I have a Marshall Field's desk calendar frame that is nickel plate over brass. I think there's a reasonable chance that the plate is not original because I haven't found or seen another plated MF piece while surfing and searching. The other reason is I have a few matching pattern pieces that are all solid brass, no evidence of plate, and brass seems to be fairly common from this firm. Even if it is original, it's so badly worn that I don't think it matters too much if I strip the rest to match the other pieces. I'll patinate it after stripping. So, how do I do this? I don't wan't to buy chemicals or find a plating shop that can strip it because either of these options will cost more than necessary, if you know what I mean. I'm thinking emery cloth for the highpoints and flat surfaces and maybe a funky attachment for my Dremel that will burnish into the tight spots and depressions (might already have an attachment - have to check). Should I use anything else like pumice or rottenstone? Any other thoughts or experience out there?

Stonecat,

I would not recomend abrading the nickle off. There is a proprietary product that might be able to do exactly what you want. One of the formulas made by Metalx, Inc claims to remove nickel plating from brass. Non toxic.

B-929
Formula strips nickel from zinc diecast, copper, brass, silver and gold with no etching of the softer substrates.

Metalx, Inc.
2600 Roby Martin Rd.
Lenoir, NC 28645
Phone (828) 758-4997
Fax (828) 758-5033
e-mail: barryc@charter.net
http://www.finishing.com/stripper/index.shtml

I have not used it nor do I know it's cost. It would be a shame to damage the calender by removing too much of the metal or damaging the surface finish. This solution may just be what you are looking for. The company might be able to make suggestions as to how best to remove the nickel on your calender.

What other desk items do you have? Images?

Fred

The chemical strippers aren't cheap because you seem to have to buy in quantity and the instructions I've read suggest things like needing to maintain a low boil for extended periods in non-conductive conditions etc. Doesn't seem like the way to go to me. Maybe a plating shop that already has the vats and other gear set-up, but I'll have to search for one of these and cost is unknown but maybe for such a small thing a shop will do it cheap and quick.

Here are the other pieces; and incomplete set but nice pattern stuff:

What a wonderful set! I have seen several Marshal Fields Desksets in several different patterns and I think this is one of the nicest designs. The pattern was acid etched. Using a dremel with abrasive will change the texture of the bacground. I would still contact the company in North Carolina and see if they would be willing to sell you a small quantity or if they distribute to someone near you and you could acquire a small amount from them.

Good luck on your task and let us know how it works out.

Fred

Don't use pumice--it is too coarse and will gouge the metal. A high speed spinning drummel tool can erase your relief design pretty quick. Anything that scrubs the metal to get rid of the finish creates little scratches which change the surface of the metal. To make metal shine, artists (metalsmiths, silversmith, goldsmith, etc.) use a series of finer grit compounds that leave smaller and smaller scratches in the surface of the metal. They end up polishing with "rouge", a red stick that you put on a cloth wheel on a grinder. Then if you are working with silver, you polish the metal until the surface blinds you because it reflects light like a mirror.

To make sure that the design is not damaged, I recommend that you use something chemical that will keep that gorgeous leaf pattern intact. Are you sure that you wouldn't want to try and sell it? Then you could replace it with a piece that matches the "color" of your set. It would be a lot less work.

Also, there are places that will put your piece in a kiln to burn off any clear finish. Then normally, they would electoplate it to whatever finish you would want. Maybe they can do a reverse process and take off the current metalic finish that is not original. I am not an engineer so I don't know all the technical terms for play with metal on the molecular level, but as an artist, I know that it is possible.

Bev.

Bev,

No I don't want to sell it (now anyways) and try to replace it. The sum of the parts is worth more than the individual pieces, so the more parts the better, and I'd probably have to search a long time for a replacement. I'm going to call a few plating shops to see if I can find one that will do the stripping. I found the DIY components for stripping through a local distributor but it's pricey and for only one small job not worth it, so I'll try some shop calls and see what happens.