Silver Plating in Brass Instrument Repair

[@jackx4311]

Thank you for the very clear explanation - not just showing what each step involves, but also telling us why each one is needed. And the finished job is superb!

[@timyllym]

Thank you!

[@EspressoBear59]

You inspired me to brush plate wear on the valve block of my silver trumpet, as well to tank plate the valves on my antique conn. They were copper plated and i plated the first valve and then spent quite a bit of time lapping. Used a combination of lapping block and 2000 gr sand paper. Had some trouble as the valve guide is attached to the top of the valve. Almost done

[@timyllym]

Great to hear! Removing the valve guide will help lapping, it would need to be either soldered off or then filed down. When plating is finished a new valve guide is then created and soldered back on. It will take some extra time though.

[@davewettlaufer7885]

thank you for the video, I always wondered how that was done.👍

[@timyllym]

Thanks!

[@toddsayers3583]

I attempted to watch a few other videos before this one. Scant on details, this is an excellent overview of the process. Should I decide to attempt this, I expect that the voltage/amperage will depend on the products I'm using. Thanks for the concise, excellent video.

[@timyllym]

Thank You! And that's right, you can get info on voltage/amperage from the liquids/equipment manufacturers.

[@AMusicStoreOnMainSt]

I really appreciate your video. It explained a lot. I have a Silver Getzen Capri with a leaky third valve. It's a beautiful trumpet except for the leak. My next step is to find out the cost of plating one valve.

[@timyllym]

Glad it helped!

[@Tribilante]

excellent

[@lois2911]

Thank you, sir.

[@aliashtiani8246]

please upload more often, great channel.

[@timyllym]

Thanks!

[@Cuprum46]

Interesting. Thank you Timo

[@osmildmay]

Simple And Easy To Comprehend Thank You

[@isawproductions]

This video is very informative. Thanks for making this. What is in the acid dip? what chemicals or solution is in it? What chemical do you use for silver plating?

[@timyllym]

Thanks! I have used chemicals from Gateros and Tifoo, but you can get similiar products from any company selling electroplating stuff. www.gaterosplating.co.uk/product-page/gp-jewellery-pickle-salts www.tifoo.de/en/silver-plating-solution-250-ml

[@martiensbekker]

Great video, thanks!

[@dunk856]

Nice

[@mikoajdurka2623]

Thank you for such a great video! I've got one question regarding brush plating. For how long you're brushing one spot to be sure that you've got enough thick layer of the plating?

[@timyllym]

Thanks! It depends on few variables like the size of the area and the layer thickness. For brass instruments I'd say the thickness would have to be at least 10 microns to have durability. There are calculators for this e.g. www.goldn.co.uk/brush-plating-calculator/

[@williambrown355]

Excellent very clear explanation. Thank you so much

[@timyllym]

Thank you!

[@stevenadvensky1761]

Nice work!

[@timyllym]

Thanks!

[@billr3654]

Great videos! When you do tank plating, how do you know how long to keep the item in the tank? Does so many minutes equal a certain amount of plating thickness? When you are brush plating, do you have to stop at certain design line on the trumpet? What I mean is, does the new plating blend in well with the old plating, or can tell tell where you plated and where you didn't? Thanks!

[@timyllym]

Thanks! There are calculators in web for counting the needed time, e.g. www.goldn.co.uk/brush-plating-calculator/ but for brush plating it is more difficult to count the time. Brush plating blends in quite nicely, it is more about how well you have made the buffing and cleaning, so how shiny the surface is, so you don't need to cut it to certain point. But edge may be still visible if you look carefully.

[@pablomontagna2502]

Excellent, thank you

[@sneaks01]

Fascinating!!

[@hepburn118]

Hi, could you do a video running through the chemicals you use? I'm interested to know what you use in the bath method and the electrode rubbing on method. Thanks.

[@timyllym]

Hi, yes, that might be a good idea. You can get the chemicals e.g. from www.goldn.co.uk/ or www.tifoo.de/en-uk/en

[@hepburn118]

@@timyllym Well, I would sure be interested in watching and I'll take a bet I'm not alone there!!

