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 EPBM refurb advice needed, please
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| Author | Topic: EPBM refurb advice needed, please |
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Lizzie Gee Posts: 6 |
posted 06-07-2011 05:53 AM
  
Hello! I live in Birmingham and have a 2pt EPBM inscribed presentation tankard, the siverplate worn in parts, which I'd very much like to have restored. I visited a Co. in the Jewellery Quarter here who were unable to do it (because of the pewter component) and suggested I look for a specialist re-furber but couldn't offer me any leads. Google lead me here! I see that last year a similar question was asked and instructions for a DIY solution was given.My DIY skills stop at flat-back assembly & putting up the odd(very and wonky) shelf, so I'm wondering if anyone could suggest anyone in the B'ham area who could take this job on? I want to gift the trophy to the son of the late owner and the long-term sentimental value to him will be far greater than the cost of the refurb to me, I'm sure. Many thanks for reading and for any suggestions. Cheers! Liz IP: Logged |
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agphile Posts: 798 |
posted 06-07-2011 12:24 PM
Hello and welcome to the forum. I cannot speak from experience to recommend anybody. The only restorer I could turn up in a quick search (for "replating britannia metal") was based near Bury St Edmunds, so not exactly convenient for Birmingham. His website does go into some detail about how he tackles EPBM so he may be worth contacting even if it means posting the tankard to and fro, or he may know of others more local to you. It does sound like a labour intensive and therefore expensive process to prepare EPBM for replating. Otherwise I can only think of identifying platers in Birmingham via a local trade directory and contacting them direct to see whether they can help. Others may have better suggestions, but most of the regular contributors to the forum are not UK based so I think you will be lucky to get a response from somebody who has used a plater in the Birmingham area. Good luck. David IP: Logged |
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Kimo Posts: 1627 |
posted 06-07-2011 12:24 PM
Hi Lizzie. I do not know of anyone in your area, but it could help if you posted a couple of clear photos of the tankard - overall and a closeup or two of interesting parts of it including the places where the silver has worn through so people would have an idea of what might be needed. You might also want to think about whether replating is the right thing for it. I mention this for two reasons - anything but a very light replating could blur the engraving since replating deposits metal on the surface. The second reason is that its wear pattern is a patina that speaks to its age and years of honest use. Replating takes that history away from it and since you are planning to gift it to the original owner, you would be taking away the use his father put on it which in my thinking would take away much of the sentimental value that you are thoughtfully trying to give to the son. If it were me I would just give it a good but gentle cleaning with some dishwashing soap followed by a gentle rub with a soft cotton rag (don't even think of taking a buffing wheel to it as those things really cut through the metal) to conserve it rather than restore it. Just my personal thoughts. Kimo [This message has been edited by Kimo (edited 07-05-2011).] IP: Logged |
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Lizzie Gee Posts: 6 |
posted 06-07-2011 03:00 PM
Thank you both very much for your replies. I'd not realized when I came across your Forum that you are US(?) based, so I'm doubly appreciative for your efforts to help. Must say, Kimo, that your comments about the 'patina' being due to its age and years of honest use gave me a smile - it was presented to my late husband and I'm holding my hand up to its being mostly due to years of me being over-enthusiastic with Duraglit, I'm afraid....duh! I'll wash it tomorrow and attempt to take a pic to post for you fyi. I specially take on board the possibly blurring of the engraving which replating would most likely effect - something to think about. David, tomorrow also I'll search 'replating britannia metal' and hope to find the Bury company you found. Worth giving them a ring for a possible lead to a Birmingham company. Strange that the 2 places in England once famous for silver plating, Sheffield and Birmingham, appear to now have a dearth of people offering silver on pewter refurb, but imagine that it's such a low-grade base metal there's little/no call for it these days? btw the tankard will eventually find its new home in N.C. where our son now lives... Again, so many thanks to you both for your replies and I'll come back to this thread within a day or two. Regards, Lizzie IP: Logged |
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Kimo Posts: 1627 |
posted 06-07-2011 05:47 PM
While a number of us live in the US, including the owners/hosts of the forum, we also have a large percentage of our members from other countries. And then there are members such as myself who have spent much of our lives in multiple countries. For example, I am now up to 61 countries in which I have spent more than a month and in a number of cases much longer. My sense is that many of our members who live full-time in countries other than the US live in various European countries, but we also have members who live elsewhere. The actual number of folks here who post is not enormous, but there is a much larger number number who lurk and just read the posts. I guess what I am saying is the forum membership is more of an international group with Americans being the largest subgroup and the combined European countries being the second largest with other countries coming in third. IP: Logged |
