Restoring vintage silver trumpets

[fblevins]

I've been using Caswell's silver Plug-n-Plate for about a year now and have done replating on mouthpieces, valve slides and other small parts with positively AMAZING results. Now I'm starting to get calls from trumpeters in my area that are interested in having me replate their entire horn. Most of these instruments aren't too bad off, just having plating wear around hand contact points, some have areas where the finish has rubbed off in other places from "case wear." On one instrument I looked at recently, the brass was actually pitted around the first valve casing. She sent the horn off to be replated, and when it came back, the replating job was acceptable, but they replated right over the pits!

I'm seriously considering replating these old horns as a part time (maybe more) business, but am a total newbie to this (with the exception of Plug-n-Plate applications. Has anyone got any advice for me here? I'm looking mainly for what kind of equipment I would need, what the $ outlay would be, and where I could get in depth education on what I'm doing. I am a total PERFECTIONIST and a trumpet player myself. My goal is to take these old horns and make them look like they just came out of the factory (or better).

Any advice or comments would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Floyd Blevins
Owasso, Ok