puregoldplating.co.uk

The Wallace Collection

2012-05-01T15:48:56Z

Back in June 2009 we set about working on a project with top London architects to gold plate approx 42 metres of stainless steel trim to be used on display cabinets at the new Wallace Museum shop in London.

The Wallace Collection is a national museum which displays breathtaking works of art collected in the 18th and 19th centuries by the first four Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the son of the 4th Marquess. It was given to the British nation by Sir Richard’s widow, Lady Wallace, in 1897 and first opened to the public as a museum on the 22nd of June 1900.

This world-famous range of fine and decorative arts from the 15th to the 19th centuries is displayed at Hertford House, the main London townhouse of its former owners.

The gold plated trim can be seen, in the images above and below, along the edge of the counter top resting on the beautiful pure gold leafed cabinet panels.

The gold plated stainless steel trim was also used on the reception desk, cloakroom counter, shop till, counter donation boxes and lobby donation boxes.

The stainless steel trim to be gold plated was delivered to us and completed in March 2010.

Why not have a great day out and visit the Wallace Collection.

Find out what’s happening at the Wallace Museum.

Browse the Wallace Museum shop.

We are flexible, adaptable and are able to electroplate single items of jewellery right up to large commercial projects so please do contact us for advice or a quotation.

Stobart Lesters Awards

2012-04-27T22:52:13Z

We were recently asked, in conjunction with Code3Models, to carry out the gold, silver and bronze plating of six Eddie Stobart truck and trailer models for the ‘Stobart Lesters Awards 2012’. The six trophies were presented by Andrew Tinkler, Stobart Group’s chief executive officer, at a prestigious ceremony held at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole on Thursday evening 5th April 2012.

A Lester Award is one of a range of awards given to jockeys at an annual ceremony in the UK. The awards are named in honour of Lester Piggott, who won thirty British Classic Races from 1954 to 1992. The awards recognise the achievements of jockeys from both flat and jump racing during the previous year.

The awards ceremony, celebrating the achievements of Jockeys from Britain and overseas, was hosted by At The Races presenters Luke Harvey and Jason Weaver and held in front of over 450 sporting stars, celebrities and guests.

The truck and trailer parts were zinc die cast (Mazak) which is a difficult alloy to electroplate often producing varying results. Our plating process enabled us to produce a finish fit for a prestigious award ceremony such as the Lesters.

Tony Graham, Code3Models:

“Thanks Scott for all your help, over and above the call of duty, models completed today. Will credit you to Andrew Tinkler’s PA re. electro plating, excellent back up service and professionalism in a tight spot.“

Bonnie Stephenson, PA to Chief Executive Officer Stobart Group:

“We especially liked the reflection of the jockey’s bums and the word Stobart in the shiny roof of the trailer.“

Rock Bottom – Pirate Booty!

2012-04-13T08:56:41Z

A short while back, in fact quite a little longer than a short while back, we were asked to gold plate a one ounce silver doubloon replica coin. The doubloon was originally a Spanish coin which was used mid 16th to the mid 19th centuries. It was hand-struck from gold and is commonly referred to as a “gold piece”. The doubloon weighed approximately one ounce and was solid 22 karat gold.

The doubloon was also widely used in the West Indies and South America. Due to being made from almost pure gold the doubloon had value worldwide even where it wasn’t legal tender. Since much of the piracy that took place was between English and Spanish privateers, Spanish gold doubloons often formed English pirate booty.

The doubloon in the following video was actually 24 karat gold plated by us.

Amateur film maker, Robert Lorrimer made his short film “Rock Bottom” over two consecutive mornings at ‘Petit Bot Bay’ on the island of Guernsey armed with a Canon 7d DSLR, light weight tripod, a banana and a suitcase.

More details on this film clip can be found here: Rock Bottom.

If you would like a quotation or advice on an items suitability for gold plating please use our contact form.

Silver Plating

2011-10-04T09:19:07Z

Silver plating is more often used for antique restoration of hollowware, including cups, bowls, vases & flatware such as trays, plates & dishes. We also electroplate many modern silver plated items where the plating has simply worn through, trophies & medals being most popular. We also receive requests to silver plate solid gold jewellery!

Silver plating is an action which deposits a thin layer of silver onto an electrically conductive surface. The surface, normally a conductive metal base, allows a current to be passed through it to form a complete circuit. The silver particles in the electrolyte solution then bond to the item being electroplated, the item being silver plated is also referred to as the cathode.

The minimum thickness for silver plating is 0.5 microns. This is used for decorative purposes on items with minimal handling.
Heavy silver plate would be 5+ microns. The normal thickness we apply would be between 5 – 10 microns dependent upon the item & its intended use. This provides a long lasting finish on items such as; antiques, wristwatches, clocks, buckles, trophies & jewellery.

