The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I have a nice Columbia "Imperial" BJ Disc Graphophone, with the nickel-platerd petaled horn, which is in "fair" condition.

What sort of experiences have folks had having these horns re-plated ? All those rolled seams make me wonder if re-plating is feasible?

Thanks !

I was considering buying a poor condition Columbia horn a year ago so I took a good one into a fellow I have used for nickel and gold plating before.

His estimate was around $ 400. He stated to do a good job he would remove all the old plating and buff the horn smooth as new plating would show every ridge and blemish if not cleaned up first.

I am still tempted to do that some day as he does a great job and with the new nickel plating material the horn would shine bright silver instead of with a slight bluish tinge that the old ones do. Besides there is a good deal of satisfaction bringing back to life the old timers instead of leaving them in the basement or throwing them out.

Bruce

But if you plate it with the new shiny silvery nickel and do away with the vintage bluish tinted formula, you lose authenticity.

There's also a greenish tint on original Columbia nickeled horns from the protective varnish or shellac coating put onto them. It's not too different from the transparent greenish coating on early Edison H reproducers to help users differentiate them quickly from 2-minute reproducers.

I know there's a natural tendency to "improve" antique items by over-restoring them. And there's the whole "resto-mod" thing, where people make old things "better" by putting non-original configurations or components into place. And then there's the steampunk thing...

Go to any car show to see stuff that has gotten this treatment, which never gets driven and is in a condition far better than any ever were when they left the factory.

Some folks, and most birds, just like shiny things.

Plating a horn can be tricky. Plating does not like to enter into tight spaces. Without a proper set-up, the nickel will not want to get up into the horn throat. A special electrode will have to be used that reaches into the horn so that the nickel will be applied in the throat. Obviously, it can be done because it was done originally. You just need to find a plater that will take the time and you'll have to decide if that's worth the money to you. Plating is cheap, prep work is expensive.

It's been years since I attempted to re-plate a nickel horn. I could not find a plater that could get down the throat of the horn. The results were dismal. Jerry

Frank, I don't know how bad your horn is. But if it has some tarnish, I would polish it up a bit with Simichrome metal polish. I wouldn't replate it as the other posters said. Post a picture and we could make a better determination.
Harvey Kravitz