in order to get rid of the pitting, they will have to remove ALL of the plating that is there. Then they will fill the metal and buff it out smooth. After all this, they then start to re-plate.
This place [COLOR="Blue"]here[/COLOR] used to have a section on re-plating/repairing die cast parts
Well...
I took everything to the re-plating place today, and boy did I get an education.
Plating metal is one thing. Refinishing / replating is a whole other, far more expensive thing. There is a LOT of labor involved in stripping metal down to its base before you ever get to the replating. The preparation, which has to all be done by hand one piece at a time, is where all the expense is. And that labor ain't cheap. The place I went to was recommended as reasonably priced and good quality. Here's what that means in real life:
T-rods - $15 each
hoops - up to $100 each
various other parts (strainer parts, consolette parts, etc.) - $15 to to $75 per piece.
Bottom line, the guy said it would cost me around $1000 to completely refinish and replate all the nickel parts on my little Club Date / Combo set. Jaye and Rich K., you weren't kidding about it being more costly than the set is worth!
However, there was a little bit of good news: the pot metal parts and the brass parts (the lugs and the hoops) can be dipped in some sort of solvent to disolve oxidation, and then be polished on a heavy duty polishing wheel. This was completed within about an hour, and the results were pretty impressive. It doesn't do anything about the underlying pitting, but it sure does bring out whatever shine is left in the original nickel plating - see below. I ended up wheeling and dealing with the guy a little, and getting six hoops (I had brought along nickel plated hoops from another snare as well) and all the lugs done for $100.
So, not exactly what I was hoping for, but better than a poke in the eye with a sharp (drum) stick.
I'll post some pics of the set once I get everything put back together.
Scott
Thanks for the great info!
