6 replies to this topic

[YoungUn]

does any one know if i could set up a small electrolisis chromium plating thing at home, as there are a few things i would like doing but the platers never do it right.... like when they chromed my brothers gun barrel, they got the plating down the barrel, when we specifically told them only to do the outside, and plug up the end

[bluebottle]

i cant remember the reason, but i'm pretty certain that you cant do chrome plating at home. my father has vintage cars and he was going to try it at home, but there was a reason why he didnt!.....however you can nickel plate at home, he succesfully built his own plating bath for smallish items, this was fine for one car as it was from the tewnties and chrome didn't come into widespread use until the early thirties, but for his other car, all the bits had to go to a local platers, but they did a very good job.

it might be worth getting in touch with your local classic car club, there might be a platers local to you that has a good reputation.

[Guess-Works.com]

You can also do Gold plating at home, how about a realy Bling Mini :cheese:

Edited by GuessWorks, 22 January 2005 - 06:55 PM.

[YoungUn]

great thanks! do you know of any information i could get to do nickel plating at home then?

[vasi]

....was going to try it at home, but there was a reason why he didnt!

The mere mention of chromic acid generally makes those who know it run a mile.

Electroless kits can be bought for about 60sheets.

[dklawson]

Over here the chemicals involved for almost any plating operation are so tightly controlled that it's almost impossible to plate anything at home. There are some kits that can be purchased to do a tin/nickle plate but I've heard the results aren't very good.

For most plating, you don't just have one material layer. For example, whether you're talking about chrome or nickle, there is usually a copper plate as a "tie" layer to hold the top metal to the base part.

Do a google search and I'll bet you'll find links telling how to improvise the chemicals and do this at home with a battery charger. Practice on scrap pieces before you attempt to plate anything valuable. On true electroplating, the proximity of the electrodes to one another greatly affect the results, so if you're planning on plating a complicated shape practice on similar shapped scrap will be very important.

[Dan]

Send your stuff to Mini Chrome and Components (or whatever Evans A series is called now). They'll do a good job. A professional will do a better job then you can at home mate, just because one of them messed up doesn't mean they all will.