[@hepburn118]

@@timyllym And thanks for the information.

[@JonathanMilam1]

Great video, Timo. Very well done; thank you! :)

[@timyllym]

Thank you Jonathan! I have also been enjoying your videos.

[@BobBeverage]

Thanks for the video. Doesn't the mouthpiece immersion-plate to some extent when you put it in the silver plating solution without the power on? That could reduce the adhesion of the electroplate.

[@timyllym]

I don't know, I'm not so specialised in electro-plating that I could say. But I haven't had any adhesion problems.

[@vicentejacuinde9484]

Great video!! Well done 👍 where can I get this tanks for silver or niquel plating? Thank you!

[@timyllym]

Thank you! There are several places where you can buy the liquids and equipment. Just search for 'silver plating solution' from google. e.g. www.tifoo.de/en-uk/applications/metal/silver caswellplating.com/silver-brush-plating-solution-1-pint.html www.goldn.co.uk/how-to/silver-plating-copper/ www.riogrande.com/product/midas-silver-pen-plating-solution-non-cyanide/335167

[@vicentejacuinde9484]

@@timyllym thank you so much and keep making more videos that are very helpful 🙏

[@jyune1209]

I love your video! Thank you. What model rectifier are you using?

[@timyllym]

Thanks! I use basic Eventek Laboratory Power Supply 0-30V which I bought from Amazon.

[@jyune1209]

@@timyllym May I ask how you made the pen/wand?

[@timyllym]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqrQm6donbisfpY

[@Tuca-Luthier.]

@@timyllymGood afternoon, I have a source of this model of yours, its regulation for this bath by contact do you change the voltage and aperage or just the voltage?

[@pharmix7822]

Thanks a lot Mr. Timo, can we use this method to silver plate a bracelet that is made of stainless steel? One more question if you don't mind: can we repeat the process more than once to add up more silver layers.

[@timyllym]

Hello, you can silver plate stainless steel but it may not attach well. It would be better to first plate the stainless steel with nickel and then with silver. Nickel will attach well to stainless steel and silver over nickel. You can repeat the process to add more layers.

[@pharmix7822]

@@timyllym that's impressing. thanks a lot for enlightening

[@paulgrimm]

Old horns were built better. I have a aGerman Acme Custom Trumpet built in 1953. It still looks new

[@wisan28]

Love your video

[@timyllym]

Thanks!

[@johnfricker3229]

Time - Well Done!

[@timyllym]

Thanks John!

[@Lucia-kk4kn]

Good Job, nice and clean!!! just a question,: the silver electrolite uses a silver anode or a stainless steel one?? thanks in advance!

[@timyllym]

Thanks! Silver anode is used with silver electrolyte.

[@Hakan_Derin]

Hello thank you for the video. How did you teardown the valve case part of trumpet from pipes? Thank you.

[@timyllym]

Thanks! The tubes are soldered on to the valve casing so they need to be de-soldered with e.g. hand gas burner. You can do brush plating easily also without un-soldering anything.

[@johnfricker3229]

Hello Timo - What voltage do you apply when you do the alkaline electro cleaning?

[@timyllym]

Hi John, I found quite different voltages in different instructions. I used 10 volts while some instructions said 6-8 volts. I haven't experimented what difference it makes.

[@juliovelez4496]

superrrrrrrrrrrr

[@jwstaddo]

Are there particular silver plating solutions that are specifically "safe/non-toxic" for mouthpieces? Or are all of them safe?

[@timyllym]

I think probably all plating solutions are toxic as such, but once the plating is done and surface is cleaned then there is only silver left, and that's safe.

[@junreycoyoca9564]

What is the solution you use for silver plating sir?

[@timyllym]

www.tifoo.de/en-uk/silver-plating-solution

[@scotta943]

Will the plating fill in light pitting ? I am doing a gold trumpet making it silver

[@timyllym]

Plating won't fill pitting. You have to sand down the surface first to remove pitting. Also buffing and polishing must be done before plating.

