# Seeking reliable nickel-plating service



## cazclocker (Nov 29, 2013)

Can anyone recommend a metal plating shop that is known to be good, attentive to detail, with fair prices and reasonable turnaround times? I just acquired an old lathe bed for a watchmaker's lathe...so it's very small: about 11" long, 2" diameter. It's about 140 years old, so the nickel plating has seen better days. I have a gorgeous universal headstock of the same age, but with immaculate nickel plating and I thought it would be nice to have a bed with matching nickel. It's small enough that I could mail it anywhere (heck, it was mailed to me via my eBay purchase).

Thanks!
...Doug


----------



## Tony Wells (Nov 29, 2013)

http://www.surfacetechnique.com/metal-plating-services/metal-plating.htm


----------



## cazclocker (Nov 29, 2013)

Tony Wells said:


> http://www.surfacetechnique.com/metal-plating-services/metal-plating.htm



Thank you Tony! Do you have personal experience with these folks? If so, that's good enough for me...)
...Doug


----------



## Tony Wells (Nov 29, 2013)

Yes, I do. They have done gold, nickel and anodize for me. I haven't needed them recently, but we go back about 20 years or so. Always satisfied.


----------



## cazclocker (Nov 29, 2013)

Tony Wells said:


> Yes, I do. They have done gold, nickel and anodize for me. I haven't needed them recently, but we go back about 20 years or so. Always satisfied.



Thank you very much Tony. I'll take your recommendation, they look fully professional. Can't wait to amend this thread with "before" and "after" pictures!
...Doug


----------



## cazclocker (Dec 4, 2013)

I've been in contact with Surface Techniques via email. I provided them with digital photos so they know what I want. They quoted me $95.00 for the job, that includes masking off of the areas I don't want plated. I think that's a very fair price! So I'm going to pack it up and get it into the mail to them in the next day or so. And, they have a 5 to 7 day turnaround, too which is pretty darned good.
OK, I have the "before" pictures, I can't wait to take some "after" pictures! Yahoo!


----------



## Truebane (Dec 10, 2013)

Because of my job I have been looking for a place like this too. Thanks for the link. Oh, for those who need it, they do gun parts too! how cool is that?

Karl


----------



## cazclocker (Dec 10, 2013)

Truebane said:


> Because of my job I have been looking for a place like this too. Thanks for the link. Oh, for those who need it, they do gun parts too! how cool is that?
> 
> Karl



I packed up my lathe and shipped it off to Plating Techniques last Thursday. Hopefully, it reached them yesterday. I can't wait to see my "new-looking" watchmaker's lathe! I'll be posting before & after pictures here when I get it back.
...Doug


----------



## Tony Wells (Dec 10, 2013)

You can tell them I referred you if you like. It's been a while, and I won't throw out their names here, but I used to speak directly with the owners. The people you are talking to may not have been there when I was sending work, or they may have grown to the point they have hired more people to handle sales. It's a small world in the oilfield machining and associated services businesses....so they may well be the same. 

If you don't mind, PM me the contact info you have been using.


----------



## cazclocker (Dec 10, 2013)

Tony Wells said:


> You can tell them I referred you if you like. It's been a while, and I won't throw out their names here, but I used to speak directly with the owners. The people you are talking to may not have been there when I was sending work, or they may have grown to the point they have hired more people to handle sales. It's a small world in the oilfield machining and associated services businesses....so they may well be the same.
> 
> If you don't mind, PM me the contact info you have been using.



PM sent, Tony. Thanks again for the recommendation - they seem extremely capable.
...Doug


----------



## Tony Wells (Dec 10, 2013)

You're most welcome. And I did get your PM, thanks. If they hold their normally high quality, you won't be disappointed. I don't remember ever having to send anything back to them for rework. And I have sent some pretty difficult parts to them.


----------



## JoeSixPack74 (Dec 30, 2013)

Any update on this with before/after pictures?


----------



## cazclocker (Dec 30, 2013)

JoeSixPack74 said:


> Any update on this with before/after pictures?



Unfortunately, not yet. They've already exceeded their stated turnaround time, but so far I'm blaming that on the mail crunch that occurs every year about this time. I'm expecting the package any day! Rest assured, as soon as I get my watchmaker's lathe back from the platers, I'll take plenty of pictures and post the best ones here on this thread. I just hope the platers aren't taking the whole week between Christmas and New Year's off!