Our silver plating solutions are tarnish resistant, hard wearing & long lasting. A thickness of just 5 microns is often more than adequate for the long term durability of most items if cared for properly.

Please take a look at the photos showing our work in the gallery.
If you would like an item silver plating or you have any questions please contact us.

Chrome Plating

2011-10-04T09:19:28Z

The vast majority of our chrome plating work is basin taps, shower & bathroom fittings. These are often old & discontinued & it can be virtually impossible to find replacements to match the existing set. If you are lucky enough to locate replacements you’ll often find it can be more cost effective to have the old ones re-plated.

Chrome plating is the technique of electroplating a thin layer of chromium onto an object. This decorative chrome layer provides outstanding corrosion resistance, as well as being easy to clean & care for. It is also a much cheaper final finish in comparison to precious metals such as gold & platinum.

Chrome is commonly applied to the following items:

Lighting, interior & exterior
Door handles & letterboxes
Bathroom & shower fittings
Toilet flush, chains & loo roll holders
Interior & exterior car parts including plastic badges
Motorcycle & scooter parts

An increasing amount of plastics are also chrome plated such as toilet push-button flushes, mobile phones & car parts. The chrome plating can be chemically stripped away revealing the underlying nickel which can then be electroplated in another finish such as gold or platinum.

All our work upon completion, whether it is in chrome or any other finish we offer, passes through our strict quality control checks before being returned to our customers. Rest assured our chrome plating really is the best chrome plating available. Items such as bathroom fittings, car & motorcycle parts in need of extensive restoration & refinishing could take anywhere from 7 – 14 days.

Please take a look at the photos showing our work in the gallery.
If you would like an item electroplating or you have any questions then please contact us.

Wristwatches & Clocks

2011-10-04T09:19:59Z

The gold, silver, palladium and platinum plating of modern and vintage watches and clocks, is a great way to rejuvenate your beloved timepieces whether they are just old and worn or scratched from accidental damage. This process involves stripping and polishing before electroplating a precious metal over the base metal. Non-precious metals, such as nickel and chrome, are often utilized as a final finish too.

We also electroplate wristwatch and clock parts such as bracelets, folding buckles, clasps, bezels, cases and crowns. We can also electroplate the markers on your replacement watch dial to compliment the watch it is being fitted to.

Although gold plating is a common electroplated finish we also electroplate wristwatches in silver, white gold and palladium. These often being 18 carat gold plated, we can, of course, colour match selected parts for that perfect finish thus avoiding the need and cost of having to have the whole piece gold plated.

White gold plating is a very popular choice. After all, a 9k yellow gold watch looks beautiful in 18k white gold plate. Platinum also makes a fabulous transformation as well as palladium, palladium being one of the six platinum-group metals. The appearance of palladium is very similar to that of platinum and it offers virtually the same outstanding durability and beauty at a reduced cost.

We can easily produce a bi-metal gold plating effect should you require alternate watch bracelet links electroplated in yellow gold and white gold. This can also be followed through onto the watch case by electroplating the case and bezel in contrasting gold plated finishes. We can electroplate your treasured timepiece in any of the precious metals we offer including; yellow gold, white gold, rose gold and green gold, platinum, palladium and silver. We also offer nickel plating which is often favoured on pocket watches and chains.

The diamond set stainless steel Tag Heuer bracelet shown in our gallery is an example of a selective gold plated bracelet.

Whether your watches and parts have gemstones or enamel inserts presents no problem for the gold electroplating process. Our electroplating bath temperatures and solutions are safe on precious and non-precious stones as well as enamel. Your treasured timepiece will be beautifully enhanced giving it a new lease of life that will last for many years.

We offer a fast and safe gold plating service on all your wristwatches, pocket watches, clocks and parts.

Please feel free to contact us for a no obligation quotation.

Beat-Herder 2011 Music Festival Golden Ticket

2012-04-29T16:56:37Z

We were recently asked to gold plate a number of steel tickets for an upcoming music festival taking place over 3 days, 1st, 2nd and 3rd of July 2011.

Beat-Herder is a handmade, music festival held on the first weekend of July in the Ribble Valley, Lovely Lancashire. This year the event is hosting headliners including Leftfield, Simian Mobile Disco, We Have Band, Mr Scruff and many more over 8 stages and three days.

To celebrate this years’ festival the Beat-Herder organisers decided on a golden ticket:

The competition idea: ‘Just like Willy Wonka, (but not in a sinister lock children in a factory style) 5 Beat-Herder ticket orders will be randomly assigned a ‘Golden Ticket’. This is to be very special in several very special ways. Firstly the Golden Ticket order cost will be refunded regardless of the number of tickets, it’ll be totally free. If it’s an order for one ticket, we’ll bump it up to two! Secondly, Golden Ticket holders will get £100 Beat-Herder spending money. Thirdly, if you’re a winner, we’ll meet you on the gate with a weekend’s worth of drinking tokens. Fourthly, you’ll get a voucher for some t-shirts and stuff from the gift shop. Fifthly, we’ll even polish the ticket before it’s sent out. A very special prize!’

