Plating Pot metal watch cases
Hello,
Are you sure the watch cases are pot metal?? Assuming they are...
If you are doing pot metal as a first project, Goodness help you!!! As you can see, several of us have been working the issue for years and it is still a challenge. The pros grumble when they see pot metal come in the door. Many platers can't do it and most won't guarantee it.
See my recent posting here on the subject. It should cover the whole process you'll need. I restore horological items (clocks, watches) so my experience matches your requirement exactly.
48Buick does automotive parts. His work involves similar but different problems. Check out his posting in this forum as well. Questions welcome.
You'll need a small sandblaster. Regardless of anything anyone else tells you, it is not practical to achieve a satisfactory plate on pot metal without sandblasting it first. You have to remove every trace of oxidation and corrosion or the plating will never adhere. Nothing else works like sandblasting.
You'll need to set up a tank of flash copper. With all of the other challenges, I wouldn't even DREAM of trying to brush plate pot metal. Further. you CANNOT plate pot metal directly with nickel or copy chrome. Those formulations will eat it alive. You'll need a solid base of copper first. The ONLY thing that you can use is Flash Copper from Caswell as a base. The nickel or copy chrome will plate nicely onto the copper.
Kind regards,
Ken
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