Oddly, a few days ago I was rummaging around in my workshop and ran across a business card from another plating company. When I solicited referrals at the top of this thread, I had completely forgotten I had met the owner and gotten the business card at a trade show I attended a couple of years ago. If I had filed the card away with the rest of my contacts, I might have sent my project there. Ah well, at any rate, if I am unhappy for any reason with the job done by Surface Techniques Inc. (but I doubt I will, given the personal experience cited by Tony Wells), I may give the other firm a shot with another upcoming project. The other firm (whose business card I recently found) can be seen *HERE*.


----------



## cazclocker (Jan 8, 2014)

It's update time. In a word, I am *DISAPPOINTED*, and I will not be using Surface Techniques again. Let me state up front that several days ago I contacted Tony Wells privately and told him of my disappointment. I wanted to let him know before I went public here on this thread. He understands my position. My point is that I do _*NOT*_ hold Tony culpable in any way for the product coming from Surface Techniques Inc., I'm sure that Tony had good experiences with them. My feeling is that when Tony used them it was a long time ago, and they did a fantastic job for him. So, Tony's recommendation was a good one - it was based on his own experiences. How the heck could he know that the personnel there has changed, and with it (apparently) the level of expertise they give? I learned several hard lessons, which I will try to list here (mostly for my own benefit...I find that when I commit my thoughts to words, they seem to take a more concrete form). Anyway, at the end of this I will post just a few "before" and "after" pictures. I will also include links to my Photobucket galleries, showing overly-redundant photos that I took (just for anyone who may be interested).

My experience, stated briefly: The lathe bed and pedestal that I sent to Surface Techniques Inc. was in fact a test piece, you might say. I am a Rivett collector (so far, only for my Rivett watchmaker's lathe). However, Edward Rivett marketed a lower-quality and lower-spec'd version of his watchmaker's lathe called the Lancaster Special. I won an eBay bid for a Lancaster Special bed & pedestal for CHEAP...ten bucks plus shipping. When it arrived, the nickel plating was poor to fair, but about what you'd expect for a piece made & sold on the eastern seaboard over 135 years ago (instead of copper undercoat with nickel plating over steel, as in the case of a real Rivett, the Lancaster Special was made from cast iron). So I thought it would be a good candidate for new nickel. When I got it back, I was shocked to see the finish on the bed & pedestal visually _*NOT MATCHING!*_. The bed was passable, I guess, but the pedestal had a wrinkled finish that contrasts strongly with the bed. I called the platers to complain, and they said they would call the next day. It's been three days, and _*NO CALL*_. So at this point, I've decided it's not worth it to pursue it any further...I have enough aggravation in my life - I don't need more grey hairs. So....the heck with them. I'm not going to drag their name in the mud, but if anyone asks I'll just tell the truth about my experience and let them decide.

LESSONS I LEARNED FROM THIS EXPERIENCE:

1. In the future, I won't use ANY platers that are not local to me. Next time, I will find a plating company in Phoenix Arizona. That way I can go there personally and discuss the project at length.

2. It's possible that a plating company wasn't what I wanted anyway...looking back, I think I would have been better off to take it to Rick at *Rick's Restorations* (they're the ones on the History Channel). Those guys are perfectionists and artists, obsessed with perfection. That being said, I wouldn't bother taking a Lancaster Special to Rick. If I was going to drive the 5 hours to Las Vegas, I would take him my Rivett lathe since I know it would come back just spectacular.

3. If I do use a plating service again, I will make sure I type up a detailed spec sheet. I made the mistake of thinking phone conversations, emails, and photos of my project detailing my project would be enough. Also, whatever details I list on my spec sheet will conclude with this sentence: ALL PARTS ARE TO HAVE IDENTICAL MATCHING FINISH. I admit it, guys, at no time did I ever say "please make the lathe bed and the pedestal match". But fer crying out loud, are you telling me I gotta say that? I mean, the two parts go together, ain't it obvious they gotta match? What kind of minimum-wage monkey turns out non-matching pieces and sends them to me? Where's the QC department? Screw 'em....:angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry:

4. Maybe my most important lesson: in the future, I don't want to buy fixer-uppers that need replating anyway. When I buy machinery I'll wait for decent-to-good finished pieces (in the case of antique iron) or else I'll just buy new iron. That way, I don't have to put up with sub-par dingdongs who are more concerned with their next lunch break that turning out a superior service.

