Ok, after seeing Facial Carnage's rose gold resto, I cleaned up the drool and then started dreaming. My hopes were soon dashed when Gary (GD Carrington) brought up the fact that Merkurs were made from a material called Zamac which doesn't hold up well to replating. I emailed Reliable Electroplating who has a damn solid rep here on The Den. They got back to me very soon after I sent them the email and informed me that they haven't had the best luck in replating Merkurs. The only do Gillettes now I checked Razor Emporium's website and saw that they do replate Merkurs but only in nickel, which is fine even though I was going to go for the gold. I recall reading about some less than stellar encounters with Razor Emporium though. So my questions to my fellow Denizens are these: From those of you who have used Razor Emporium, would you do it again, any horror stories or stories of superior service....anything to redeem them from the negatives I've read previously? Are there any other replaters that anyone would care to recommend? Thanks in advance!
These are the only ones I would recommend. ------------------------------------------------------------------ West Coast Razors - Dave http://westcoastrazors.com/?service=razor-restoration Tel: 714 356-8222 Email: ocrazorman@gmail.com U.S. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Reliable Electroplating You must give them a phone call do not use email. Reliable Electroplating, Inc. 304 W. Main St. PO Box 91 Chartley, MA 02712 Phone: 508.222.0620 Fax: 508.222.0921 UK / Europe ----------------------------------------------------------------- Ontoman (Dave) http://www.restoredrazors.com/about_us All of these come with excellent reputations. If they have difficulties with Zamak materials, then everyone else will as well. Contact each and find out. Good fortune.
Youda man GDC!Thanks for the additional leads. I already know Reliable doesn't do Merkurs unfortunately; they are a company I want to business with due to their reputation. I may end up using Razor Emporium out of necessity if these don't pan out. At least I know the risk before I do it, in the event I run out of options.
I'd be careful using anyone with a questionable rep. They may just dissolve your razor and send you an "Oops, sorry" note. If someone knowledgeable and reputable who does this for a living won't do it, I'd probably respect their judgement. They may have learned the hard way. Oh and BTW, I find Razor Emporium's answer a little questionable. I'm pretty sure anyone who plates your razor in gold is going to have to do it in nickel first. So if they can do it in nickel, it should be easy to put some gold on top.
Both great points. I think you just righted my thinking. I don't know. It doesn't have the heft of brass. Couple that with Reliable stating they don't even attempt them any longer, I bet they are some combination, of which the non-brass parts just don't play well.
I don't know if it applies to slants, but I have an old Hoffritz branded OC that is definitely not pot metal. It is missing some plating and looks to be brass. As for Razor Emporium, I never used their re-plating service, but I have 2 Gillette LC New heads I purchased from them. I use one of them as a daily driver. The plating has held up well over the last year. It isn't as clean and crisp as my Old Type from BRW, but looks good.
I thought I replied earlier, but must not have clicked submit. It is the bottom plate of the head that is missing the plating. Just saw a re-plated in gold slant on B&B. looked pretty good.
