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Pewter plating

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Author	Topic: Pewter plating
ahwt Posts: 2334 Registered: Mar 2003	posted 12-31-2010 11:21 AM I have a friend that collects items made from pewter and she wondered if it is possible to plate old worn out silver plated items with pewter instead of silver. Does anyone have experience or knowledge in this area? [This message has been edited by ahwt (edited 12-31-2010).] IP: Logged
Scott Martin Forum Master Posts: 11520 Registered: Apr 93	posted 12-31-2010 11:34 AM quote: ...if it is possible to plate old worn out silver plated items with pewter instead of silver. I don’t know; even so, I would not think so. I suspect, since pewter is an alloyed metal made primarily from tin, with a small component of lead, copper, bismuth, the plating current will carry the different metals in pewter at different rates. I imagine the result would mostly be tin plating. IP: Logged
Kimo Posts: 1627 Registered: Mar 2003	posted 12-31-2010 11:45 AM 'Pewter look' hardware for bathrooms and kitchens is a popular choice these days for people who want to have their faucets and towel bars and doorknobs and such look 'antiquey'. This is just a finish on top of brass or some similar alloy so they must be plating it on. I do not know if it is real pewter or just pewter looking metal, but I don't think it makes much of a difference since there seem to be so many different formulas for the alloy of metals that are called real pewter that the term is kind of ambiguous. I would guess that pretty much any plating shop would be able to plate things with pewter looking metal. My only suggestion is that you encourage her to discern any rare silver plated objects and not have those plated in anything other than silver as not doing so would pretty much ruin their historical significance. There are many silver plated objects that are rare and beautiful and valuable as silver plated objects. Not all silver plated objects should be considered to be inexpensive or of little value. In my opinion, some of them have more artistic, historical, and financial value than some solid silver objects. [This message has been edited by Kimo (edited 12-31-2010).] IP: Logged
Scott Martin Forum Master Posts: 11520 Registered: Apr 93	posted 12-31-2010 12:24 PM I believe the 'Pewter look' hardware for bathrooms and kitchens on today's hardware is NOT an electroplating process but is most often a chemical dip process. For example see: Light and Dark Pewter Demo IP: Logged
ahwt Posts: 2334 Registered: Mar 2003	posted 12-31-2010 12:58 PM Scott thanks for the information. The metal finishers video is interesting and I will pass it on. Kimo the piece she has is simply one where the original silver plate is gone, but the design of the item is similar to one that was done in either silver or pewter. She really prefers pewter and this finish would not preclude someone in the future from redoing the item with a silver plate finish. IP: Logged
Dale Posts: 2132 Registered: Nov 2002	posted 12-31-2010 08:01 PM If the piece is from before 1900 it probably is pewter or brittania metal, a form of pewter. Try taking a pewter polish to it. IP: Logged
middletom Posts: 467 Registered: May 2004	posted 01-01-2011 11:01 AM Recently, A friend asked me about redoing the silver plate on his grandfathers trophy. I got an estimate on the silver plating that was much higher than he wanted to spend, so, as the trophy was pewter and most of the old silver plate was gone, I just polished the pewter until it was as shiny as the silver plate had been. My friend was very pleased with the look. So, that is a possible track to take in this case. middletom IP: Logged
ahwt Posts: 2334 Registered: Mar 2003	posted 01-01-2011 11:18 AM Thanks Dale and Middletom - That is a good solution to pass on. IP: Logged
seaduck Posts: 350 Registered: Dec 2006	posted 01-01-2011 01:23 PM Middletom -- could you say what you used to polish the trophy enough that it would resemble the original silver plate? I have a tea set, circa 1975, that is/was 'polished pewter.' It originally looked a lot like silver (and the undersides of the pieces still do). It's now quite dull, with a surface that looks slightly speckled, or dusty, if you peer very closely. I have used pewter polish umpteen times to no effect (no change to the surface, no tarnish on the foam sponge), and so have resigned myself to this new patina. But maybe you have another way... As for plating...it seems like just a few years ago when local newspapers were filled with ads offering replating services at jewelry stores. IP: Logged
middletom Posts: 467 Registered: May 2004	posted 01-05-2011 05:31 PM Seaduck, As I have access to the polishing equipment here at ONC, I used first a wool buffing wheel with Tripoli compound. That smoothed out some scratches and also removed the bit of silverplate that remained. I then used a final finish compound on a soft cotton wheel. We use a white compound, but rouge would work fine. So you see I had an advantage that most would not have. For your pewter piece that has dulled from its original high polish, I would suggest a silver polish of the cream variety, such as Haggerty's. It will require some work but I think it should bring back much of the original shine. Because I have access to the compounds here, I have not had much experience trying to polish pewter with the home type polishes, so I can't guarantee that you will get the results you wish. Perhaps someone on this site has had a good deal more experience with polishing pewter with home polish and cloths. Let me know what results you get and if they aren't good, I will try to get more information on hand polishing. middletom IP: Logged
argentum1 Posts: 602 Registered: Apr 2004	posted 01-05-2011 08:18 PM Do an internet search for Caswell Electroplating. They have a Technical Support site which may be helpful. IP: Logged

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