Nickel Plating

[Mr Clean]

Well I didn't quite know where to post this, so we'll start here.

Has anyone ever done their own Nickel plating? I have been watching a bunch of YouTube vids. It doesn't seem hard. I just bought a little battery charger from Amazon, two 99.96 Nickel Plates. Still need Vinegar, and a large sealable glass jar.

Just seeing if anyone here has ever done this? Is it really as easy as it looks? Just seeing if there is someone on here I can bounce questions off of. I'm going to give it a try, I'll post pics when I can.

 

[idahovette]

NOT a clue, but I'll be watching and waiting for your results!!!

 

[DanMcG]

I dabbled with the Caswell Plating brush plating kits, but never tank plating. they do offer a good instruction manual and materials.

 

[RecklessWOT]

Well I didn't quite know where to post this, so we'll start here.

Has anyone ever done their own Nickel plating? I have been watching a bunch of YouTube vids. It doesn't seem hard. I just bought a little battery charger from Amazon, two 99.96 Nickel Plates. Still need Vinegar, and a large sealable glass jar.

Just seeing if anyone here has ever done this? Is it really as easy as it looks? Just seeing if there is someone on here I can bounce questions off of. I'm going to give it a try, I'll post pics when I can.

Right out of high school I briefly worked in an industrial electroplating factory, spent 95% of my time running one of the the Nickel plating lines. Big batches for large companies, but everything from aerospace to medical equipment to gun parts, and everything in between (most memorable for me- we plated literally tons the little metal part on top of Bic lighters and the endcaps for some Duracell batteries). I didn't work there more than a few months as it was a pretty harsh environment, very hot in there and a haze of fumes made it hard to see the other end of the building, the people who'd been there for years looked like raisins and had voices like Patty and Selma from the Simpsons. The process involves different chemical baths and rinses that were timed, some were heated, and the parts were agitated or "tumbled" while in the tanks for uniform coverage. Everything was cleaned in sulfuric acid prior to going in the plating tank and was rinsed then dried in a liquid Freon tank after.

Being in a factory setting everything was so specific to a certain amount time and temps, chemical concentrations had to be kept in a specific range, etc, for the best possible result (not too thin, not too thick, good adhesion). I'm sure realistically it doesn't have to be anywhere near that specific to get the nickel to stick, in theory it is a fairly simple process, but I really doubt you're gonna have a good end result by simply using a battery charger and some vinegar. Some light nickel plating could most likely be achieved with such a method, but I would be very surprised if it were any good, my guess is that it would most likely wear off easily and would do little to prevent rust. I will admit have never tried it at home (accidentally copper plated something once, but that's a different story lol) so I can't say for sure whether it will work well or not, but my best "educated guess" is no.

Let us know how it goes when if/when you do try it, I am legitimately curious. Would be cool if it turns out to be something else we could do at home

 

[animal]

Do i seem to recall that maybe @bucket did this one time??

 

[bucket]

Do i seem to recall that maybe @bucket did this one time??

It wasn't me, but someone here did. I can't remember who it was. Iirc, their tank was just a basic kiddie pool and they used old nickel coins. Technically illegal, but it worked.

 

[Snoots]

1. Nothing is ever as easy as it looks.
2. I'll pay someone to do it before I mess with those chemicals.

 

[idahovette]

@Snoots ,too many leftover "chemicals" in the body, not wanting to risk more???!!!!......lol

 

[Mr Clean]

Right out of high school I briefly worked in an industrial electroplating factory, spent 95% of my time running one of the the Nickel plating lines. Big batches for large companies, but everything from aerospace to medical equipment to gun parts, and everything in between (most memorable for me- we plated literally tons the little metal part on top of Bic lighters and the endcaps for some Duracell batteries). I didn't work there more than a few months as it was a pretty harsh environment, very hot in there and a haze of fumes made it hard to see the other end of the building, the people who'd been there for years looked like raisins and had voices like Patty and Selma from the Simpsons. The process involves different chemical baths and rinses that were timed, some were heated, and the parts were agitated or "tumbled" while in the tanks for uniform coverage. Everything was cleaned in sulfuric acid prior to going in the plating tank and was rinsed then dried in a liquid Freon tank after.

Being in a factory setting everything was so specific to a certain amount time and temps, chemical concentrations had to be kept in a specific range, etc, for the best possible result (not too thin, not too thick, good adhesion). I'm sure realistically it doesn't have to be anywhere near that specific to get the nickel to stick, in theory it is a fairly simple process, but I really doubt you're gonna have a good end result by simply using a battery charger and some vinegar. Some light nickel plating could most likely be achieved with such a method, but I would be very surprised if it were any good, my guess is that it would most likely wear off easily and would do little to prevent rust. I will admit have never tried it at home (accidentally copper plated something once, but that's a different story lol) so I can't say for sure whether it will work well or not, but my best "educated guess" is no.

Let us know how it goes when if/when you do try it, I am legitimately curious. Would be cool if it turns out to be something else we could do at home

I completely understand what you are saying. You get out what you put in.

I'm not wanting anything major, just like nut and bolts, maybe some small brackets.

I look at it this way if it doesn't work, I don't have much money in it, and I can always powder coat...lol. I'm going to give it a try, and see how it comes out. With work finally slowing down a little, I might get a day off every now and than. I'll keep everyone posted, and take pics.

 

[Mr Clean]

1. Nothing is ever as easy as it looks.
2. I'll pay someone to do it before I mess with those chemicals.

It's not harsh chemicals for the DIYer. It's just Vinegar and Salt, and Nickel.

This is the guy that got me looking into Nickel plating.

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[animal]

About time you showed back up by the way

 

[bucket]

It's not harsh chemicals for the DIYer. It's just Vinegar and Salt, and Nickel.

This is the guy that got me looking into Nickel plating.

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I've got that exact same socket set! Dad gave it to me when I was younger. It's been very handy.

Side note, that Allen wrench was a bright finish when new.

 

[Snoots]

@Snoots ,too many leftover "chemicals" in the body, not wanting to risk more???!!!!......lol

I just spent 2 weeks in the hospital. That's a BIG NO!!!

 

[Mr Clean]

About time you showed back up by the way

I was just in Ga. and yet you didn't come and see me....

 

[Mr Clean]

I've got that exact same socket set! Dad gave it to me when I was younger. It's been very handy.

Side note, that Allen wrench was a bright finish when new.

I think it's a cool little set, would like to have one just for ***** and grins. If you want it looking new again, send it to me, and I'll redo it.