Chrome/Nickel Plating my Guitar

This place has been brought up on the forum recently...in the last 2 months. No one has yet to try them out...I'm definitely anxious to see a JEM or JS finished like this...could be a big solution for a lot of JS10 wanna-be owners.

In actuallity, $399 for a finish isn't *that* bad....look at some prices people around here pay for swirls..

 

Chrome/Nickel Plating my Guitar

I looked through the posts and couldn't find anything. I even tried searching for "chrome" "nickel" and "plat" (for plating). No luck. Any have any info?

Also, the guy wrote me back tonight, stating that he's never had flaking, as the coat of nickel is pretty thick. What do you think?

Eric

 

Chrome/Nickel Plating my Guitar

Only way to find out is to try it! If I had the cash and a guitar body I'd like to have it done to...I'd do it..but..I don't.

 

Chrome/Nickel Plating my Guitar

I think what make a difference on these plated guitars vs. the JS2CH or JS10th is that they plate over top of an existing finish, rather than on the bare wood or luthite. This might prevent some of the cracking/flaking due to the body's expansion and contraction.

 

Chrome/Nickel Plating my Guitar

Cool. Well, I intend to try it out as soon as I find another 442R, or any R that has no tremolo! Let me know if you guys hear or find anything...
Eric

 

Chrome/Nickel Plating my Guitar

Actually they can nickel plate because nickel requires a MUCH lower temperature bath, I think 118* instead of the 180* bath required for chrome. The wet heat has alot to do with the initial failure of chrome. I think they only do finished guitars because they're platers not guitar refinishers.

 

Chrome/Nickel Plating my Guitar

Rich, what do you mean by the "wet heat"? Is that a reference to the melting point of chrome? What I don't understand is how the difference in temperatures will have "a lot to do with the initial failure of chrome" as I don't understand the process itself...

I wish I could bring myself to play my JS10!

 

Chrome/Nickel Plating my Guitar

Chrome issn't melted, it's in solution in a very caustic bath of 180*, and the time it has to be in the tank isn't that short. Wood's a natural material. Let's just ask how would you react to a 180* bath for a few hours?

 

Chrome/Nickel Plating my Guitar

Ow!

Well, I just found a fixed bridge 442R for sale. Problem is, the guy is convinced it's worth 600 Bucks! I'll have to do some pretty fast talking talking there, but there's no way I'll spend that much on that guitar.

Rich, do you have a catalog scan of the 442R series? I just want to be informed as to what was available at all, in terms of those Radiuses + specs. I know there was the model with HSS and a maple fretboard, and a model with 3 single-buckers in a strat-like setup with a rosewood neck? Can someone post or send me a scan of the catalog for when that came out? I believe it was 1992.

Eric

 

Chrome/Nickel Plating my Guitar

Wow. The 540 Radius models usually go around $300 on eBay, so I doubt a 442 would go for more than that. I paid $400 for one of my R540s used, but it was (and still is) near mint.

If you can be patient, I would. Unless you can get him to go $400 or less.

 

Chrome/Nickel Plating my Guitar

The nickel plating guy is offering the service on eBay for $300 now.

 

Chrome/Nickel Plating my Guitar

To dredge up an old topic...

I was also interested in having this guy do an Ibanez for me, a Jem, but there are three things holding me back:

1. That tricky Jem architecture. He only shows little chubby Str*ts and stuff on the site, so I'm unsure whether this strange process would work properly around the lion's claw and monkey grip. Especially as Ibanez themselves, who've been painting these guitars for 15 years, still seem bewlidered about consistently painting the grips.

2. This may sound silly. But I think this process is really going to make your guitar heavier. Like, a lot. I don't want to feel like there's a fireplace (or Les Paul, whatever) in my lap.

3. I'm worried he might be a cowboy.

So has anyone taken the nickel bath plunge yet?

Gray

 

Chrome/Nickel Plating my Guitar

I talked to the guy a few months back and he told me that there would be 3 lbs. of metal used! He says that the process goes as follows: first a spray of conductive paint (so the metal will adhere), then he plates it in copper (relatively thin layer), then he plates it again in nickel. He says the finishes are extremely durable, I just wonder if the plating (if he says there is 3lbs of it) would effect the sound of the guitar due to different resonance characteristics. It seems like a good idea for an R series but I dont know if I could bring myself to do it to a JS.

 

Chrome/Nickel Plating my Guitar

Yeah, been there. Sorry, I should've followed up this post!

To date I've had 3 bodies done by him -- a JS600 (for my fixed bridge chrome JS!!!), an AX7521 (also in chrome/nickel), and a SV470 in gold. All have turned out very well. The work seems to be good (not that I'm big-time educated in the metal-plating field) and everything has come out right.

One thing is interesting: I bought another guitar from someone off Ebay that was plated by him. Some of you may have seen the Gio guitars he's offering on his site already done up in nickel. Well, I bought an older one from a guy who bought his a while ago. This one has some light bubbling on it. Nothing has cracked; when you push on the bubbles, they give, like rubber. There aren't many bubbles, maybe three or four that are each up to an inch in diameter. I'm not worried about it, as it's pretty much the only way to get a chrome guitar now, which I've wanted since that pic of Joe in the 1990 Ibanez catalog! So I don't know if all of his guitars will come out like this, as this one is a few years old and may be a guinea pig of sorts. In any case, the new ones I've gotten from him look fabulous and show no sign of the aforementioned.

 

Chrome/Nickel Plating my Guitar

post some pics:thumbsup:

 

Chrome/Nickel Plating my Guitar

But what about that WEIGHT, man?! Your results sounds very encouraging (thanks for posting, it's great to hear about this kind of thing first-hand) but if this guy's going to add THREE POUNDS to my guitar I'm not so sure!

Also, how is the plating around tricky parts like pickup routing?

Gray

 

Chrome/Nickel Plating my Guitar

Unfortunately, I don't know if the guitars have become heavier or not due to the plating process. I only bought the guitars just to have them plated and didn't even play them beforehand. They are not light, but I don't find them unbearable. Then again, I'm used to my Les Paul and my JSCP!! I play other plexi guitars too, that I don't find too heavy. But I think the guitars feel great. The work around teh cavities looks OK to me. But, once again, I'm no expert at judging this. If I look and my eyes say alright, then that's my only criteria. Nothing has worn off the older Gio guitar, either, it's all there. Happy to answer any other questions anybody may have...

 

One last question, then I swear I'll let this topic go!

I've spoken to the guy and I'm pretty much sold on the whole thing. So now it's time to strip the parts off a Jem. Did you remove those, um, retainy things that the trem posts screw into? If so, how, and how do you make them fit back in tight?

That's it. Hopefully sometime soon I'll be posting pics of my Jem 777NP.