I am fairly handy, but don't know ANYTHING about refinishing metal. My question is:
Would I be getting in over my head by trying to refinish the parts myself?
My answers in red below address your questions, assuming your plating tanks are under 5 gallons each.
Chances are if you are very handy, you have the aptitude to figure this out. With the help of the Forum and Caswell's applications support, you can do it.
would I save money if I could do my own refinishing
In my opinion, the real value of "personal plating" is that you have full control over the quality. Also, it is a very satisfying and rewarding hobby. But depending on how much you are going to do, you could save money as well.
is it dangerous (fumes, fires etc),
Any time you handle chemicals there is some risk. But it is not unmanageable, if you take reasonable precautions, such as gloves and goggles when mixing chemicals and handling cleaning solutions and acids. Also, you'll want to find an area that can be locked out of harms way of little children.
Of course, you'll have to dispose of spent solutions in a responsible manner. Dumping things down the drain is not responsible.
how much room in a work area would I need,
For just plating small parts, you don't need much room. An 8x8 area with a sink would do it. For blasting and polishing, you'll need additional areas that are NOT shared with the plating area. You need to keep dust out of the plating tanks.
how much money to start out?
Just price out Caswell's plating kit. Add in the power supplies and you are close. If you plan to sandblast and polish, you'll need to figure:
Blaster and Blasting Medium: $300
Compressor to run 6scfm blaster: $300
Buffing Motor and Supplies: $200
I would guess you could get started from scratch for under $1200 if you already own a compressor.
If you want to start out with tanks greater than 5 gallons, then I can't advise you. I personally would not start out learning on huge tanks, where the risk of making a mistake could result in a lot of wasted chemicals, disposal problems, and/or environmental damage (and the cleanup costs and fines!)
Kind regards,
Ken
Any and all help and/or sugestions would be great.
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