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Dave

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Nickel plating

Started by bazza, 01 Oct 2007 at 10:51

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bazza

Hi Everyone,Can someone give me some advice on nickel plating parts myself .I have seen plating kits advertised and I'm not sure what I am capable of or what are postives and negatives of doing it oneself.The sort of things I would like to plate are induction manifold,valve covers,rim of the acetylene lamp and the top piece (don't know what to call it).Also the acetylene generator,so these are all fairly big pieces so what size should I buy and what should I be looking for during the process.

Regards Bazza and the EW

Chris

Hi Bazza
   I wrote an article on home nickel plating for the New Conrod at some time in the past. I will try to find it. It was written in response to the number of people who had thought it a good idea, bought the kit and then never unpacked it. At that time there were two popular kits available but one of these has since closed but I believe another is now available. I purchased my kit about 10 years ago and since then I have relaced the nickel anodes twice, the nickel salts once and purchased replacement quantities of acid salts and alkaline cleaning salts. But I have done all the nickel plating on four complete motorcycles and many other accessories, carburettors, magnetos etc. I only bought the basic kit and I can plate everything except a pair of handlebars and the long vertical gear change rod on a 2.3/4 hp. Flywheels, inlet manifolds and other larger items can be plated in several sections as the join does not show. I and some of my friends have had no problems and produce a good original dull nickel finish not easily obtained nowadays commercially. Modern nickel plating has brighteners which make the restored machine shine like a Christmas tree. I am aware however, that some people, even an esteemed Forum member, have had great difficulty getting the nickel to "stick" in spite of installing far more sophisticated setups than I have.
Chris

davebarkshire

I've been wondering about these myself especially for small parts and fuel pipes. The supplier that I know about is Frosts. http://www.frost.co.uk

If you do take the plunge I hope that you'll let us know how it turns out.

tommy

To build and operate a plating system is very simple.
You can buy very cheap plastic water tanks (like in the attic) in various sizes from the builders merchants. Three is usually enough, but you can add an extra cold water rinse if you like.
Buy the anodes and salts from a supplier like H.S.Walsh in the midlands. I will give details tomorrow.
You can use a car battery charger as your power source and link a household lighting dimmer switch so you can increase or reduce your voltage as required.
About 1.5v is fine.
If you wish to be fancy you can make a rig to agitate the part in the plating salts, but if you have patience and a strong arm you can move slowly by hand back and forth through the fluid.
Dynic used to make a kit. You can do silver plate in the same manner, but there is cyanide in the salts. How brave are you?

As with anything like this, the final plating part is fairly easy to achieve. It is all in the preparation.
Any nicks and scratches left in the part will be mirrored in the final finish.
Shiny and deeply scratched. You will only get out what you put in!
Bit like painting and decorating. If you have lumpy walls and then apply paper, you will have a pretty pattern with lumps.

Other things to look out for are that the plate will deposit best on the extremeties of the part. It will go to what it can see best.
If you are plating a piston or slide, it will deposit heavy on the outer ends with less in the middle.
You may have to add dummies on each end to attract the extra deposit, leaving your part in the middle more uniform.

If you have scratches left in say a flywheel, you can build a heavy deposit of plate and then cut back/flat off with a sisal mop and carbrax cutting compound. The mop is very tough, stitched and has big string fibres that look a bit like straw.
Nickel is a very tough plate and this is about the only combination I know of that will cut back effectively.

The main reason for plate not to stick is that the part has not been degreased properly. Polishing soaps and compounds have grease and lubricants within them.
If you have ultrasonic tanks fine, but brasso does a good job and then a wipe down with white spirit or thinners.
Be carefull not to handle after as fingerprints will be greasy!
You can also use a small steam cleaner on brass etc like you can buy in B&Q but I never found it very effective. On steel it will start to rust in front of you.

Another thing to remember is that you are asking a top coat to stick to an item you have just made slippery and shiny. Bit like painting a gloss coat without sanding to provide a key. It will peel off in sheets.
You can use a platers brush and pumice. Mix the pumice with a little water to make a paste and then with a wet brush apply the pumice in a circular motion causing a very light scratching of the surface.
Once plated you can cut back and flat out.
Brasso has pumice so should suffice and almost everyone has the stuff.