[@pop-tp5hf]

Hii sir i want to ask if this process make any affect on the tune of instrument !

[@timyllym]

No, the amount of the actual plating is so small that it doesn't affect the acoustical features of the horn.

[@kevinngo9138]

does the silver plate generally last long?

[@timyllym]

That depends on the thickness of silver layer and the amount of usage. Old instruments (say e.g. from 1950's) can have a layer of 50 microns while current instruments can have as little as 5 microns. There are exceptions of course.

[@eriktan4755]

hi, i'm from singapore and i would like to replate my whole Bb trumpet. would you be able to help?

[@timyllym]

Hi, best results would be with tank plating, but you'd need a really big tank of silver electrolyte, which will cost a lot. So I would recommend using brush plating, unless you can find some local company from your area which is doing silver plating. There are many places on internet that are selling silver plating supplies, I listed some of them earlier in this thread. Biggest job is to get that old surface shiny again. Silver plating won't make the surface shiny, it has to be shiny before you do silver plating.

[@TheQuijote76]

Hi, I will be doing a mechanical overhaul to my Conn alto sax. I need to fix some worn hinge tubes. Do I have to silver plate the new hinge tube before cutting small pieces of it?

[@timyllym]

Hi, saxophone hinge tubes are made of steel, you don't need to silver plate them.

[@TheQuijote76]

@@timyllym Thanks for your response! I meant the hollowed tubing for each key.

[@timyllym]

Ok, I misunderstood, you were talking about tubes, not rods. I think you can silver plate the parts before of after cutting. Maybe it would be easier to silver plate the tube before cutting it smaller.

[@Lucia-kk4kn]

I've learned a lot about silver plating in the last month or so! First do all the mechanical work, ( tube PERFECTLY straight and EXACT length),then you can silver plating and make slight adjustments

[@timyllym]

That's great!

[@bluejack22002]

Hi, I need more info to do it in my country. Where can I contact you ?

[@timyllym]

Hi, there are several places where you can buy these tools and liquids. Just search for 'silver plating solution' from google. e.g. www.tifoo.de/en-uk/applications/metal/silver caswellplating.com/silver-brush-plating-solution-1-pint.html www.goldn.co.uk/how-to/silver-plating-copper/ www.riogrande.com/product/midas-silver-pen-plating-solution-non-cyanide/335167

[@wisan28]

Where can i get of these equipment?

[@timyllym]

There are several places which are selling silver plating supplies. I bought most of my equipment and liquids from Tifoo (www.tifoo-plating.com). I made the plating brush myself, but Tifoo and other places also sell those. Note that it can be also called pen plating or wand plating but it is the same thing as brush plating.

[@raresboghean2974]

Ho can you brass plate a silver ring ?

[@timyllym]

Hi, you can't electroplate with brass because it's an alloy. You can only plate with pure metals.

[@raresboghean2974]

@@timyllym The Ai said that the electrolite solution need to be a half mix of cupper and zinc sulfate

[@طالبعباس-ق3ع]

ماهي المواد نيكل ناري اشتريها وامزجهن كل مراء 🍓🍉🍌

[@timyllym]

Pardon me, I don't understand

[@طالبعباس-ق3ع]

ماهي المواد نيكل ناري اشتريها وامزجهن كل مراء

[@طالبعباس-ق3ع]

@@timyllym بل عربي

[@طالبعباس-ق3ع]

كيف اصنع محلول بلمنزل نيكل ناري 🍌🍓🍉

[@timyllym]

Sorry, I don't completely understand, but if you are looking for plating solutions, there are several places where you can buy the liquids and equipment. Just search for 'silver plating solution' from google. e.g. www.tifoo.de/en-uk/applications/metal/silver caswellplating.com/silver-brush-plating-solution-1-pint.html www.goldn.co.uk/how-to/silver-plating-copper/ www.riogrande.com/product/midas-silver-pen-plating-solution-non-cyanide/335167

[@طالبعباس-ق3ع]

رد عربي