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Brush Silver Plating

jbtsax

Distinguished Member
Distinguished Member
I recently ordered the brush silver plating kit from Caswell and would like to share the results with others who work on silver instruments. The first photo shows the way the True Tone key guard looked originally.

TrueToneSilverTouchup001.jpg


The next photo shows the part after polishing with [HASHTAG]#0000[/HASHTAG] steel wool.

TrueToneSilverTouchup005.jpg


The following photo shows the application of the silver plating solution using the "wand".

TrueToneSilverTouchup006.jpg


The next photo shows the dull and dark finish after the electroplating is complete.

TrueToneSilverTouchup008.jpg


The next photo shows the brightening of the plate accomplished by rubbing with Silversmith Silverplate

TrueToneSilverTouchup009.jpg


The next photo shows the final finish after polishing with Haggerty's Spray Silver Polish.

TrueToneSilverTouchup012-1.jpg


Below is a photo of the Bb side key that was re-plated using the process.

TrueToneSilverTouchup016.jpg


Shown here are two of the products used.

TrueToneSilverTouchup014.jpg
 
According to the instructions from Caswell, you can keep going over the same area and adding to the layers of plating. It just takes longer than tank plating to achieve the same thickness.

Here is a link that gives some more information: http://dalmarplating.com/Differences In Plating.htm

At Caswell's prices the tank plating kits start at $1099.00 and that doesn't include the rectifier which can run $400.00 or more. For the limited amount of plating that I do, the $47.00 plug-n-plate kit is a more practical choice for my shop.

One option that I have considered is to apply a coating of clear lacquer over the plated touchpieces that get the most contact. That would certainly extend the life of the plating in those locations. I'm just pleased at how well the plug-n-plate works on not only the keys, but the body of the sax as well.
 
Last time I saw a lacquer over silver job it turned out milky white for some reason. The owner chose to have it removed and went with just the plating.

That's good to know. I'm going to test this by lacquering some recently plated parts and will report the results.
 
I vaguely recall, and I think it was Kessler, on some early silverplated horns having them clear lacquered over the SP. But decided against it .. and I want to say it was because the silver would oxidize underneath the clear lacquer. But a potentially interesting problem.
 
That would account for the milky appearance. My horns get a faint white 'film' of stuff on them when stored for a while, and this may be the same stuff.

I recently got my Selmer metal "part Boehm" clarinet rehabbed (and it plays like a dream, much to their surprise), but marvelous Marvin did no have the time to replate it for me. He did clean it up, but there are several spots on the keywork where the silver plate has been worn off over the many years it was used. I might pick up one of these plating things and give it a go myself.
 
I've tried the Caswell kit. It took a very long time to get a half decent layer of plating. Especially on parts where fingers are touching but even on parts where fingers are not touching, I was a bit disappointed with how long it lasted... not so long and durable. Maybe if I sat half an hour to plate a 1cm square size part it would be better but I wasn't going to do that. I stopped offereing this as a plating touch-up option (in the rare occasions that it's even needed or wanted) because of that.
 
I had a similar experience with the Caswell Plating Kit several years ago when the power source to the wand was an AA battery. I ended up getting discouraged and throwing it away.

Their current kit is supplied with a 1.7 volt 300ma transformer and seems to have a more effective plating solution as well. There is a marked difference between this and their former kit in my experience.

Since the thickness and wearibility of the plating is in question, I am going to perform some tests. One way to determine the thickness would be to "rag" the plated part with metal polish to see how long it takes to go through the plating.
 
I vaguely recall, and I think it was Kessler, on some early silverplated horns having them clear lacquered over the SP. But decided against it .. and I want to say it was because the silver would oxidize underneath the clear lacquer. But a potentially interesting problem.
Sounds interesting.

To oxidize, you need oxygen. I could understand that if you had lacquer over silver and the lacquer got damaged -- scratches, polishing too hard, etc. -- the silver would oxidize. If it's just sitting there, it shouldn't, unless the lacquer used is oxygen permeable (it might be; I dunno).

I seem to remember folks complaining about the silver finish on some Selmer Super 80s awhile back. The silver plate would flake off. Which also sounds interesting.
 
For what it's worth, I bought some "rub-on" silverplate solution, and it did a (cosmetically) nice job on a silver tray and Miss December in the 2011 Calendar.

