Nickel Plating Kits

Seashoreman

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Has anyone tried nickel plating small items? I have a few bits that need replating and see there are kits for sale from about £45. Otherwise I need to take them to an industrial plater 30 miles away which is bound to cost more than one of these kits. Any ideas or experience?
My AOL internet is becoming barely useable yet again or I would do a comprehensive Google search.
 

VicS

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Has anyone tried nickel plating small items? I have a few bits that need replating and see there are kits for sale from about £45. Otherwise I need to take them to an industrial plater 30 miles away which is bound to cost more than one of these kits. Any ideas or experience?
My AOL internet is becoming barely useable yet again or I would do a comprehensive Google search.

http://www.frost.co.uk/automotive-electroplating.html sell kits and chemicals for electroplating various metals including both matt and bright nickel plating.

More expensive than the £45 you quote but it might be worth reading the instructions to see what's involved .... AOL willing
 
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Seashoreman

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http://www.frost.co.uk/automotive-electroplating.html sell kits and chemicals for electroplating various metals including both matt and bright nickel plating.

More expensive than the £45 you quote but it might be worth reading the instructions to see what's involved .... AOL willing
Cheers for that Vic. Think I need to take a break from this project for a day or two. Instructions look great BUT they appear sideways for some reason. I had to laugh for a moment, trying to figure this out. Suppose I could have just turned the monitor 90 deg?
But thanks for that, most useful, will print off.
Anyone ever nickel plated?
 

VicS

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Sorry about that... easy with a tablet to turn the screen but usually you can rotate pdfs if you read in Adobe.
 

peterandjeanette

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Nickel plating on top of existing nickel is not very successful unless using duplex nickel. Parts need to be fully stripped before plating. ( you cannot form a suitable epitaxyl layer ). Better results if you copper plate first.

Remember that nickel plating is not very corrosion resistant.

I have a full nickel plating plant for small components where I work. Also copper, zinc, zinc/nickel alloy.

Drop me a PM if you need further advice.
 

doug748

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I have never tried nickel, as I suspect it is quite tricky.

I have had a good deal of success with zinc, which is quick and very easy. However, as you no doubt know, the galvanized surface is soft and not very decorative. It can be lightly polished but does not last in the shiny condition. It does repel corrosion quite well and protects things around it to a certain extent. All you need is vinegar, sugar, water, an old anode and a few other bits and pieces from the shed.
 

mlines

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My local commercial plater charges £65 per basket providing you are happy to wait for him to do a batch of the particular finish you want, usually turns most things around in a week. A basket is about the size of a bucket and take a surprisingly large number of items.
 

RichardTaylor

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Get it done professionally. As an ex-electroplating chemist, IMO you will spend out on the kit, probably fail and end up paying for it to be done professionally, with additional cost to remove the botched coating you previous applied.

Even copper plating, the easiest metal to plate, is an art if you want to get a consistent coat thickness with good finish rather than a microscopically soft spongy mess.
 

peterandjeanette

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Get it done professionally. As an ex-electroplating chemist, IMO you will spend out on the kit, probably fail and end up paying for it to be done professionally, with additional cost to remove the botched coating you previous applied.

Even copper plating, the easiest metal to plate, is an art if you want to get a consistent coat thickness with good finish rather than a microscopically soft spongy mess.

+ 1
 

rotrax

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I have plated hundreds of vintage and veteran motorcycle components over the last 20 years.

I used a kit supplied by a Vintage MCC member who developed it specificaly to produce the correct soft dull plating available in the period.

After buying the kit-about £50.00-a circulation pump and thermostatic heater were also required for perfect results-another25 quid.

It was-and still is an excellent finish but requires scrupulous cleanliness, a perfectly polished surface and accurate timings.

It is not worth doing unless time bears heavily on your hands......................................
 

Trundlebug

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In 2002 I purchased a nickel plating kit from Frost when I was restoring my Mk1 Mini
http://www.frost.co.uk/automotive-electroplating/electroplating-kits.html

I also bought the little book which helps you get the best out of it by going into a bit more depth.

I had surprisingly good results, despite using fairly rudimentary and basic kit:
I used a grey plastic (square) washing up bowl for the electrolyte
I used a battery charger for the power source
Because it was winter I had to heat the electrolyte, so I sat the bowl on a piece of steel plate, jacked up on wood blocks.
I put a meths burner underneath (on low) to warm it up gently to the required temp.
As I didn't have a thermometer (I was hard up! But they're only cheap so I would suggest you get one) I dipped a gloved finger into the electrolyte to test for luke warmness IIRC.
I didn't have a stirrer or agitator.

As has been said above, cleanliness and preparation are the key ingredients to success, and I used the "Marine clean" and "Metal ready" products that came with the kit to help with this, they were very effective.

I think the plating took 2-3 hours, maybe 4, and I did have a few components that didn't seem to plate as well as the others but in the main I was very happy with the results. It's enormously satisfying having done all the work to see the results.
I only plated small items, I think the largest was the oil filler cap (which had the names of all the oil companies embossed around the top).

What I liked was that the whole job was within my own control.
When I initially made enquiries some of the plating companies said "That item may get destroyed in the preparation process, we can't guarantee you'll get everything back".
Well as some of the items were irreplaceable and most were in generally good condition I wasn't happy with that, so decided to buy my own kit.

Nothing got lost, destroyed or damaged, although yes the finished result was perhaps a bit more variable than a professional job.

In the main, it's well worth doing - for interest and satisfaction if nothing else.
Ignore the doomsayers making it out to be complex and beyond the scope of a DIYer.
 
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