You need to keep the solutions clean and free from dust and debris, so it you get water tanks, buy the lids also.

Don't be frightened of it, give it a go and let us know.

Tom












bazza

Hi Everyone.Youv'e all convinced me so I've gone ahead and ordered a 4litre kit from Jane Electroplating kit suppliers in Newcastle just north of Sydney.As I live in Australia its best I deal locally the cost including a transformer etc was $A 150,So I'll kick off with that and see how we go.
Thanks for your encouragement.

Bazza

richson

About 15 years ago I experimented with electroless nickel plating as a convenient way of plating aluminium alloy machined parts. The finish as I recall was very dull, although the parts had not been polished but were straight off the mill. At the time I needed an almost coloured finish so the method was discarded in favour of anodising.  Maybe with the correct preparation it would be ok. Certainly very easy - just mix the chemicals, and dip it in.  Anything so easy can't be any good surely . . . Kits are available from here: http://www.caswelleurope.co.uk/electronic.htm

Doug

Caswell (as mentioned in previous post) also have offices in and supply kits to other parts of the world.

USA-
http://www.caswellplating.com/
Canada-
http://www.caswellcanada.ca/store/default.asp
UK and Europe-
http://www.caswelleurope.co.uk/
Australia and New Zealand-
http://australia.caswellplating.com/
Rest of the world, use USA site per instructions here-
http://www.caswellplating.com/row.html


-Doug


Ian

I have used a Janes kit for ages. The nickel plating I get is good but not shiny - needs plenty of buffing. However a guy here at the veteran rally got one recently and there is an extra chemical included for brightening which seems to work well - his are bright and shiny straight out of the vat. I use a crock pot to heat the mixture.

tommy

Taking a look at the caswell kit it seems a bit expensive in the UK.
The use of light bulbs to reduce/control the voltage will work, but a bit mickey mouse and does not give enough control.
If the voltage is too high your part will burn and you will see it change colour to a nice black.
The larger the part the more voltage will be required. If you use a battery charger, you will have a volmeter on the front so you can see clearly what is going on. The dimmer switch gives an instant adjustment.
I would suggest you already have a little current running as you place the part into the tank.
If you make a jig for cathode rod movement to give agitation, a speed of 25 revolutions or oscillations per minute will suffice.

It is essential that current shall not be interupted during plating, otherwise a laminated deposit will result.
This can give rise to the next layer lacking adhesion.
You do not want to be messing about with light bulbs at this point!
If the above takes place, you have to strip back to base.
This will result in possible contamination of your fluids and the stripper will cause etching and you will have to re-polish.

For production plating we do not subscribe to plating copper first, then nickel. (unless the base metal is nickel silver)
Just go straight on with the nickel. I can expand, but it will take all night.

Also, I would not be tempted to go with caswell's on trying to plate Chrome at home.
The vapours are horrid and the chemicals nasty. You need bloody good extraction unless you wish to gas the wife or kill the cat.
One of the mild symptoms are ulceration of the skin and nasal passages.
You can mix 1 part lanolin and 3 parts soft paraffin jelly to protect the skin and nasal passages.

Nickel itch can occur if you have had sensitivity to nickel in the past.
Use of wet barrier creams and good gloves washed regularly can prevent this, but if you have a history of sensitization to watch straps, metal necklaces, metal suspenders or bra straps, this game is not for you!
You should not be in contact with nickel in any form otherwise a severe sensitivity reaction may occur.

Don't be tempted to do your own nickel base coat, to then take to a pro shop for chrome on top.
Once nickel plated the part needs to go straight into the chrome process.
If you wait the surface becomes inert and will not take the chrome.

I would be tempted to buy a base model kit and then adapt it.
Though the only thing missing from making your own home set up is heating your solutions.
I have the tank with the solution sat/fixed inside a larger tank filled with water.
The outer tank has an electric element sat in it with a thermostat.
You can use a steel container with a band heater or for a cheap fast way you can buy a travel kettle that plugs into a lighter socket in the car from the camping shop.
They have some that you can just submerse in liquid or dangle in the cup.

Lastly, you must not pour your waste fluids down drains or toilets.

Have fun.

Tom