Posted by Joe S. on May 19, 2001 at 21:14:59:
In Reply to: Re: Re: how much for silver plating tuba posted by boss on May 19, 2001 at 19:48:04:
The "wholesale" plating price (to music stores) for a big tuba is about $500 + probably $30 or more
"handling" (unpacking/repacking at the plating plant) and very possibly $300 or more for round-trip shipping (total [strictly] plating related costs, INCLUDING BUBBLE WRAP, PACKING PEBBLES, and PAYING AN EMPLOYEE TO BOX IT UP AND UNBOX IT WHEN IT RETURNS...about $900+ .)
It takes several hours to pull a bow, remove dents, and reattach it...assuming those are absolutely the ONLY dents in the instrument. Stripping the lacquer is trouble, because often not every last bit strips off and some has to be buffed of - either by machine or by hand. Polishing a large tuba prior to plating takes a very highly-skilled (meaning a person who is VERY fast, VERY energetic, VERY strong, VERY attentive, and VERY good about not PUTTING ADDITIONAL DENTS in the tuba as they polish it, but still ending up with a complete MIRROR finish) buffing person MIGHT be able to do a large tuba in 2 - 3 days (16-24 hours at a very high $$ rate per hour), but then there is the de-greasing (removal of buffing residue), sorting and packing of parts, wrapping with tissue, wrapping with LOTS AND LOTS of bubble wrap (more time and $$), finding (or making) an appropriate carton, getting ENOUGH pebbles, packing it all up "gorilla proof", and FINALLY UNPACKING it (when it returns), cleaning up all of the undesirable silver and chemical residue, buffing areas where the silver went on "sugary" (completely unpredictable - We always hope for the best.), reassembling, possible (probable) lapping of valves due to silver in the casings, and then going over the whole thing one LAST time to get off all of the fingerprints from the reassembly job.
I don't know that I'd want to quote much under $3K to be responsible for all that, much less advertise that I take in such jobs...
In the same amount of time, I can completely restore (about $200 worth of work "total" for each instrument) at least 10 old Bach Strad trumpets (that cost us about $300-$400 each "as is"), get them plated for $35 each, buy new cases for them, and ebay them for $1000 each... The 10 trumpets offer about $3000-$4000 of profit PLUS a good hourly wage for the restoration work and ebay listing time, whereas polishing, undenting, and plating ONE tuba for $3000 just pays an "OK" hourly wage for working our tails off holding a 28 pound "dent magnet" up in the air for hours and hours.
This comment is NOT meant at all to be snobbish, but when a good repair shop agrees to do a "major" job on your tuba, they are BEING VERY NICE TO YOU, because they are laying down a large quantity of far more profitable work to do for you what you want done.
(If some shop agrees to do something like this for you, and they do a very good job, don't just pay 'em...THANK 'EM.)
:-/