Metal Man Restoration plates and re-plates metal in our own Mount Vernon shop. We take worn, stripped, or wrongly finished pieces and put a new layer of brass, nickel, chrome, copper, silver, or pewter on them, then finish and protect the surface. Because the polishing and the plating happen under the same roof, the preparation is done by the people who know what the plating will show.
What Plating and Re-Plating Actually Do
Plating deposits a thin layer of one metal onto another. It is how a brass fixture becomes chrome, how a worn nickel handle gets its finish back, and how a piece made of an inexpensive base metal takes on the appearance and corrosion resistance of a better one. Re-plating is the same process applied to something that was plated once already and has worn through.
The plating itself is the short part. Most of the work is in what happens first. Old plating has to come off, the base metal has to be repaired and polished until it is genuinely smooth, and any pitting has to be addressed, because plating follows the surface underneath rather than hiding it. A poor polish under a perfect plate still looks poor.
Metals We Plate
- Brass Plating and Re-Plating, warm gold tone for hardware, lighting, and decorative metal
- Chrome Plating and Re-Chroming, bright hard finish for fixtures, trim, and automotive and motorcycle parts
- Nickel Plating and Re-Plating, softer than chrome with a warmer tone, common on period hardware
- Copper Plating, used decoratively and as an underlayer that helps later coats adhere and level
- Silver Plating and Replating, for flatware, hollowware, trophies, and decorative pieces
- Pewter Plating and Restoration, soft muted finish for period and reproduction work
- Metal Plating in Manhattan, the same work for Manhattan buildings, co-ops, and designers
Antique and Architectural Re-Plating
Most of what comes to us is not new. It is door and window hardware from a prewar building, a set of lighting fixtures, a bathroom suite, or a family piece that has been handled for decades. On antiques the question is always how much to remove. We take the least aggressive route that will do the job, because base metal removed in preparation is gone permanently, and on thin or previously over-polished pieces there is not much to spare.
Matching an Existing Finish
When only part of a set needs work, matching matters more than brightness. We plate to match the surviving pieces rather than to a catalog standard, so a replaced handle sits correctly beside the originals instead of announcing itself. Bring the whole set where you can, because matching to a piece in hand is far more reliable than matching to a description.
Protecting the Finish
Plated surfaces tarnish and wear like any other. Lacquer slows that considerably on decorative pieces that are not handled constantly. For hardware in daily use, a maintenance schedule keeps things looking right without stripping and re-plating from scratch every few years.
Common Questions About Metal Plating
These are the questions we hear most from owners, designers, and building managers considering plating work.
What is the difference between plating and polishing?
Polishing works the metal you already have, removing scratches and bringing up a shine. Plating adds a new layer of a different metal on top. If you want brass to look like chrome, that is plating. If you want dull brass to look like bright brass, that is polishing.
Can any metal be plated?
Most common metals can, including brass, bronze, copper, steel, and pot metal. Some castings and heavily pitted pieces need repair work first, and a few base metals do not take plating well. We assess the piece before quoting rather than after.
How long does plating last?
It depends on the metal, the thickness, and how much the piece is handled. Decorative items that are not touched daily can hold a finish for many years, while door hardware in constant use wears faster. Lacquer and a maintenance schedule both extend it.
Can you re-plate something that has worn through?
Yes, and that is a large part of what we do. The old plating is stripped, the base metal underneath is repaired and polished, and the piece is plated again. Worn-through hardware and fixtures are among the most common jobs in the shop.
Do you plate small jobs or only large orders?
Both. We plate single heirloom pieces as readily as a full set of building hardware, and we handle production volume for manufacturers as well.
Related Services
- Metal restoration in Mount Vernon, NY
- Metal polishing and brass restoration, the preparation step behind every plating job
- Hardware restoration
- Lighting restoration
- Metal cleaning and maintenance in New York
Send Us the Piece or a Photo
Send photos of what you want plated or call (914) 662-4218. We will tell you which finish suits the piece, what preparation it needs, and what it will take.
Projects Like This
Real projects from our own shop and job sites. Every one of these is work we did ourselves.
Yankee Stadium Plaques
In April 2008, the New York Yankees and Skanska Construction Corporation hired Metal Man Restoration to restore two...
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Franciscan Church of the Assumption Syracuse NY
In August 2014, Metal Man Restoration was hired to restore the main and side entranceways at the Franciscan Church...
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251 West 89th Street - Entranceway Restoration
In August 2015, Metal Man Restoration was hired to restore the front entranceway of 251 West 89th Street in Manhattan...
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Being an interior designer in NYC for the past 10 years we have used metal man for all of our plating, finishing and metal restoration work. They have performed amazing work on light fixtures/door hardware/plumbing fixtures (changing fixtures from brass to either chrome or nickel finishes). We just...
Our Clients
We serve a diverse range of clients, including homeowners, contractors, antique dealers, hardware companies, insurance companies, restoration companies, and collectors.