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Electroplating stainless steel: a new journey (PICS INSIDE)
- Thread starter Nikz19
- Start date
So as a lot of people is asking me in PM to do the job for them, I’d love to hear how much would be a fair price in your opinion for having this done. I’ll throw in a 1 year warranty on every work.
There’s not much out there to compare prices, only Tomrep/spongebob mods afaik which are about a 100 for the insert alone.
This, obviously, only if the chief approves. Already asked the boss in PM. Not willing to break any sort of rule, as I told him
There’s not much out there to compare prices, only Tomrep/spongebob mods afaik which are about a 100 for the insert alone.
This, obviously, only if the chief approves. Already asked the boss in PM. Not willing to break any sort of rule, as I told him
pippoh_eja
Known Member
- 23/1/16
- 110
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Here are oyster links just done. So this confirms existing plating can be plated without needing to polish it to bare steel first. Those were TT arf V3 links, the middle TT ones are untouched. You’ll see how richer the gold actually is.
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Just a lil head up, tried to sand it a bit with a bit of 600 sandpaper. It actually is thick enough to allow hand brushing AFTER plating! Which is much more than I expected
srhoque
Respected Member
- 28/11/18
- 3,259
- 2,466
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Please don’t post any more pics, I can’t resist the temptation. These pics are “orgasmically” good
You asked about price to charge before. As a person who has used multiple watchmakers (some very popular on this forum and not even a trusted watchmaker) - You should charge whatever you feel suits you financially. The price of parts is easy to guess. As for labor, one of my watchmaker charges $50/hr while another charges $150. But I haven’t complained.
Do what is right for you. You are being humble in asking members here but it needs to feel ok for you first.
You asked about price to charge before. As a person who has used multiple watchmakers (some very popular on this forum and not even a trusted watchmaker) - You should charge whatever you feel suits you financially. The price of parts is easy to guess. As for labor, one of my watchmaker charges $50/hr while another charges $150. But I haven’t complained.
Do what is right for you. You are being humble in asking members here but it needs to feel ok for you first.
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- 8/2/19
- 753
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So as a lot of people is asking me in PM to do the job for them, I’d love to hear how much would be a fair price in your opinion for having this done. I’ll throw in a 1 year warranty on every work.
There’s not much out there to compare prices, only Tomrep/spongebob mods afaik which are about a 100 for the insert alone.
This, obviously, only if the chief approves. Already asked the boss in PM. Not willing to break any sort of rule, as I told him
You will break nothing less than many wallet bro.
This is insanely good!!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Ams55557
Renowned Member
- 16/3/18
- 633
- 351
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In pricing: please please please charge an amount that will keep you motivated and in business. Not to be political, but capitalism works only when there is actual and worthwhile profit. This hobby needs craftsmen to both stay honest and stay in business.
Charge an amount that will keep you motivated.
On a different note, how does this work with playing ceramic inserts? You just dip in the ceramic and it binds to the etched space?
Charge an amount that will keep you motivated.
On a different note, how does this work with playing ceramic inserts? You just dip in the ceramic and it binds to the etched space?
- 11/8/17
- 6,755
- 5,369
- 113
Results are very good and your brushing test is indeed a proof of the quality of your plating.
For those wanting to try without having the necessary PPE, you can use a nickel "pre plating" solution to get the gold to stick good and evenly to the stainless steel.
The nickel will also prevent contamination of the gold layer and give you a very nice shiny finish
For folks in EU, Cousinuk sells all the necessary product to do electroplating. There will always be a hydrogen release so working in a well ventilated place is a must in any case
For those wanting to try without having the necessary PPE, you can use a nickel "pre plating" solution to get the gold to stick good and evenly to the stainless steel.
The nickel will also prevent contamination of the gold layer and give you a very nice shiny finish
For folks in EU, Cousinuk sells all the necessary product to do electroplating. There will always be a hydrogen release so working in a well ventilated place is a must in any case
Saul Goodman
Active Member
Wow, this is really awesome. I sold my two tone rep and decide not to buy any rolesor rep anymore but this makes me rethink my decision
I haven’t tried with any ceramic inserts as I don’t have one to test with. Ceramic can be plated using different chems though, you dip the insert in and then you just remove the excess using hydrochloric acid which results in a big waste of gold. It won’t match color and it’ll lack that “grainy” finishing that’s supposed to be there.
Big no-no to me! It needs to be sputter coated. Spongebob does that using platinum and it’s great at what he do, idk if he does it also with gold though
Thanks for your kind words, I’m glad you like it!
Thing is most of pre-prepared (is that even a word?) solutions are just plain gold. That would be tremendously soft, hence the small cobalt % added in mine.
However I think it’s kinda ridicolous that they’re allowed to sell the pre made solution but you’re not be able to buy some of the single chems unless properly trained. Can they be used to make a bomb? Ahah
Subscribed! Wow!
I know you might already know, but there's a tool on Cousins that allows you to disassemble bracelet links down to their separate parts, which could be extremely useful to you if you wanted to plate only the midlinks of any kind of Rolex bracelet. With all those poorly made TT bracelets in the market you could help a lot of people to get a "safe" thickness of plating on their watches, or fix dings and dents from daily use.
I know you might already know, but there's a tool on Cousins that allows you to disassemble bracelet links down to their separate parts, which could be extremely useful to you if you wanted to plate only the midlinks of any kind of Rolex bracelet. With all those poorly made TT bracelets in the market you could help a lot of people to get a "safe" thickness of plating on their watches, or fix dings and dents from daily use.
That’s a possibility for sure, however what I’m most afraid of this process is that after you disassembled the fixed links you’ll need to replace the pins or it won’t stay safely together.
If someone may chime in on this it would be helpful.
I can do precision job by brush plating using a very small tip on the anode to add up to 10 microns over existing plating. It doesn’t need to remove the mid links but it will be a much slower process than just soaking the whole link in though.
rolexwatchfan
Respected Member
- 17/8/13
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I’ve seen that before from what used to be mu watchmaker at the time as I had to remove a fixed link on my gen 16570 in order to have the clasp centered on my wrist. It’s like a two point press, it grabs the two sides of the link and presses out the mid one. Idk how it’s called.
rolexwatchfan here you are:
cousinsuk.com/category/bracelet-adjusting-for-rolex-bracelets
youtube.com/watch?v=iEGOkEXO9Ms
That's the type of tool used by certain workshops who do "stretch" repair on older jubilee or president bracelets, but it would also be super useful to Nikz19 in order to save time from spot brushing like he said earlier.
cousinsuk.com/category/bracelet-adjusting-for-rolex-bracelets
youtube.com/watch?v=iEGOkEXO9Ms
That's the type of tool used by certain workshops who do "stretch" repair on older jubilee or president bracelets, but it would also be super useful to Nikz19 in order to save time from spot brushing like he said earlier.
rolexwatchfan
Respected Member
- 17/8/13
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