Revive the Beauty of Your Treasured Antiques with Expert Silver Repair Services.

Welcome to our Antique Silver Repair Website, where craftsmanship and passion converge to restore the splendour of your cherished heirlooms.

Our skilled artisans meticulously repair, polish, and preserve vintage silver pieces, breathing new life into each piece's unique history. Whether it's a family heirloom, a prized collectible, or a precious memento, trust our expertise to handle your valuable possessions with utmost care.

Uncover the timeless charm of your antiques once more - entrust your silver restoration to us!

Why Choose Us

At JB Plating Co, we take great pride in our work and our commitment to customer satisfaction. Our team of expert craftsmen have years of experience in repairing and restoring silver antiques, and we use only the highest quality materials and techniques to ensure that your silver treasures are restored to their original glory.

We understand that each silver antique is unique and requires specialized care. That's why we offer personalized service and a range of repair options to meet your needs. We take the time to listen to your concerns and offer solutions that are tailored to your antique's specific needs.

Coming from a family run business background we believe in building meaningful relationships with our customers. We will always have a thorough consultation and ensure we take the time to understand your individual needs and preferences, tailoring our services to meet your expectations and exceed them.

If you have a cherished silver piece that deserves expert attention and care, or if you simply want to learn more about our services, we would love to hear from you. Contact us today to discuss how we can bring back the brilliance of your treasured silverware and rekindle its timeless sparkle.

Before and After photos

Frequently Asked Questions

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Do you remove monograms?

Monograms on silver are part of the object's history and should not be removed for this reason. Museums use monograms to help trace an object's provenance. Beautiful engraving is a work of art—an art form quickly disappearing. Sadly, most antique dealers indiscriminately remove monograms to make the object more saleable.

Having said this, if you insist on having the engraving removed, I will agree to eradicate it. I would rather remove the monogram than have the object brought to someone less skilled. I have no reservations in removing machine engraving from mass-produced flatware. Keep in mind that if a monogram is deeply engraved on the bottom of a thin tray, for example, the results may not be desirable, for any weight placed on that area could possibly produce a dent. You will be consulted before I remove engraving from any object in question.

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Can you give me a price on a repair?

If you can e-mail me images of the pieces, along with the makers marks (usually illustrated on the bottoms of the objects), I will be able to give you ballpark pricing. Thickness of the silver plating, so only a quick polishing with a very fine polishing compound is possible which will brighten the object. Attempting to remove scratches will only cut through the plate and expose the base metal.

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Do you perform appraisals?

Yes

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Can you remove gilding on sterling flatware?

Yes I do. I have found that many collectors are looking to also have vermeil (gilding) removed from recently purchased sterling flatware. I will then patinate the pieces and give them a light buffing for an entirely new look.

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You do major repairs; can I send something that just needs polishing?

Though it looks as though I perform only complicated repairs or work on rare pieces, I most certainly take on (and enjoy) polishing all types of silver.

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Can you give me a price on a repair?

If you can e-mail me images of the pieces, along with the makers marks (usually illustrated on the bottoms of the objects), I will be able to give you ballpark pricing.

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Can you repair a baby spoon that's been down the garbage disposal?

Ninety-nine percent of the time I can! The bowl can be rounded and gouges removed, splits can be brazed, handles can be unwrapped and straightened, and most of all, the piece can be made useful again. I repaired a disposal-damaged baby spoon from a collector in California. His wife was livid. He loved the results upon return...it gets better. I received the same spoon a couple of months later after it had again been down the disposal. There was actually enough material left for me to make the baby spoon functional without any sharp edges!

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What are the rough spots on my sterling that I can't remove with silver polish?

Those black rough spots you feel on sterling (or other solid silver alloys) and can't remove with silver polish are most likely corrosion. Place an ammonia-soaked cotton ball on the corrosion spot and it should be dissolved within 10 minutes. If not, do it again for ten minutes at a time until the corrosion is removed. You may need to use some silver polish on a Q-tip or cotton ball and "massage" the area very lightly until you bring up the shine to blend in with the surrounding area. There will probably be a shallow etched spot that remains under the corroded area.

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Can I add a patina to silver or does it have to be done professionally?

We offer an antique finish

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Should I lacquer silver so it won't tarnish?

Lacquering silver and silverplate is generally not recommended because of the difficulties in obtaining a uniform coating, even when applied by a professional refinisher. If the coating has not been applied well, it may even have streaks and small holes, so that when the object retarnishes, it could look worse than if no coating had been applied.

Lacquer will also eventually yellow and crack, allowing tarnish to form within the fissures and eventually under the protective coating. Lacquer can easily chip or wear off of contact points on objects that have individual parts, such as covers on sugar bowls, coffee and teapots, boxes, salt shakers, and the like. Strong solvents must then be used to remove the lacquer and the piece refinished, not always successfully.

If an object is placed in an open display where surface protection is necessary, an archival micro-crystalline wax such as Renaissance is recommended. Renaissance will not yellow and will last for years if handled properly. Since Renaissance wax is not as durable as lacquer, the object should be handled with cotton gloves since acid from your fingers may eventually remove it. Renaissance wax can be purchased from Cutlery Specialties

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Can scratches on silver-plate be removed?

Unfortunately, scratches cannot be removed on silver-plated objects – here's why: Good quality silver is plated with 40 microns (.0015") of fine silver. After plating, the object is given a final polish which removes some of this silver. The piece will then be left with no more silver than the thickness of a plastic grocery bag. A scratch is generally deeper than the thickness of the silver plating, so only a quick polishing with a very fine polishing compound is possible which will brighten the object. Attempting to remove scratches will only cut through the plate and expose the base metal.

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Who should I contact if I want to sell my silver?

Before you send your silver to a refiner, contact a reputable antique silver dealer or auction house; you may find its worth more than you think!

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Is it okay to put my silver flatware in the dishwasher?

NO! It's that simple. There are four major reasons for keeping your prized sterling and silverplate out of the "chamber of doom:"

1. Any factory-applied patina (the blackening in recessed areas) will eventually be removed.

2. The harsh detergent, combined with the washer's high cleaning temperature, is much too abrasive for silver—it will eventually turn it grey or white, with a dull, non-reflective surface.

3. Most older and some repaired hollow-handled knives are filled with pitch. This low-melting cement will expand with heat, possibly forcing open a thin solder seam, or exploding the knife blade out of the handle.

4. Silver that touches stainless in the dishwasher can create a chemical reaction, producing black spots or pitting on the stainless and possibly requiring the silver to be professionally refinished.

Sterling, like a fine automobile, must be handled with tender loving care. You certainly wouldn't drive your Rolls Royce through a car wash, would you?

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Where can I get glass liners made for my open salts?

We can have them made at by expert glass blowers. They will hand blow liners in any colour for open salts, ice buckets, casseroles, etc. They do excellent work.