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18th May 2018, 10:36 PM #1
What sort of plating would this be?
Hi .
Ive got a wood working machine , a thicknesser I want to fix up . Any one have any ideas what the plating on the Brass plate may be . Its obviously pretty thin and someone has scrubbed some of it off. This picture is of a machine same as mine . My plate doesn't show the difference as good as this one does. could it be Zinc plated ? or Nickel Plated ? or what ? The nickel plating I've seen on other things looks a lot more shiny than this .. Thanks Rob
s-l1600la.jpg
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18th May 2018, 11:34 PM #2Diamond Member
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I doubt that it is nickel plating Rob, it looks more like aluminium or zinc if it is plating, but I am wondering if it isn't just a paint layer silk screened on. If it is aluminium, it may have been vapour deposited like they do mirrors on glass, and then anodised perhaps, that would be a thin layer for sure.
Another Rob.
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19th May 2018, 11:52 AM #3Novice
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How old is the machine? If it's definitely a brass plate the plating is likely to be a cupronickel alloy (you know the stuff your silver coins are made out of) or a straight nickel plating. It definitely won't be zinc. If the machine is fairly old the chances of it being aluminium are pretty slim as the process for depositing aluminium on flat surfaces like this has generally only been used in more recent times.
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19th May 2018, 10:57 PM #4
I vote for Nickel personally, it is fairly soft and hence prone to slowly wearing away when there are areas in regular contact, such as a switchplate as shown. Was common in the past as a brightwork plating, not shiny or hard like chrome, but bright, professional looking and relatively cheap and easy to plate compared to chrome. Nowdays mainly used as an intermediate layer between base metal and chrome final layer.
Another option would be tin, easy to plate plate, bright when new, but soft and prone to tarnish over time. People tend to try and polish it to get rid of the tarnish and suddenly start seeing base mettal underneath.I used to be an engineer, I'm not an engineer any more, but on the really good days I can remember when I was.
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19th May 2018, 11:06 PM #5
Thanks Rob and aldav . Yes its definitely plated onto Brass . Its not Copper and doesn't look like bronze . The Brass has oxidized where the plating is worn off and I cant tell if there is Copper plating in between or not . I don't think copper is in between.
This is my switch plate. The plating reminds me of EPNSa bit , but it seems a fair bit thinner than that with the ease it can be removed. i tried a bit of Brasso on it but it didnt really change. some Silvo might brighten up the remaining plating . The Machine is a 24" wide 1963 Robinson Thicknesser from England.
Rob
IMG_8213.JPG IMG_7825a.jpg
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19th May 2018, 11:30 PM #6
I'm just trying to find out what it is so I can restore it. Re plating with nickel is an electro plating process isn't it ?
And Tin Plating malb , never thought of that . Is Tin plating an electro process or a just heat and rub it on like tinning when soldering ? The easier the better for me as long as it looks right or close,
Rob
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20th May 2018, 12:28 AM #7Most Valued Member
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They're both an electro plated finish. If you were to take it to an Electroplating Service, they should be able to tell you what it was, and quote on a resto on it.
You could TRY tinning it, but personally, I think it'll look like c..p!!!
KrynTo grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.
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20th May 2018, 01:30 PM #8Most Valued Member
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It is probably Cadmium plated.
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20th May 2018, 07:34 PM #9Senior Member
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There is an 'electroless' nickel plate method.
Caswell have a kit for it.
Modern nickel is not the same as 'the good old days' - it now has brighteners to make it 'whiter', whereas originally it was a slightly yellowish colour.
There are also diy silver plating kits designed to restore worn silverware. That might be the simplest, because of the volume sold.
Russ
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21st May 2018, 03:11 AM #10China
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Silver plating in my opinion would have the durability required for this application
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24th May 2018, 11:43 PM #11
Thanks for all the reply's. I don't seem to get email notifications telling of reply's to this thread ?? Or part of the forum , not sure ?
Any way . What I may do is see if there is a plating service nearby . Ill ask one of the local guys I met who is doing up an old Ford. He had chrome plating done a while back. If not I will look into doing it . I did see some you tube stuff on Zinc I think ?
Rob
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