electroplating my own parts

[kbot6789]

ok guys this is the howto part 1 ....... take two parts distillle vinager to 1 part hydrogen peroxide=== example 2 cups vinager to one cup of peroxide mix well <-- thats jkust a guidline to go buy you can mix up as much as you need oh to this one cup mixture ad one table spoon of salt stir well .. if you need more then that mix more up but here is what you do after you mix this solution up use a piece of nickle for plating... now rememember are are not ready to plate just yet.... find a old dc power supply i used a old atx power supply from a computer here is the wireing cod if your gonna use it its 12 volts works great the yellow wires are 12 volt the black are ground wires in order to turn it on snip out a black ground wireany black wire and twist it with a green wire ... now take a piece of nickle and hook it to the yellow wire witch is your + and take like a piece of old metel.. remember we are makin the solution to plate not plating just yet i used just a steel nail as my negative not take the nickle thats on the + now immers the nickle under the solution leaving the conntection to the nickle above the vinager line take the other the nail or what ever your gonna use as a negative electrode its fine if it get submerged fully because the negative draw the metel ions throught the vinager anyways turn your powersupply on let it sit for about 4 hours till the vinager turns a color just a little lighter then coffee this is your solution to plate with
strain it with a coffee filter and your done making the solution

 

[kbot6789]

ok part two of nickle plateing take your solution witch is vinager and hyrogen peroxide withy salt and nickle put it in a old glass coffepot put it in the coffeemaker let it warm up this warming helps keep your parts from oxidizing tomuch to plate once its warmed up take your positive and hook it to your nickle metel .. your doner metel and then the negative hook it to the part to be plated make shure your parts are clean no grease oil or dirt rubbin alcohol works great after its degreased to remove the residue once its cleaned let it dry oh by the way the solution is not harmful if it gets on your skin but your hands will smell like burnt metel from the nickle ions in the vinager so you might wanna use rubber gloves andy ways dip your part negative wire and all in your solution on the positive terminal donot submerg the copper or what ever your useing to conduct the nickle with its best to place half above and half below the vinager line so your positive will not go througfh the electrolisis part just the nickle ty any questions just ask sheck your parts about every 20 minutes or so give it time to plate but you wanna keep an eye on it after you feel its plated enough rince the vinager off with good old tap water and your done oh one more thing this does produce hydrogen gas so please do this outside your home not inside and since its hydrogen gas please no smoking .. i do love to hear from you guys so please be safe oh almost forgot never let your parts and the positive plus nickle touch keep them seperated under the solution

 

[kbot6789]

hope it explains alot guys any questions just ask its cheap easy and simple to do

 

[kbot6789]

ok im gonna explain the solution while im at it and why it works so it will clearify the viniger is an acidic base for the electrolisis to help break up the metel the peroxide is a deoxidizer the salt is for elelctrical flow and all these work in harmony

 

[jimraysr]

It looks so simple even a Caveman could do it.

Thanks for the details.

Is is it the same for copper as well?

I had a brass medallion from a group I belong to and a friend took it to work and brought it back gold plated! I think he worked for Motorola. )

Jim

ok im gonna explain the solution while im at it and why it works so it will clearify the viniger is an acidic base for the electrolisis to help break up the metel the peroxide is a deoxidizer the salt is for elelctrical flow and all these work in harmony

 

[kbot6789]

yes jim just substitute copper instead of nickle but once you use copper in your solution it will turn blue and make the solution copper sulfate insead of a nickle solution so use a new batch of solution for each

 

[kbot6789]

jim im in the live chat if you need help bud

 

[2door]

Eastwood has a kit> Electroplating System Tin Zinc
Tom

 

[fasteddy]

Want to learn how to chrome plate at home? It's all on the internet.

Along with the warnings about what it will do to you if you mess up.

Steve.

 

[diceman2004]

kbot - do you think this will work if i use a car battery charger as a power supply ?

 

[kbot6789]

yea dice it will just watch your amp meter dont get em to high bro or you toast your charger oh and not to be mean but to fasteddy bud if your gonna chrome at home thats whare you get into deluted sulfuric acid ....bad bad bad

 

[2door]

kbot,
You might mention to folks that a decent nickle plating job can be buffed, polished to a near chrome like finish. Also have you tried multiple plating? A layer of copper and then nickle over that? Old time chrome shops used to do what was called triple chrome plating. The did a layer of copper,a layer of nickle and then the chrome. You don't see that kind of quality much today. In fact most chrome shops have been put out of business by EPA regs. Even aftermarket chrome hot rod parts usually come from other countries now because chrome plating is scarce and expensive in America. Keep us informed on your progress and thanks for the input.
Tom

 

[kbot6789]

that bracket i posted has a layer of good thic copper under it i just used a piece of cheap copper wire as my copper to connect to the + then i made my nickle solution like i told you guys and plated it in nickle

 

[jimraysr]

Re: USING A BATTERY CHARGER?

kbot - do you think this will work if i use a car battery charger as a power supply ?

Chargers are pretty dirty DC. They don't have any filtering. You might have noticed a buzz on a car radio when a charger is hooked up?

The advantage of using an old computer power supply is the limited current available and the internal protection. A car battery could be used, but very dangerous IMHO.

I once got my wedding band between jumper cables and could have lost a finger if I hadn't jumped back to pull the ring off my finger. That was over 40 years ago. Since then I never wear my watch or rings when working around batteries.

Jim

 

[diceman2004]

( jim ) i hear what you are saying about the jumper cables , but don,t forget , the battery puts out more amps than the charger does . i,de be more cautious of the battery .

( kbot ) good call , there's a surplus store near me , i,ll see what they have , rather than risking my charger .

 

[kbot6789]

well the reason i use a old powerspply its got a bu8ilt in curcut breaker mine cranks out 70 amps way more then enough beside if it ever pops just turn it off let it reset and your back to plating

 

[fasteddy]

I spent a lot of years stripping chrome and nickle from copper and brass when I was in the antique restoration business. That involved a lot of sulphuric and muriatic acid. The buffing didn't do my arms and shoulders any good either.

I had an old Jeep truck with a generator and hooked up the battery cables to the battery and to the piece being stripped. Don't make a spark near the acid. The results are not good. It will mess up an alternator.

Nickle was the prefered finish on cars until they discovered chrome gave them a harder finish that would stand up to wear and tear better. To me nickle has a softer, warmer look to it.

Just sent my chrome parts for the Monark out and the handle bars alone were $100. After that my mind went more numb than usual and my eyes glazed and I just nodded as he gave me the prices.

Steve.

 

[GearNut]

Thank you very much, kbot6789!
I am going to be a plating nut now!

 

[kbot6789]

more then welcome gearnut i tried to make the instructions as simple and easy as i could so hope you guys understand them if you got anyquestions just post em thanks and enjoy guys

 

[GearNut]

I can never prevent slight flash rust when I wash off the black residue from de-rusting with a battery charger. I have even tried final washing in 99% alcohol from the hardware store, to no avail.
Will flash rust have a bad effect?