And I have that Leblanc EEb which has an ever so slightly loose neck and thought a few microns of silver around the male part of the neck (the one with the mouthpiece) might just do to make it fit better.

I've also had good success in touching up the various often-worn touchpieces (throat Ab for example), even on nickel-plated instruments where the bare brass shone through. Add a layer of hard clear nail varnish over the touched-up spot and it'd be good for another year.

All in all, you can't lose much with a $20 bottle. If it ain't good for your sax, it's still plenty good for your other household silver-plated stuff.
 
I had a similar experience with the Caswell Plating Kit several years ago when the power source to the wand was an AA battery. I ended up getting discouraged and throwing it away.

Their current kit is supplied with a 1.7 volt 300ma transformer and seems to have a more effective plating solution as well. There is a marked difference between this and their former kit in my experience.
I guess I should clarify that I've only used the more recent kits supplied with the transformer. I've never tried their battery kits. I've tried two of them and also tried with another transformer I had here.

Since the thickness and wearibility of the plating is in question, I am going to perform some tests. One way to determine the thickness would be to "rag" the plated part with metal polish to see how long it takes to go through the plating.
It's not so much that it's "in question" but just giving my experience.
For example, I plated an approx 1cm long brass rod. I think I brushed it for a few minutes. I then could easily wipe the new plating off by rubbing my finger on the part with just a bit of force. Polishing with Hagerdy also removed it way too fast, instead of just polishing it. I tried to re-do it by trying all sorts of degreasing methods and plating for longer, about 25-20 minutes. I just hoped for the best and now a few years later there is about 50% of the silver left. This part has almost no contact with fingers. The original silver plating in close areas, which get a lot more fingers touching them and is about five years older than this new part, has no wear at all and is almost as good as new.

I thought about trying the nickel plating kit and use the silver plating kit over it. This might be more durable. I might try it again anyway, but for now I stopped using it because of my experience. I really tried everything possible to make this brush plating work, but if for whatever reason I try it again and it would work better, that would be nice.

I'll definitely be interested in what you find e.g. how long you plated the part, how resisting was it to finger rubbing, silver polishing, etc. etc.

Unlike tictactux, I have no household items at all that I'm interested in silver plating... :)
 
Here are the results of an informal experiment I conducted to test the Caswell silver brush plating technique.

I started with a 1/4" square brass rod 8" long and buffed each side to a deep shine. The rod was then degreased by first wiping with alcohol and then rubbing with a rag soaked in tolulene solvent. A scratch was made in the center of the bar denoting right and left sides and the letters A,B,C,D were etched to label each surface.

The Preparation
A left was plated 1 minute, one wand stroke per second, cleaned and polished and left as is.
B left was plated 1 minute, one wand stroke per second, cleaned and polished and then treated with MAAS metal protector.
C left was plated 1 minute, one wand stroke per second, cleaned and polished and then given a coating of Carnauba wax.
D left was plated 1 minute, one wand stroke per second, cleaned and polished and then treated with MAAS metal protector followed by a coating of Carnauba wax.

A right was plated 2 minutes, one wand stroke per second, re-dipping the wand in solution after 1 min, cleaned and polished and left as is.
B right was plated 2 minutes, one wand stroke per second, stopping to clean and polish after each minute's plating and using fresh solution and left as is.
C right was plated 4 minutes, one wand stroke per second, re-dipping the wand in solution after each minute, cleaned and polished and left as is.
D right was plated 4 minutes, one wand stroke per second stopping to clean and polish after each minute's plating and using fresh solution each time then left as is.

The finger test
Rubbing the left side (1 minute's plating) A,B,C,D back and forth 250 times with the finger using moderate pressure produced no perceptible change in the silver plating on any of the surfaces. Since the single plated left side showed no perceptible change in the plating after rubbing with the finger the multiple plated sides were not tested.

A more aggressive test was then used to determine the thickness and/or durability of the brush silver plating comparing the different times and methods of application. Next all sides were polished with Wenol metal polish on a soft cloth stopping to observe the finish after every 50 back and forth strokes with moderate pressure. The Wenol tube is marked "not recommended for plated metals".

The metal polish test
After 50 back and forth strokes
All 1 minute coated left sides had significant brass showing through so no further testing was done.
All multiple minute coated right sides showed no perceptible change.

After 100 back and forth strokes
All multiple coated sides had very slight brass showing through on the corners of the bar.

