I had the hardware gold plated at this place on my purpleheart...

http://www.advancedplating.com/

Of course it needs cleaned...

[IMG]http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=46392&d=1327678414[/IMG]

triple plating or ***elry grade same process that was used on the fender "THE STRAT" circa 1979 to 1981 hand made in cal just sold mine dirt cheap

Email and photos sent to the folks at advancedplating. Thanks

That is a beautiful snare drum in the photo.

24k gold is pure gold, no copper or other metals are in there to harden it. It needs hardening because 24k is very soft. 18k is the softest gold used to make rings etc, and is around 75% gold.

I don't know what is in the vial he showed you, but if it's pure gold, which is around $1500 an ounce, it could easily cost $2000.

What I don't understand is the silver appearance of the parts he showed you. Seems to me he doesn't leave them in the tank very long and only a thin layer of gold is deposited. All this to save money, of course.

Gold being a 'noble' metal, doesn't corrode or tarnish. What he told you about the plating getting darker and more mellow with age sounds inconsistent with what we know about gold.

For what it will cost to have hose parts plated, your plan to do the kit all in chrome sounds like a good idea.

Thanks Gary! I'm almost ashamed to show it as dirty as it is. It is the first segment shell I built for myself...