Replating worn Mouthpiece? Please help!

[MrSlicc]

Hey guys, I'm a fairly new player and my instructor gave me his old PT-50 mpc, but one problem, it's outside surface is very unsightly, he suggested I could bring it in to a music shop to get it replated. I was very curious on how much a job like this would cost. Just silver plating the outer surface, I called my local music shop, and said they don't do the job there. There is another music shop around an hour drive from my community, and they asked me to swing by, to check out my situation. I am willing to drive the distance, but first, I was looking for an estimate on how much it might cost. All help is appreciated, thank you

[Doug Elliott]

The best bet would be to send it to any of the mouthpiece makers, including myself, to have it done right. It will need to be cleaned up, probably sanded a little, and buffed to give it a decent surface, without altering the rim profile. I would not trust most repair shops or music stores, and a lot of local platers don't do a good job either. I've seen some horrendous replating done, either buffed badly, or plating that peels off or wears off in a short time.

A few of the mouthpiece makers do their own plating, some send it to Anderson Plating in Indiana, and some use other places. The place I use has done great work for me for the past 30 years.

[MrSlicc]

The best bet would be to send it to any of the mouthpiece makers, including myself, to have it done right. It will need to be cleaned up, probably sanded a little, and buffed to give it a decent surface, without altering the rim profile. I would not trust most repair shops or music stores, and a lot of local platers don't do a good job either. I've seen some horrendous replating done, either buffed badly, or plating that peels off or wears off in a short time.

A few of the mouthpiece makers do their own plating, some send it to Anderson Plating in Indiana, and some use other places. The place I use has done great work for me for the past 30 years.

Thanks for responding, how much would you charge for such a job? I sanded the mouthpiece a bit, so I think its prepped up. Looking forward to hearing from you.

[Doug Elliott]

My next plating batch will be sometime in mid-January. I can't make a good guess about the cost without seeing how much time might be involved. Maybe $30, maybe more or less.