y-o-y

Is it possible/reasonable to take a silver plated horn and have it "stripped" and lacquered? It seems like the reverse is far more common, and perhaps easier.

I much prefer the aesthetics of lacquer (especially brushed lacquer ) and am considering this conversion for my Schilke. I am fortunate to live local to the Kanstul shop so I know I can have the work done well if I decide to go through with the conversion.

Has anyone had this done and care to comment?

trumpetnick

If your silver plating is in good shape DO NOT strip it to get it lacquered later just for aesthetic reasons. Silver holds up better and is easy to maintain and clean. If you still wanna change appearance, let ti done by a professional. Kanstul sounds like a good place to get it done. The reverse is more common cause makes more sense...or at least to me.

__________________
Spada Bach B flat 72, leadpipe 2L/DWMM1.5C
Spada Bach C 256, leadpipe 2LQ/DWMM1.5C
1956 Olds Ambassador Cornet
Spada Custom Piccolo

If you don't know where you are going, you 'll end up someplace else

oldlou

To completely remove the silver plating is an electrolytic,( reverse elctro plating ), process that is fairly simple in concept, but, very dificult to perform in practice. It requires that the trumpet be immersed in an acidic bath, charged with a flow of direct current electricity and the metals then begin a transfer to a cathode. The problem with this is that the electricity can't differentiate between the silver and the lead and the base brass. In effect, it is a good way to reduce a fine instrument into a lump of mixed metals in the tank. DON'T DO IT!!!


OLDLOU>>

__________________
Couturier trumpet
York Master Model trumpet
York Elite trumpet
York Airflow cornet
King super 20 Master Model cornet
King Liberty trumpet
Reynolds Professional cornet
Bohm & Meinl professional trumpet
Besson 10-10 trumpet with Holton M.F. bell
Olds Special cornet Los Angeles
B&H Sovereign cornet
G.R.Band Instr. cornet
Getzen Super Deluxe trumpet and cornet
Getzen Deluxe trumpet and cornet
Many others no room to list

y-o-y

This seems like an outstanding reason not to do it. Thanks.

ChopsGone

If you must have the brass coloration, you could have gold lacquer, rather than clear, applied on top of the silver plating. I'd leave it alone.

__________________
Vintage Olds and Reynolds, yes sir, yes sir, one gazoo full.

Calicchios, Besson, Kanstul Bessons, Selmers, etc.

F.E. forgive me, even a Bach Strad (but I like the others much better)

Bflatman

Hi,

The advice so far is I think on the money.

Lacquer is applied to the metal, like paint, so as a surface coat its relatively easy to remove.

Silver is eltrochemically bonded to the brass, so it becomes part of the instrument.

Silver isnt the only metal that can be electroplated onto a trumpet though, Gold can be too.

It should be possible to electroplate Gold directly onto the instrument over the Silver plate, a specialist could advise on this, but dont expect it to be cheap if it can be done, at least double the cost of Silver plating, but here im guessing.

__________________
The only place that "Results" comes before "Work", is in the dictionary.

"I aint squealing till Ive seen my mouthpiece"

2001 Yamaha YCR2330II Cornet
1954 Conn 80A Cornet
1976 Boosey & Hawkes Regent Cornet
1916 Boosey & Co A/Bb Silbron Class A Trumpet
1930's Monarch A/Bb Trumpet
1950's Comet unknown European Trumpet

Boosey 8A Trumpet mpc
Yamaha 11B4 Trumpet mpc
Yamaha 11F4 Cornet mpc
Denis Wick 4B Cornet mpc
Conn 4 Cornet mpc

veery715

I would not consider your proposal to be a conversion, y-o-y. A change in finish is a cosmetic alteration, whereas converting may change the key, add a trigger, a tunable bell, a rounder tuning slide - IOW, a mechanical revision.

If you like the horn there is no real sense in changing its appearance, especially with a change which could potentially ruin what you like about it. Lacquer finishes, even the modern ones, are much thicker than plating and may dampen and darken the sound of your horn. In addition, if your Schilke is in decent condition, you risk a major decrease in resale value should you decide, after a facelift, to get rid of it. If you don't like it enough to play it as it is, then it is a much more practical alternative to sell it and find yourself a horn which meets both your playing and appearance requirements.

veery

y-o-y

Thanks for all of the comments.

I was just kinda brainstorming the idea and curious as to why I don't hear much discussion of the silver > lacquer route.

I just had all the dings removed and a chem clean on my horn and I am in love with it once more. Crisis averted

derekkress

Leave it alone! Remember the audience(listener) doesn't care what finish your horn has, they only remember if you entertained them or not!
If you don't like your current equipment start trying new horns to test out. Work hard and find your sound!

__________________
Celebration Bflat by Flip Oakes
Early Yamaha Flugel prototype(Guido Basso)
GR and Stork mouthpieces