Hi, I am new to this forum series. I have seen it the past, but had not actually signed up.

My question is that is it possible to re-plate an old flute in silver again. I am aware of the procedure to disassemble the flute and all, but the two major things holding me back are:

1.) Is it worth plating an old flute in silver again, because the first layer of silver has worn off and/or the plating has become tarnished beyond recognition?
2.) Would the cost in re-plating it be more expensive than the old flute?

I have not bought the flute, however I saw one on eBay that I thought would be a fun project to try and restore as the seller marked it for parts, but stated that it's only tarnished and needs new pads.

I've always did repairs on my old flutes, and had studied with my instructor when I was playing in school about repair, so I know quite a bit about do's and don'ts. I basically have knowledge and experience repairing a flute in all aspects, barring the finesse details regarding tone hole cutting and other related tasks conducted by the manufacturer themselves.

If you are otherwise capable of getting it into playing condition I would go for it. Check out some Youtube videos on DIY silver plating. It looks as though it might be something that could be done at home for a minimal investment. Not so sure about cost effectiveness of re-silvering a cheap student model, especially if you needed to send out to have it done but a really nice price for a beat up premium flute sounds like a fun project. Let us know if you do it and how things progress if you do.

If the flute is just tarnished there is no reason to re-plate it - before replating you have to clean & polish it thoroughly anyway. To do a lasting job do not try brush plating - you can only put a very thin layer on this way.