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agphile Posts: 798 |
posted 06-08-2011 08:02 AM
Lizzie I repeated my search, just to check, and for some reason the site I had found did not re-appear. I had to do a bit more hunting to find it so I have noted the details. I have not included them in this post because we are not supposed to put commercial information on this forum. If you have difficulty finding the website I can ask Scott whether he would be kind enough to forward an email to you with the details. I think Kimo does indeed have a point about the inscription. According to the restorer, the best approach for EPBM is to polish it gently with sand to prepare the surface, then plate with copper first to provide a better base for the silver-plating. It would be interesting to ask him how seriously this affects any inscription. David IP: Logged |
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Lizzie Gee Posts: 6 |
posted 06-08-2011 01:17 PM
Again, thanks for your on-going interest and help both, it's so good of you. David, my fave search engine in the UK throws up the Bury company as the first in its list, so I'll have no probs contacting them - intend to browse their site tonight, something I'd not done before because of their location, tho I'm not going to be around to do much during the day to further this until the weekend now. So, if you're still interested....watch this space! Bye both, Lizzie G IP: Logged |
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jersey Posts: 1203 |
posted 06-09-2011 08:21 AM
Hello Lizzie! From my friend in England she found Otter Also FW Aldrigde.
Jersey [This message has been edited by jersey (edited 06-10-2011).] IP: Logged |
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Lizzie Gee Posts: 6 |
posted 06-18-2011 08:34 AM
quote: Hello everyone again and apols for not being able to reply for so long - family business called me away. But now I'm back. I've checked out the Otter Antuques website, and came across this which seems to confirm everything I've been told or have read here:- "We do not recommend re-plating items with a Britannia Metal core (often marked EPBM) as they do not respond well to the process and results can be disappointing. A really good quality finish is almost impossible to achieve due to the nature of the surface. BM is a lead- based, fairly soft metal...." etc. So I guess my only option now is to clean it with soft soap and a soft toothbrush - just a pity that the wear is exactly in the area of the inscription. The back is still shiny! Again, very many thanks again to you all for taking the time to share your expertise with me. Best regards, LG IP: Logged |
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ahwt Posts: 2334 |
posted 06-18-2011 05:41 PM
It seems odd that the technology of today cannot do what was done years ago. I wonder if the silverplating process that was originally used to plate your tankard is different from that used today? IP: Logged |
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adelapt Posts: 418 |
posted 06-18-2011 06:30 PM
It may be that it is/was far easier to plate a newly manufactured and uniform metal surface than tackle an older exposed and oxidised one. It could also be that there is much less understanding of working with this material now, and far fewer people involved in the business. IP: Logged |
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Lizzie Gee Posts: 6 |
posted 07-25-2011 08:04 AM
quote: Hello again everybody. I'm so excited I want to give you an update. This morning I tried again to find someone, after pretty well shelving the project, and, in my search for a silversmith - I struck GOLD! A 'proper' old-fashioned silversmith who can do the work. He tells me that, for the inscription,they will photo and copy it, and reproduce it faithfully on the tankard should it not be clear. He also said that a bonus was that it's an old (45-50ish?) piece, as the pewter was far more solid then (or something like that).....by this time I was dancing round the room so perhaps missed a word or two!! So tomorrow I'm taking it to him. Fingers crossed, Liz IP: Logged |
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agphile Posts: 798 |
posted 07-26-2011 06:43 AM
I look forward to the outcome and hope it even exceeds expectations. IP: Logged |
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Lizzie Gee Posts: 6 |
posted 07-30-2011 05:17 AM
State of play = tankard delivered and I've given them a collection deadline of 15th September - I'll be bringing it over to the US on the 20th. YIPPEEE! Occurred to me that for those, like me, who want an EPBM restorer in England (I live in Birmingham and the company is in the Jewellery Quarter) the company's details are: Crescent Silver, 83-85 Spencer Street, Birmingham B18 6DE, tel:0121 236 9006. I hope this info will be seen by anyone else,who like me, tried to find a restoration re-plater of EPBM by using the usual search engines. I'll most certainly post a picture of the tankard for you when the work has been done. Regards to all, Liz IP: Logged |
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Polly Posts: 1970 |
posted 07-30-2011 11:33 AM
How satisfying, Lizzie Gee! I hope they do a great job. IP: Logged |
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