality, and I would recommend them. Wayne Irelan Colorado