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I'm thinking of having my Boosey's 1930's BBb refurbished and wondered about the relative costs of relacquering or plating. Nothing fancy just a straightforward job.

I'm sure that the cost would be prohibitive , but just wondered what sort of figures we might be talking about - I'd be interested to hear from repairers in the states as well as the UK

(Also any recommendations for possible repairers in the UK??)


Iinstrument is originally silver plate about 50% intact

I'm afraid I cant help on the numbers as there is not enough information and to many variables for me to give you a good ballpark figure. If your horn is already silver plated, even if it is quite worn, it is probably best to go with the original finish. if you want it in lacquered brass, it would need to be chemically stripped in order achieve the best final results. The instrument would need to have all of its dents and scratches addressed before any finish could be applied. If it is as old as you say and you are going to have it refinished, spend the extra bucks and get the valves rebuilt. So, what you are really looking at is a complete overhaul. Cost depends on who does the work and to what level it is done. I don't know who in the UK is doing heavy silver plate on tubas but there must be someone. If all else fails there are a few of us in the US who can help if need be.

Regards,

Daniel C. Oberloh
Oberloh Woodwind and Brass Works
www.oberloh.com

The only guys in the UK who can silverplate a tuba is (Ricky) McQueens in Salford (near Manchester). Nobody else has tanks to do tubas to my knowledge.

Look them up on t'internet and you'll find their prices for overhauls. They might do the valves themselves or they might send them to Derek Farnell's Brother (who's name escapes me right now).

Either way these guys CAN do excellent work. Make them know you're serious and discerning beforehand and you might hope to get their best efforts...

Mark Carter (Mr Tuba) is a good bloke and a good route for tuba repairs since he's a player himself. He could prep the tuba and then McQueens could do the plating. Doing it that way would cost more I'd bet though...

I have a home gold electroplating kit I bought from the Harriet Carter catalog. I tried to look for it online--either it's not for sale anymore or it's not for sale online. Anyway, I used this to plate worn mouthpieces.

How many of these do you think it would take to plate an entire tuba?

jmh3412 wrote:I'm thinking of having my Boosey's 1930's BBb refurbished and wondered about the relative costs of relacquering or plating. Nothing fancy just a straightforward job.

I'm sure that the cost would be prohibitive , but just wondered what sort of figures we might be talking about - I'd be interested to hear from repairers in the states as well as the UK

(Also any recommendations for possible repairers in the UK??)


Iinstrument is originally silver plate about 50% intact

In the U.S., one normally expects to spend $1000-2000 to prep and finish a tuba to near-new appearance. I'm not sure the price is significantly different for lacquering or for silver plating, and in your case it would probably be more because the current plating would have to be removed. This would be in addition to all the other refurbishing costs.

Rick "not speaking from personal experience" Denney

You had better love that horn before you commit to those kind of services here in the US. Depending on exactly what you want done, the price could range from $1,850 for an 'economy' overhaul and relacquer jop where only the major dents are removed.... to well over $3,000 for a 'complete' overhaul. Add another $800 for silver plating... for a 4V rotary tuba. A baritone? Perhaps 40% of that.

bloke wrote:

Add another $800 for silver plating...

I'm going to have to job out any tuba silver plating jobs to you. By the time I've paid the "dealer" plating costs, shipped it two ways (Ground-OS3 or...much preferred...common carrier) and paid a handling (repacking) fee, at that price any of the extra work involved before/after plating relating to the preparation, packing, and final polishing of the plating job would be right at "gratis"...and (obviously) virtually no mark-up whatsoever on the plating itself.

Oh yeah!... all of the above is totally exclusive of packing and shipping. Just like a new Chevy... gotta add the destination charges, dealer prep, and taxes. Don't send your finishing work here. I don't do windows, either!

...and with $10+ silver (and $560+ gold), doubtless the prices are going up almost weekly...