After 150 back and forth strokes
A right had significant brass showing through.
B right had some brass showing through, but was better than A.
C right had some brass showing through similar to B.
D right had a very small amount of brass showing through.

Conclusions
1. It appears that the longer you plate using the wand, the thicker and more durable the plating, but after 2 minutes there are diminishing returns on the time and effort.
2. Cleaning and polishing between 1 minute applications seems to slightly improve the coating process.
3. One should never use a metal polish not recommended for plated metals on silver plating.
4. The use of Carnauba wax to help extend the plating life of brush plated keys that get excessive wear shows promise, but could not be confirmed by this study.

Platingtestbar.jpg
 
More durable brush plating

Hint:
After brush plating, don't polish with anything. Burnish the plated area with a small burnishing knife, then wipe with a rag. Degrease with 50/50 muriatic acid, then repeat the plating process.
Burnishing hardens and shines the plating without removing precious metal. With repeated brush plating, the silver will build up in thickness.
This entire approach is a pain and has limited effectiveness. Occasionally, it is worth the effort.
 
John, thanks for this test. It looks to me like it pretty much cofirms what I thought. At least, I doubt any of your tests would have any brass showing on an original silver plated key on a saxophone...?

A few things to add and ask.

I've used all sorts of degreasing methods. I've used caustic soda which is what Caswell recommended, but I found the time they recommended was too long. I've tried alcohol, lighter fluid, acitone,etc. and can't really say it made a difference.

When I plated, I've tried many "speeds". Some pretty fast, I guess around 6-10 strokes per second, sometimes for a minute or more (then sometimes a break, then more). So I agree with your 1st conclusion.

I have tried cleaning but not polishing between plating "sessions", and I can't say that it helped, but I don't know.

I agree with your 3rd conclusion but I've personally never tried it. I've only used silver polish or rubbing with fabric or finger for my "tests".

How did you put the caranbua wax on the keys? I sometimes use it for polishing wood instrument bodies. I put a relatively stiff plastic brush and using the micromotor at pretty high speed (maybe 30k-40k) press it into the wax bar, melting it and putting it on the brush. Then use that to polish. I think that is likely to wear the plating... not sure. Or do you just rub a hard bar on the part/key?
 
Hint:
After brush plating, don't polish with anything. Burnish the plated area with a small burnishing knife, then wipe with a rag. Degrease with 50/50 muriatic acid, then repeat the plating process.
Burnishing hardens and shines the plating without removing precious metal. With repeated brush plating, the silver will build up in thickness.
This entire approach is a pain and has limited effectiveness. Occasionally, it is worth the effort.

Thank you for that tip.
 
John, thanks for this test. It looks to me like it pretty much cofirms what I thought. At least, I doubt any of your tests would have any brass showing on an original silver plated key on a saxophone...?
Using an aggressive metal polish will eventually wear through a "factory plated" finish as well, it just takes a bit longer. Don't ask me how I know this. :)

When I plated, I've tried many "speeds". Some pretty fast, I guess around 6-10 strokes per second, sometimes for a minute or more (then sometimes a break, then more). So I agree with your 1st conclusion.

For this test I stroked with the wand one direction one stroke per second. The black build up was the greatest where the wand came close to the black clip.

How did you put the caranbua wax on the keys? I sometimes use it for polishing wood instrument bodies. I put a relatively stiff plastic brush and using the micromotor at pretty high speed (maybe 30k-40k) press it into the wax bar, melting it and putting it on the brush. Then use that to polish. I think that is likely to wear the plating... not sure. Or do you just rub a hard bar on the part/key?

The Carnauba wax I use is Mother's brand that comes in a round tin. It is a paste that you put on a rag over your finger and then go over the surface of the part. When the wax dries to a haze, you buff to a shine with a soft cloth. I have heard others recommend this for use on unlacquered brass instruments to inhibit tarnish.

carnaubawax.jpg
 
Interesting that is says "Pure Carnauba Wax". Mine is supposed to be pure, but is not a "product" but just what is supposed to be 100% carnauba wax in bulk.

From the Wikipedia page:
- "Although too brittle to be used by itself, carnauba wax is often combined with other waxes"
- "usually comes in the form of hard yellow-brown flakes"
- "Carnauba wax is sold in several grades, labeled T1, T2, and T4, depending on the purity level."

Mine came as flakes which I melted into a "block". Maybe it's possible to make pure carnauba both hard and pasty, but seems strange?
 
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