Predicta parts back from the electroplaters.

[Down Under]

Hi guys,

I think I mentioned in a previous thread that I had three Predictas' worth of metal parts being brass plated. Finally they came back to me looking quite good! All up, there are the parts for the CRT casings for a Debutante, Princess and a Holiday. There is also a roll away stand for the Holiday, so I had that done too. Originally the stand was silvery/gold, so I'm still not sure whether I should have done it in chrome or brass, but I ended up doing it in brass. Photos on the web did not reveal enough detail as to its proper look. The pieces were lacquered as well.

I paid A$270 all up, and I was even given A$10 off for being a student!

Cheers,

Adam

[Down Under]

Hi guys,

I think I mentioned in a previous thread that I had three Predictas' worth of metal parts being brass plated. Finally they came back to me looking quite good! All up, there are the parts for the CRT casings for a Debutante, Princess and a Holiday. There is also a roll away stand for the Holiday, so I had that done too. Originally the stand was silvery/gold, so I'm still not sure whether I should have done it in chrome or brass, but I ended up doing it in brass. Photos on the web did not reveal enough detail as to its proper look. The pieces were lacquered as well.

I paid A$270 all up, and I was even given A$10 off for being a student!

Cheers,

Adam

[Sandy G]

Veddy, VEDDY Purty ! (grin)

[bandersen]

I wish there was a plater like that around here. I'd gladly pay that (and more) to get mine done.

[miniman82]

Originally Posted by bandersen

I wish there was a plater like that around here. I'd gladly pay that (and more) to get mine done.

http://ppc1904.com/

[ISawItOnTV]

Wow, very nice. Puts my gold paint to shame, lol.

[Down Under]

Sorry about the previous double post, it was supposed to be an edit.

I have been lucky with this plating as it turned out. I googled and found a different plating company much further away. Their site is excellent and very professional looking. I sent a heap of pics of the parts I had and got a quick response back... for double what I ended up paying with the company I actually went with.

When I took the parts to the company I had found via Google, I was told in an offhanded way, "no, we can't do any of this, it's all hollow, and we don't do aluminium either". I was most annoyed because my photos showed were clear, and I had asked about aluminium.

Anyway, they recommended another company much closer to home but with no web presence, which is why I never found them first up. The place looks sooo disorganized, they use a small invoice book for jobs, no computer at all! I was a bit concerned that if I left my precious pieces with them, I'd never see them a again or have them damaged

But obviously it all turned out well, especially with a reminder about four weeks after I had first visited them. I found out they just do the work in no particular order, no matter when the customer was there. Bit scary, and since I'm a mature age business student, I could possibly teach them a thing or two!

But all's well that ends well, as long as the finish stays shiny. The aluminium piece is the centre rail that runs across the front grille of the Princess, the rest is all steel. I'd like to eventually get the plastic frame that sits on the right side of the Princess front grille vacuum metalized. It has a golden border that's virtually worn away. I mention this because that is the name of the process if anyone needs to know.

Cheers and good luck to all who need to find a plater.

Adam

[bandersen]

Thanks, but it doesn't look like they do brass plating. Have you used them before ?

[N2IXK]

Interesting. I didn't know brass plating was even possible. I would have thought that with brass being an alloy of copper and zinc, the 2 metals would plate at different rates, and give an uneven finish.

[bandersen]

I've been wondering about that too and did a little research and came up with this:

"Alloys such as brass and bronze can be plated too, by arranging for the electrolyte to contain salts of all the metals that need to be present in the alloy."

So I guess the alloy forms on the surface in the same proportion is exists in solution.

Here's another technique that uses heat to transfer brass from a brush to steel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFK9H4AG_Ww

[miniman82]

Haven't used them, but something tells me the parts would look equally nice in chrome. Call and ask what they offer, explain what you need and they can probably accommodate you.

[Sandy G]

I would imagine in Oz its like here-Plating is a LOT more difficult now than it used to be, because of environmental restrictions nowadays..

[Tom Albrecht]

I believe brass plating is still very common in industry. All kinds of shiny brass things you are used to seeing, such as door knobs, plumbing fixtures, hinges, etc., I believe are brass plated to achieve a nice polish -- even if the part is solid brass.

[Kevin Kuehn]

Those turned out very nice. And you likely have a better than original plating too.

[Down Under]

Hi guys,

interesting point about the alloy mix. I'd never thought about it. Strangely enough, the first company I approached said that they would do a gold plating, and they had lots of different golds to choose from (various shades/gloss/satin). I'm not sure if they were using actual gold, but I suspect not. They didn't offer brass at all. The guy at the firm I ended up using took one look and offered brass immediately. he wasn't interested in other coatings for me. I also think that the coating is definitely better and thicker than the original, I had a lot of trouble pushing the curved rails back into the side "cups" that sit either side (centre) of the CRT!