The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Truth be told the original process that was used at the time was called the "Watts" process. That is all they had available at the time. The reason some of the parts would come out of the tank dull was due to either too much current being employed or contaminants in the tank or both. So often the parts would require a rebuff to bring them up to a shine. I do my own plating and have a Watts nickel tank and when the parts are properly prepared(base metal preparation)and the tank is clean and not contaminated,the parts will come out of the tank quite shiny but not like the modern style "Bright Nickel" which uses a chemical brightener. I know of no nickel process using Chromium in the solution. I do know that bright nickel is used before the final chrome plate is put on parts.
Bob is right about spending the money to replate. Not too many plating shops out there want to work for $10/hr. Most charge $75-$100/hr so replating a group of parts for a IX would often exceed the value of the machine. Your decision however.

You can get excellent results doing your own nickel plating with a kit - i've done it on vintage motorcycle parts.
It's all in the preparation of the parts - if you want a mirror finish the part has to be a mirror finish before it gets plated.
Parts with pitting are best copper plated first , then the copper plating gives you something soft to polish to get a uniform surface before the nickel plating.
http://www.caswellplating.com/electropl ... ml?cat=116
I also don't know of any nickel plating that contains chromium - chromium plating gives off hydrogen cyanide which is why no one sells a kit to do it at home

Steve

There is a plater here in Arizona that does really great work. His gold tones are not dead on but his nickel plating is. AS a test I had one part of an HMV machine that had bad plating on part of the tone arm. I brought him that part along with th e rest and asked if he could get the one part to match the rest. I took the rest back, he plated the part and after polishing the rest and assembling the tone arm everything matched up. Like I said he is close on the gold plate but you cannot do that-I tried.

Abe

A VV-IX is a fine machine but they sold in huge numbers and many of us have spare parts available that may be identical to what you need. You might be better off buying nice original parts rather than re-plating what you currently own. Jerry

On a related topic, what are the best product(s) for safe cleaning of original nickel plated phonograph parts such as tonearms? For old thin nickel plating, what are the best non-abrasive cleaners to remove dirt and grime, and restore some luster?

I've read about a number of products on the Forum such as Nevr Dull or Simichrome. However, some people have cautioned that these could damage fragile old nickel plating. Thanks for sharing your experience with these or other products.

schallplatte wrote:On a related topic, what are the best product(s) for safe cleaning of original nickel plated phonograph parts such as tonearms? For old thin nickel plating, what are the best non-abrasive cleaners to remove dirt and grime, and restore some luster?

I've read about a number of products on the Forum such as Nevr Dull or Simichrome. However, some people have cautioned that these could damage fragile old nickel plating. Thanks for sharing your experience with these or other products.

Although I've never tried it myself some people have recommended a 50/50 solution of ammonia and water. Use the solution to wet a soft brush and apply with some ordinary dish soap. I've also heard about turps, WD40 and tooth-paste. In my experience none of these work.

I was going to have a go with ammonia myself with a machine just purchased. The nickel on the arm was very rough and heavily oxidised to an almost black colour. I'd all but given it up for dead. Due to my impatience to get it cleaned and no ammonia supplier close by, I used old fashioned "Brasso". I can't believe how well it has come up. The roughness and "black" have gone to be replaced with deep shiny mirror finish nickel. Even the corroded back-bracket is now shiny again with most plating intact. For some reason I never have the same luck on brass elbows though. This is a mystery to me. Were elbows plated much thinner than the other parts to begin with? I don't think Brasso is as abrasive as some people might think. It takes a lot of heavy applications and vigorous rubbing to seriously damage or remove the plating. If it is very thin to start with so you can see the brass base metal colour through it in bright light, then I would suggest leaving it well alone. At that level of thickness, any abrasive metal polish will erode the remaining nickel in no time.

Has anyone ever used Met-all polish to clean and restore nickel plated parts? I've been told that it's safer than some other products and works very well, but I've never tried it myself. Anyone with experience with Met-all?

Amberola wrote:Jim,
Call these guys and they can help you. Rod has been in the Phonograph world a long time and knows what hes doing.
http://www.victrolarepairservice.com/nickelplating.html

I had these guys do some replating for one of my machines (a Victor III) and was very pleased with the result, which looks period.

Clay

I received an email, about four days ago. from these guys saying they no longer do Nickel plating.

http://www.victrolarepairservice.com/nickelplating.html

Shawn

Shawn wrote:I received an email, about four days ago. from these guys saying they no longer do Nickel plating.

http://www.victrolarepairservice.com/nickelplating.html

Shawn

Sorry to hear that.

Clay