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skyfire Regular user 136 Posts |
I am tossed between the Antique Bronze finish, and the Black Chrome finish on the next set of cups (RNT2) to purchase. Unfortunately I have never seen either finish in person. I will be using this set often, and I was hoping someone with knowledge of these types of finishes knows how well the finish will stand up, or retain their looks with a lot of use. I also believe the Antique Bronze may patina, and the Black Chrome retains its looks?
On this subject, just out of curiosity, is there a Finish, or a cup surface that seems to withstand the use of being a set of Working Cups better than others? Thanks… |
55Hudson Special user Minneapolis 984 Posts |
You should ask Donnie about how the finishes hold up. Regarding the look - personal preference rules. Mine is polished copper or polished brass.
Hudson |
tomsk192 Inner circle 3894 Posts |
I love the antique bronze finish. Like Hudson, I usually go for polished copper or brass, which can both develop beautiful patina. But I have some JDG Fundamentals in antique bronze, and they are gorgeous. I can't comment as to the resilience of the coating, as they are still too new. But, any other copper cup would have begun to turn by now.
Chrome is chrome is chrome. At some stage in the next hundred years you might want to get them stripped and redone? Probably not. :-) |
Donnie Buckley V.I.P. Cleveland, Ohio 1123 Posts |
Hiya John, Black Chrome is a Rings-N-Things exclusive. Black Chrome is just like any other electroplated chrome finish - it will not chip, crack or peel - it is molecularly bonded to the substrate and is not just a "coating" on the surface. Black Chrome is rare as chrome plating goes because it's a finicky plating job. Let me explain first that it is applied exactly the same as any other electroplating:
The metal to be plated (the substrate) is first prepped by mirror polishing it's exterior surface, degreased and placed on cathode-wired racks. The metal is then given a muriatic acid bath before it is given a flash plating of copper (this is even done on copper substrate). IF the part contains no magnets, it is given a 20 minute electro-less nickel bath. IF the part has magnets this is skipped as this solution is hot, and the heat will kill neodymium. This additional step of electro-less nickel plating ensures that the interior of the part is thoroughly plated with nickel. The part then is electroplated with nickel. For Black Chrome, the nickel plating solution is blackened - this is the finicky part, as the blackened nickel must be the proper color, but not to impure to plate correctly. Most electroplating shops that do chrome plating in my area will not do black chrome, actually most of them only do hard chrome for industrial usages - but hard chrome is not decorative, not glossy. After nickel plating the part is electroplated with chrome. This provides the clear glossy finish we all know as "chrome". It's really chromium over nickel. Additional steps are: If the part has magnets, the part must be Nickel Buffed between nickel plating and chrome plating to remove the spurs of nickel that will attract to the magnet. Prior to polishing, I will satin finish the interior of the parts to be plated. The interior of parts are "in shadow" during the plating process - this is where the cathodes will make contact and the current will attract the nickel primarily to the exterior of the cup. After the plating job is finish, I will satin buff the interior of the part to remove any impurities from the nickel and smooth out the contact marks from the cathodes. I will Brush Plate the interior with bright nickel and rebuff if necessary, and it is usually necessary. My Antique Bronze Finish is always clear coated, so it will not patina, age, or change color. I now do this entire process myself - which brings the cost down (except for the initial mirror polishing which I outsource). The part is first mirror polished and degreased. The part is then bronzed with chemical solutions until it is black. Then the highlights are added to the part on the buffing wheel. (Many times the entire process is repeated here because I don't like the way the buffing came out. I can't just re-bronze the part, it has to be mirror polished and started completely over from scratch, so I have to be careful not to "over-buff" the bronzed surface.) Once the bronzing looks adequately antiqued to me, the part has to be degreased again to remove any polishing compounds. Then the part is pre-treated with a chemical agent that ensures the clear coat will bond to the bare metal. Then the part is sprayed with an epoxy-based clear coat. This gives a glossy finish. The part then dries for 4 days in a dust-free environment to fully cure the clear coat. Those last three steps are NEW. Prior to the new epoxy-based clear coat, I applied lacquer as a clear coat, but found that the lacquer would scratch off at the points where the cups collide together (around the shoulder bead) during heavy usage of the cups. The new epoxy-based clear coat is a MASSIVE hassle to work with and I have struggled all summer to get it to layout evenly over the surface of my metals. Plus it only cleans up with Xylene - which will flat-out kill you if you breathe enough of it in... And I hate it, but every application gets closer to perfection. All the Antique Bronze finish parts I currently have, as of this date, still have the lacquer clear coats on them, but Antique Bronze with the harder clear coat is coming very soon... Antique Bronze is a very popular look - as it is just gorgeous, but it has to be clear coated correctly to last. |
cupsandballsmagic Inner circle 2705 Posts |
Any questions? lol
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tomsk192 Inner circle 3894 Posts |
Awesome.
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skyfire Regular user 136 Posts |
Very well stated and explained. Also shows the knowledge and craftsmanship behind the RNT2 cups. The posting was much appreciated Donnie.
(I got a chuckle out of Brians post) |
yin_howe Special user Malaysia 981 Posts |
WOW!
That is all that I can say to Donnie's reply
"Talent without passion is talent wasted.."
https://www.youtube.com/user/yinhowe80/ |
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