wipe out gold plating

[colibri]

Is there any kind of material that could polish off gold plating?

I'm interested in doing this with my tenor Link. Since it should be nickle plated under the gold, just wanted to know if it sounds different after the plating comes off.

[MojoBari]

You can use steel wool and elbow grease. Sometimes there is silver under the gold. If the gold is real orange colored, there could be on bare brass. The main reason to plate silver and/or nickle first is to make the gold plating look brighter.

I have not found that changing such a thin layer of material can make a difference. But many players claim it does. Some find different plated ligatures to play differently.

[colibri]

Elbow grease as in...the lubricant? :roll:

The ligature scratched off a little gold plating near the ridge. It's silver under, but it could be nickle. The one I'm experimenting with is a current production Link. Is there a chemical or solution (bleach or vinegar?) that could peel off the gold plating?

[MojoBari]

I've only dabbled in brush electroplating. Some was talking on this forum that they were going to use some kind of reverse electroplating process to remove gold. If you get your anodes and cathodes arranged properly, I think you can chase the gold off. Try asking the experts at:

http://www.caswellplating.com