Originally we we’re going to have a ticket made from brass, but after realising the ease and cost effectiveness of real gold plated tickets, we couldn’t resist treating the winners to a proper souvenir on top of the rest of the prize.

More details on the festival and the golden tickets can be found by visiting the Beat-Herder website at www.beatherder.co.uk.

Welcome To Pure Gold Plating

2012-04-29T18:35:14Z

Specialist brush plating & tank electro platers since 2008, Pure Gold Plating offer a wide range of electroplating & finishing services for both industry & the private sector.

Our services include gold plating in yellow, white, green & rose gold, platinum, palladium, silver plating, white bronze, copper, nickel, decorative chrome plating & even black chrome plating.

All our work is electroplated with durability in mind for a long lasting finish & our hard gold plating exceeds many of our customer’s expectations. Our gold solution is 24 Carat pure gold & contains no alloys. This pure gold plating solution can be mixed all the way down to 9 Carat enabling us to colour match for that always perfect finish whether it be a large commercial project or simply a one-off pair of bath taps.

Pure Gold Plating work hard to provide a first class professional service to all our customers both in the UK, where we are based, & worldwide.

We also provide an extensive gold & silver plating training course as well as offer a complete gold & silver plating business opportunity complete with website, all equipment, solutions, training & ongoing support for as long as you need us. For full details please see our training page.

All our quotations include return delivery unless stated otherwise.
We are able to carry out ‘selective plating’ if required. This involves electroplating part of a single item or we can simply electroplate an item in two or more precious or non-precious metals.
We provide metal finishing services on a wide range of materials including electroplating aluminium & zinc.
Our turnaround is 3 – 10 days on the majority of work.
We provide a cleaning & polishing only service.
Need something else? We add new services frequently so please get in touch.

Gold Plated iPod Nano

2011-10-04T09:24:17Z

The iPod Nano is a portable media player designed and marketed by Apple. The iPod Nano has gone through five models, or generations, since its introduction. The current fifth generation supports FM radio, video recording, a microphone for voice memos, a pedometer, and a slightly larger screen than that of the previous generation.

The iPod we have recently 24 carat gold plated is the 4th generation iPod Nano and can be seen in the picture blow.

Due to the construction of the unit and the process involved of preparing the aluminium casing for the gold plating process, the iPod had to be completely disassembled. Only then could the pink aluminium body be de-anodized, polished and nickel plated before being ready to accept the final 24 carat pure gold plating.

Although any iPod can successfully undergo the gold plating process, there are a few things to take into consideration when attempting to do so. Some iPods are simpler than others to gold plate. For example, iPods with a stainless steel back can be electroplated safely and easily without taking the unit apart.

This whole process of disassembly does, of course, void any guarantee in force with Apple.

Gold Plated AK-47 Assault Rifle

2012-04-29T16:58:13Z

The AK-47 (or Avtomat Kalashnikova) is a gas operated 7.62mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the early 1940s. The AK-47 stands for Kalashnikov automatic rifle, model of 1947.

An early development of the design was the AKS-47 (S—Skladnoy or ‘folding’), which was equipped with an underfolding metal shoulder stock, as can be seen here in the first photo below. This was very useful in confined spaces.

Being well known for its reliability it is gas operated, using the gas from the barrel to push the piston attached to the bolt carrier to operate the action. The gas tube is fairly large and visible in the first picture below just above the barrel. The vents, seen more clearly in the gold plated portion of the gas tube, are there to allow the excess gas to escape without affecting the action. The AK-47 is built with generous clearances, allowing it to function easily in dirty environments needing virtually no maintenance. It is very simple to disassemble and clean, and easily maintainable.

Prior to gold plating , the whole gun had to be stripped, degreased and polished. This process took many hours to complete – including 5 hours of polishing before the gold plating process could even be started.

As can be seen in the photo below, the end product is a stunning 24 carat gold plated, mirror finish, AK47 Assault Rifle and will make a superb display/collectors piece.

The video below explains in detail the workings of the AK-47 and demonstrates an excellent comparison between the AK-47 and the American M16.

The AK-47 was one of the first true assault rifles, in fact more of a machine gun than a rifle. Even after six decades, due to its outstanding durability, ultra low production cost and ease of use in the field, it’s still the most widely used and popular assault rifle in the world. It has seen service with armed forces the world over as well as irregular, revolutionary and terrorist groups worldwide.

For more photos from this AK47 gold plating project please see our gallery page.

If you would like an item gold plating please use our contact form for a quote.