SteveRicks

Apparently I just won the biggest fool award -you know, the guy who makes the highest bid on E-Bay. Picked up a 1953 Olds Super that has been goldnplated over silver plated with flash copper preplate. Can someone elxplain what that means (especially the copper part)? Is this good, bad etc.?

I have a 46 Olds Super and am hoping the 53 will be of the same quality in terms of playability. Any thoughts? It ships Monday.

stumac

Hi Steve,

This is the standard method of electroplating, the copper is only a molecular layer to improve the bonding of the silver to the brass, the silver is usually between 10 to 20 microns thick and the gold 4 to 5 microns.

1 micron= 1/1000 of a millimeter or .000039 inch

The increase in thickness amounts to only approx .001" and only may make a very slight difference in sound, it is said that a silver plate will brighten a horn and gold will not change.

I have noticed a change in the sound of horns I have had gold plated but I put this down to the preparatory cleaning before plating.

Regards, Stuart

SteveRicks

Thanks Stuart. So I'm paying big bucks for microns. :)

By the way, how does one care for gold plate? Any ideas? What can or can't be used on it?
Thanks,
Steve

stumac

Hi Steve,

Gold is almost chemically inert so there is no worry about tarnishing like silver or raw brass, however is very soft and will scratch easily. I just wash my horns normally with warm water and a little mild detergent once a month and wipe them over with a micro fiber cloth after playing to remove finger and sweat marks.

The cost in plating is not the monetary value of the gold but the labour in preparation, the parent metal must be absolutely clean and free from oxides etc also any parts not wanted to be plated must be masked.

The last horn I had gold plated was an Olds Super cornet from the 60's, it cost $A 500, not well masked so I have a lot of work ahead of me. The Eclipse trumpet plated in England was an extra $A 1000.

Regards, Stuart