Procedures for Silver and sponge plating, (spot)

SPONGE PLATING; you need to reattach a leg that falls off a tray. We can sponge plate or spot plate the area you worked in after the leg has been resoldered or replaced. Will not work if a lot of repairs or spots are to be plated.

Total replating: This is done by taking the item and returning it to almost new condition by removing the old silver and other plating. (a) First you would strip the item, (b) then scratch brush by polishing with a wire brush to remove other metals, (c) then it would be cleaned, (d) then machine polished with Tripoli, (e) polished with rouge to bring it to a glossy finish, (f) then cleaned in a very large boil pot and all polishing agents are removed. NOW it is ready to be plated it is wrapped with a copper wire to hang in the plating tank (which is 100 gallons pure silver liquid solutions with 110 troy ounces pure silver bar and other anodes hanging in the tank dimensions 4 x 6 fiber glass size tank). Their is usually more than one metal in an item, handles, feet, borders, finials are usually lead, pewter or pot metal, trays, teapots are usually nickel, brass, copper, so you must first plate the item with copper or nickel plating so that the silver plating will stick, after this bath it is put in a silver strike plating bath which prepares the item for the silver plating bath this is the pure silver bath, after plating it is put in a drying room to get the moisture out, then it is machine polished with rogue to bring out the high luster, then hand polished then cleaned again. Then it is wrapped in tissue paper and delivered or shipped. This is why it takes a longer time to replate and item. I do about 10 - 15 items at a time with this process to make it cost effective, doing each thing to all the items. On the final hand polishing some defects may show up which may mean we will replate the item to remove the defects. You do not really know how it will look until the final hand polishing, If it is not correct we start the whole process again. Some pits and dents will remain but replating the item will stop the pitting from going any further.

CAN YOU REMOVE THE DENT FROM MY TEAPOT AND SUGAR BOWL?
We can remove dents from any item small or large. Hammering the dent out, reshaping to match, polishing and plating if necessary does this. We also can fill some dents but the item will need to be replated.

CAN YOU REPLATE MY SILVER PENDANT?
We can replate your silver jewelry, in any color you want it, silver, gold, copper etc.