Zinc/Nickel plating

[Thorp]

Hi all,

I wondered if anyone had tried one of the home plating kits available on eBay etc such as this? And with any success?

https://www.gaterosplating.co.uk/zinc-plating-kit-5L

I usually prep a box of stuff at a time and it’s approx £20-£30 at my platers, but thought it would be handy to do the occasional item (it they work ok!)

Thanks

[Fanfaniracing]

Hej Thorp!

I am thinking about the same for some time...

Seeing a lot of YouTube videos where it looks super easy.


Unfortunately where i life, it's hard to get those kits...

If you try i would be very interested in the results!

Good luck!

[iain1967s]

Project Binky had an episode on home electroplating

[jerry]

I tried the at home way with vinegar, Epsom salts, sugar and nickle, powered by a small charger and had good results for a while, until one of the bits i tried to plate i hadn't quite got all the old zinc/cad plating off with brick cleaner( its got hydrocloric acid in it) which contaminated the mixture, but as it cost a whole £0.40 for some more vinegar, just chucked the old stuff and brewed some more. Experimented with different chargers i had knocking around of different voltages and power. Made some copper solution as well which worked well. Got better results from nickle if it had a quick dunk in the copper plating pot first. Tried zinc plating as well using the same method, but i used an old boat anode which i now think must be an aluminum/zinc mix as the coating came out really dark grey. Had hours of fun experimenting with it, even getting the kids interested.

I wouldn't do it on safety critical components as I'm not a metallurgist and have bugger all knowledge about hydrogen embrittlement, but on little brackets and the like, then give it a go.

Jerry

[mk1]

As Jerry says home plating is pretty easy & can be very rewarding.

You can use home brewed mixes or the pre mixed stuff, as long as you are clean & rinse, rinse, rinse the concoctions will last ages.

I have home done Nickel, Zinc & Copper I have also done a bit of anodising (not very successfully) & lots of chemical blacking.

The hardest thing to get right is the power supply, all plating is voltage & current sensitive & using the wrong one of either can cause lots of problems.

If you have plenty of space & dont mind having drums of "nasty" liquids stored around the place then it is worth having a go, but speaking as someone who has done quite a bit, if you are just wanting to do a few odd bits & bobs, it will undoubtedly be quicker & easier to send it out.

[cheesebadger]

I have got one of those kits (or very similar) for occasional use. Have a look at my "not very recently updated" build thread for some hydro tower covers that I plated at home. It can be time consuming with all the different processes.

However, you can get good results DIY, my advice would be to avoid the cheap "current controller" sold with those kits and make sure you use a proper variable power supply. As a few others have pointed out current and voltage are very important to getting a decent consistent result.

Additionally, depending on where you are planning to do this make sure it isn't too cold. I have bought a cheap used food warmer/hotplate (available for £10 from many places!) to keep all the tanks above 20degC - this makes a big difference.

However, if you have a large batch, it is better to send to a local specialist. You will likely get better /consistent results compared to one of those kits.

Give it a go. Good luck!

[Thorp]

Thanks guys, I’m feeling inspired to give it a try.