The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

On the hunt for a gold HMV no.4 in reasonable condition

a gold No 4 , that is a very difficult ask but you can easily convert an ordinary no 4 by coating with gold foil , if you have a spare no 4 , take it apart and then coat the plated part with gold foil

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilding

It's quite easy to do , you coat the part to be gilded with French Polish allow to dry slightly and lay the foil on the shellac allow to dry and it can then be gently polished , you can then darken the gilding if required using a further addition of a darker shellac , the beauty of it is that is is 100% reversible

Thanks Mike, that's probably my best bet. Will keep you posted how it goes!

A simpler method is to coat the nickel surface with amber shellac...