Posted by DaveC on February 04, 2001 at 10:43:23:
I'm going to throw this against the wall and see who salutes.
I was up late one night and on the Home and Garden Channel was a program which showed a tour of a plumbing fixtures factory. They sold brass faucets in a variety of finishes -- chrome plated, brushed nickel and a plain brass finish. However, the plain brass finish was not plain brass, as that would oxidize, nor was it lacquered, as that would wear off over time. Their brass-like finish was actually an electroplated zirconium finish. They had a chamber in which the fixtures hung on racks and a four-foot long 5 or 6 inch diameter rod of zirconium was zapped with enough electricity to vaporize it. The particles were attracted to and plated onto the (previously nickel-plated) faucets. The result is an extremely durable finish which looks (at least on TV) like lacquered brass.
As far as the application of this process to musical instruments, it is an interesting alternative to lacquering. The thickness of the finish, even with the layer of nickel, might be equivalent to a good spray-on lacquer job, as plating uses less material more evenly. It would probably be more expensive, especially since the process is patented by this faucet manufacturer. It might be an interesting finish for heavily-worn areas like valve clusters, slide crooks, woodwind keys, finger buttons, bow protection ribs and plates, etc. how about mouthpieces?