After restoration: no copper, no nickel, no brigtener, no crap, restoredBefore restoration: needs parts made, parts are missingOriginal drawing from Meridan, print from Meridan Historical Society
Made parts from scratch in wax, based on original drawing
All replacement parts made to match
English Silver
Plaster of Paris will destroy the longevity, compromise the value, and over time deteriorate the metal. It is not considered a restoration. Any questions can be
directed to the shop.
Pitch comes in different colors, textures, and compositions but it still is pitch. It can never be substituted with plaster of paris, drywall mud, or floor leveling compound in restoration.
200 year old King George Candlestick, weighted with plaster of paris. The price of repair and restoration because of the plaster will be two to three times more.
Plaster of Paris has rotted this piece from the bottom up and the inside out!
Restoration done with pitch, originally loaded with pitch, and will be repaired with pitch
Old pitch poured into the last half inch of the bottom, so no trace of the repair is visible
More plaster and plating solutions trapped in the bottom of the candlestick, rotting it out. Never plate anything with plaster in it!
Candlesticks for the above bases
200 year old candlesticks properly restored
These pieces have been plated originally to cover repairs, normally English Silver isn’t plated.
Silver Plating
Silver plating, old school quadruple plate. Never used: brightener, nickel, or copper. Anyone selling or representing otherwise would be misrepresenting or not knowing what they are talking about.
It takes as much as five times longer to produce a silver plate the old way and is labor intensive. This is the reason most companies only brightener plate. We still produce most of our own plating salts and analyze our own solutions, so we can produce the old finishes. We silver, brass, bronze, copper, and gold plate also, in approximately 30 different finishes
Silver lined; the tin was heated and removed, inside was buffed
Brittania basket; soft finishes or frosted finish, saved because we did not short cut the process, no nickel, no brightener, and no one buffing it off.
Soft and bright finishes restored.
Before restoration
All detail restored, bright and soft finishes.
Bright cute, all preserved and restored.
Removing glass, cut old solder joints, disassemble base
Glass insert removed for cleaning
Old replating removed, stripped to base metal
In the plating tank, no nickel, no copper, no brightener, restoration plated the way it was done originally
The silver is white when plating without brightener
Glass installed, joints resoldered and replated
Parts made and polished to match original based on picture
Silver plating cold process, no hot cleaners, no hot solutions, pumice, no acids, no brightener, no copper, no nickel