OK....enough typing. On to the pictures. First, I'll put the links to my photo galleries, then after that I'll conclude by posting a few "before/after" pictures.

1. Pictures I originally sent to Surface Techniques Inc., depicting dimensions, where to plate, where not to plate, etc. *CLICK HERE*

2. Complete set of "before" pictures, before I went through them and chose some to add text (the set noted just above here). *CLICK HERE*

3. Complet set of "after" pictures. A few of them appear twice with text included into the copied picture. The ones with text added are the ones I sent to Surface Techniques Inc. when I realized I wasn't happy with their work. *CLICK HERE
*
If you don't want to bother with the above links, here are a few before/after pictures.

Overall of the lathe bed with the pedestal still bolted on:



Another view of the bed/pedestal:



This shows the flaking state of the 135-year-old nickel plaing:



OK, moving on to the "after" pictures. This shows the passable appearance of the lathe bed (separate from the pedestal):



Here's how Surface Techniques Inc. sent the pedestal to me:



Closeup of the pedestal's surface:



Last picture...this REALLY shows the contrast between the bed & pedestal:


----------



## Tony Wells (Jan 8, 2014)

Doug, I too an very disappointed in their work. I can't apologize for them and that mean anything, but I won't be recommending them again. I can tell you what went wrong on the base though. It was over-stripped. That could be fixed if they wanted to. It would require a bit of copper plate, a polish job, then a re-plate with nickel. Apparently, as you say.....too lazy to care. Pity, but I'm sure they have lost a lot of business if they are doing things this way now. I may make a couple of phone calls to some people about this. I'll let you know if I find out anything helpful.


----------



## cazclocker (Jan 8, 2014)

Tony Wells said:


> Doug, I too an very disappointed in their work. I can't apologize for them and that mean anything, but I won't be recommending them again. I can tell you what went wrong on the base though. It was over-stripped. That could be fixed if they wanted to. It would require a bit of copper plate, a polish job, then a re-plate with nickel. Apparently, as you say.....too lazy to care. Pity, but I'm sure they have lost a lot of business if they are doing things this way now. I may make a couple of phone calls to some people about this. I'll let you know if I find out anything helpful.



Thanks for understanding. That's interesting about your diagnosis on the pedestal. Overstripping? Hmm, well a good friend of mine who is an authority on the Rivett company and their lathes told me that back in the day Rivett used to give all their watchmaker's lathes & accessories a copper undercoating prior to nickel plating. I asked Daniel at Surface Techniques Inc. about copper plating, but he says with their modern ENP (electroless nickel plating) technique, copper plating is not necessary. Not knowing any better, I said OK. Boy, I sure learned a lot here. You know, Daniel told me if they have any questions they'd call me before proceeding. Since they never questioned the job they did, I guess all they are is just another "good enough" outfit staffed by minimum wage monkeys. Let's see, $9.99 for the lathe, $26.00 for shipping, another $26.00 to ship to Surface Techniques, $102.96 for the plating job... I'm going to call it a cheap education (even though it wasn't cheap). At least I didn't send them something valuable.

Funny while I was waiting for the job to come back to me from Surface Techniques I ran across a business card for a plating company I had completely forgotten about. Their website is here...*Refinishing & Plating Company*. I met the owner at a regional convention for the National Association for Watch & Clock Collectors, to which I belong. If I was going to take a stab in the dark and try an outfit I had no experience with, I should have tried them. BUT...next time, I'll probably use a local plating company.

Sheesh, I am such a newbie. Sometimes I feel like a fetus in my 184th trimester of development. I hope I get smart someday.

...Doug Haeussler


----------



## Tony Wells (Jan 8, 2014)

I see another problem. ENP is not the same, and should not have been used there. You want bright electroplating on that type of part. I've had lots of ENP done, and it is excellent wear coating, but is not smooth. It is, however, usually pretty think, as plating goes, and can be polished to a nice slick gleam. I wouldn't try polishing that pedestal unless I knew how much they deposited. The etch they used may not be the primary cause of the appearance as I first thought. ENP does get rough when it is heavy. (0.002-0.005 or more will be rough) It is hard, and difficult to polish. Before you send it for a rework, it won't hurt to try a polish job on it yourself. It may surprise you.


----------

