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Thread: Best way to remove nickel plating?

  1. #1

    Best way to remove nickel plating?

    So I've got an oval Bb tenor horn made in the USSR. It's nickel plated, but the nickel plate is in bad shape (scratched, worn through in areas). I want to strip it down to raw brass so I can experiment with satin finishes. I've got some steel wool and some Kleen strip, but I'm not sure if that'll do the trick. I'd rather not just go for it because I don't want to be wasteful. Any tips?
    Avid horn collector, check my profile to see what I've got (not enough room to reasonably squeeze 14 horns down here!)
    YouTube Channel: TheNEWTrombonium

  2. Kleen Strip probably won't do anything to nickel plate since it's a paint stripper. Nickel is also a lot harder than silver or lacquer so manually removing it will be a real pain, and you're almost certainly going to damage the brass underneath with the force you need to mechanically remove the nickel.

    Chemically stripping nickel from brass is tough because the zinc in brass is more reactive than the nickel, so the moment the nickel is removed, the brass underneath immediately starts getting attacked by the stripping acids. Supposedly there are brass-safe chemical strippers like Caswell MetalX B-929, though you'd need a suitable heated tank to do it in. At that point you're probably better off sending it off to a professional electroplater so they can do it right, rather than trying to jury-rig up a contraption to do it at home.

  3. #3
    Thank you! I will probably just leave it alone, in that case.
    Avid horn collector, check my profile to see what I've got (not enough room to reasonably squeeze 14 horns down here!)
    YouTube Channel: TheNEWTrombonium

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    Well, you're not talking about an expensive instrument or (no offense intended) one that's prized for it's history or special features. If it's the appearance you're concerned with, I wonder if your best bet would be to lacquer it with a decent quality spray can lacquer you could pick up in Home Depot, Lowes, or a hardware store. I don't know what the best surface preparation would be for the nickel, but it might be pretty straightforward. A black tenor horn might look pretty cool -- especially if you masked off some of the areas (joints? ferules? water keys? valve caps?) to retain the nickel plate there.
    Gary Merrill
    Wessex EEb Bass tuba (DW 3XL or 2XL)
    Mack Brass Compensating Euph (DE N106, Euph J, J9 euph)
    Amati Oval Euph (DE 104, Euph J, J6 euph)
    1924 Buescher 3-valve Eb tuba (with std US receiver), Kelly 25
    Schiller American Heritage 7B clone bass trombone (DE LB K/K10/112/14 Lexan, Brass Ark MV50R)
    1947 Olds "Standard" trombone (Olds #3)

  5. #5
    I think Gary made a very good suggestion! You could even go a little crazy:

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Dave Werden (ASCAP)
    Euphonium Soloist, U.S. Coast Guard Band, retired
    Adams Artist (Adams E3)
    Alliance Mouthpiece (DC3)
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  6. #6
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    Yeah, that' exactly the image (and player) I had in mind. But having seen that horn up close, I don't think it's a DIY effort with Lowes spray paint.
    Gary Merrill
    Wessex EEb Bass tuba (DW 3XL or 2XL)
    Mack Brass Compensating Euph (DE N106, Euph J, J9 euph)
    Amati Oval Euph (DE 104, Euph J, J6 euph)
    1924 Buescher 3-valve Eb tuba (with std US receiver), Kelly 25
    Schiller American Heritage 7B clone bass trombone (DE LB K/K10/112/14 Lexan, Brass Ark MV50R)
    1947 Olds "Standard" trombone (Olds #3)

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by davewerden View Post
    I think Gary made a very good suggestion! You could even go a little crazy:

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Pat Sheridan Color Tuba.jpg 
Views:	24 
Size:	14.8 KB 
ID:	5366
    Great ideas from both of you! The thoughts are brewing in my head... I can't imagine paint is going to make it play better (as if there's much playability at stake) but this could end up really cool. An art masterpiece my cruddy horn will become, I'll share it here when it's done!
    Avid horn collector, check my profile to see what I've got (not enough room to reasonably squeeze 14 horns down here!)
    YouTube Channel: TheNEWTrombonium

  8. #8
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    Check with folks that apply hydro-dip finishes...the sky is the limit.

    Inexpensive to boot.

    Dennis

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Central North Carolina
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    Probably not as inexpensive as $5/can spray lacquer. But sometimes you do get what you pay for.
    Gary Merrill
    Wessex EEb Bass tuba (DW 3XL or 2XL)
    Mack Brass Compensating Euph (DE N106, Euph J, J9 euph)
    Amati Oval Euph (DE 104, Euph J, J6 euph)
    1924 Buescher 3-valve Eb tuba (with std US receiver), Kelly 25
    Schiller American Heritage 7B clone bass trombone (DE LB K/K10/112/14 Lexan, Brass Ark MV50R)
    1947 Olds "Standard" trombone (Olds #3)

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