Thread: So what exactly is gold wash and..

what's the difference between it and gold plate.

I was told many years ago by a guy who owned a plating business that when the plating solution starts to become.. well.. used up and the solution is full of impurities since they want to use up every bit of gold that becomes the gold wash. It's the same plating but the quality is sub par.

Gold wash refers to a gilded layer with a thickness less than 0.2 micron.

Some while back, I made the mistake of trying to polish the tang of a Bismarck with Maas. Bad move Ex-Lax!!

Gold wash is totally thin and the polish made short work of a small spot of wash on the tang. Gold wash is far too delicate for polish.

Originally Posted by dancraig

Gold wash refers to a gilded layer with a thickness less than 0.2 micron.

...and gold plate is thicker - typically not less than 0.7 micron (heavy gold electroplate may be a bit thinner). Gold wash, sometimes called 'flash gold' or 'gold tone' can be thinner than 0.1 micron, and I dont think that there is a minimum karat standard for it.

The thicker platings, including Heavy Gold Electroplate must have minimum of 10 karat. The trouble is, the higher the purity, the softer the coating...

Regards,
Neil

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

...and gold plate is thicker - typically not less than 0.7 micron (heavy gold electroplate may be a bit thinner). Gold wash, sometimes called 'flash gold' or 'gold tone' can be thinner than 0.1 micron, and I dont think that there is a minimum karat standard for it.

The thicker platings, including Heavy Gold Electroplate must have minimum of 10 karat. The trouble is, the higher the purity, the softer the coating...

Regards,
Neil

Neil,
Remember gold filled, sometimes called "rolled gold"?
An item would be marked something like "RG or GF 1/20 14k". That meant the total weight of the item was 1/20 14K. It was a very heavy gold covering. I think it was mechanically applied to the base metal. I have an old Cross pen that is gold filled.

Originally Posted by dancraig

Neil,
Remember gold filled, sometimes called "rolled gold"?
An item would be marked something like "RG or GF 1/20 14k". That meant the total weight of the item was 1/20 14K. It was a very heavy gold covering. I think it was mechanically applied to the base metal. I have an old Cross pen that is "rolled gold".

Hi - yes I do! Haven't come across it in quite a while though. It is far superior to plating - much thicker - can even be engraved. A layer of gold was fused to a receptive metal like brass or copper, then the bar was rolled flat - hence the 'rolled' bit. sometimes the gold layer was on both sides. It made very good, hard-wearing nibs for fountain pens - your Cross is proof of that!

Regards,
Neil

As thebigspendur can tell you the fine old pocket watches of yesteryear were many times gold filled. This was a very durable and attractive coating. Far more durable than plating. So I googled 'gold filled case' and came up with this excellent website here. Enjoy.

Yep the old pocketwatches (with Gold Fill cases) were either 10 or 14K Gold filled and up until 1924 when the Govt stopped the practice they carried warrantees by year according to how thick the gold was. Rolled gold is a similar process but the gold is much thinner and many of the old watch cases that had rolled gold cases were marked rolled gold plate.

I had a few vintage razors with goldened shanks that were a real pain to strip the gold off. No idea what process was used, or even not completely sure I remember the brands accurately, so I'd rather not name them.

Originally Posted by mrsell63

Some while back, I made the mistake of trying to polish the tang of a Bismarck with Maas. Bad move Ex-Lax!!

Gold wash is totally thin and the polish made short work of a small spot of wash on the tang. Gold wash is far too delicate for polish.

*Smooth Move Ex-Lax

Sorry this was bugging me.

Back on topic. I have a Biismarck with only 5 shaves on it and the tang is already losing it's gold. I haven't used anything but hot water and a soft cloth to clean it