Electroplating? How to achieve this finish?

[CycloneOfRed]

Hi all,

I have a Bradley and Hubbard oil chandelier that I am refinishing for my parlor. I've stripped the paint and I'm ready to refinish it...but I don't know how to proceed.

I'd love to achieve this look...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Bradley-and-Hubbard-6-Arm-Cast-Iron-Chandelier-613-/251642954523?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a9716c31b

...but I can't find anything on how to do it. I had originally e-mailed the owner of above chandelier for help identifying mine and to see if he had any of the pieces my chandelier is missing (it is supposed to be a six arm, but I only have two, and the canopy has a break). He very quickly responded and was very helpful, so I e-mailed again asking if he could share his refinishing methods, but after a little over a week I've gotten no response.

So...anyone have any oil chandelier expertise? Is this electroplating (if so, any experts know how much it would cost to have that done?)? What other finishes are appropriate? I'd like to go a bit fancier than the all matte-black you often see.

As always, thank you for your advise!
Kevin (the lurker)

[Gothichome]

Cyclon, the pic has got to be the fanciest version of that type of chandelier I have ever seen.. I have seen bracket lamps though with the gold/brass and black. All were painted black iron though. The gold is paint, allowed to dry I would guess. The a black paint was applied and excess rubbed off leaving the black in the low spots.

[Neighmond]

The whole works has to be bare nekked metal, and very clean, without so much a a speck or spot on it, and a positive electric charge put to it. Then the stick of bronze is put to the negative electrode and a bath of acid with bronze and a bit of some sort of sodium dissolved and the whole suspended in the bath, never being allowed to touch each other or the sides or bottom of the bath. Plate by running a few volts direct current at perhaps half to one and a half amps, depending on the size of the work and temperature of the bath. Once plated the black can be reproduced by painting with liver of sulfur, then it is very gently polished and lacquered if desired.

[mattswabb]

I had faucets done here and was very happy with the results and the price. They do all kinds of playing and restoration work

http://acmeplating.com

[CycloneOfRed]

the pic has got to be the fanciest version of that type of chandelier I have ever seen..

I know. I am somewhat ashamed to admit it, but when it comes to my old house preferences, my taste leans heavily towards "ostentatious".

I did recently re-finish and install a six arm chandelier for my dining room using gold and black paint. But it is (I think) a commercial grade Ives chandelier with a much poorer quality casting, so it would not have lent itself well to this look.



Mattswabb: If you don't mind my asking, how much did that cost? I know this is a very different kind of item, but I don't even have the slightest clue as to what is reasonable for electroplating. I'm very interested in contacting acmeplating, but I'd like to have some faint idea of what price range I'd be looking at in case it is entirely out of the question financially.

Again, thank you all for your help!
Kevin

[mattswabb]

About $110 for 2 faucets and an overflow grill.

[kelt65]

Hi all,

I have a Bradley and Hubbard oil chandelier that I am refinishing for my parlor. I've stripped the paint and I'm ready to refinish it...but I don't know how to proceed.

I'd love to achieve this look...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Bradley-and-Hubbard-6-Arm-Cast-Iron-Chandelier-613-/251642954523?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a9716c31b

...but I can't find anything on how to do it. I had originally e-mailed the owner of above chandelier for help identifying mine and to see if he had any of the pieces my chandelier is missing (it is supposed to be a six arm, but I only have two, and the canopy has a break). He very quickly responded and was very helpful, so I e-mailed again asking if he could share his refinishing methods, but after a little over a week I've gotten no response.

So...anyone have any oil chandelier expertise? Is this electroplating (if so, any experts know how much it would cost to have that done?)? What other finishes are appropriate? I'd like to go a bit fancier than the all matte-black you often see.

As always, thank you for your advise!
Kevin (the lurker)

I think you may want to reach out to artists who do metal work.

[phil]

I'd say it is paint, but there are many kinds of gold colored paint. different shades of gold vs coper and some of it actually has gold flake, sich as the stuff used in old picture frames or guilding.
to make gold colored paint, well you can put brass flake in or other metals, but it's not really gold.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilding

some paints will approach the color, but real gold is probably the most authentic and expensive.

[Casey]

The first question is what processes were used originally; is there any remaining evidence of bronze plating? They often made several grades of the same basic piece, the costly one had the real plating, the cheaper one would have the effect done with paint and varnish A few coats of amber varnish (even garnet shellac) over polished cast iron gives it a real golden glow that is still metallic in refraction. The patina background can be a burnt umber/vandyke brown glaze.
The plating and patinating would cost a small fortune, I know a guy in Baltimore who restores things like this and is set up to do artistic plating.
Casey

[phil]

how about consulting an airbrush artist? like the guys that do Harley tanks.