[KCV6]

No, both have to be 10% acid by volume. for example...

The activator for nickel, copper and steel etc is hydrochloric. it has to be 10% hydrochloric, not 10% pool acid. most pool acid is 280g/L. Therefore to get 10% you want 100g/L so you mix 1 part pool acid with 2 parts water (clean tap water is fine for this, but if you want to be sure then use demineralised or distilled). So look on the pool acid label and in your case see how many ounces/gal or grams per litre it is to work out what mix it needs to be.

For sulphuric it is the same, it needs to be 10% sulphuric, so look at what the makeup is of the batery acid you have. It is often 420g/L so you only need to mix 60ml for every 10 litres of water. This is a bright dip for activating zinc only.

Have you checked the Ph of the nickel? Have you plated a test piece of copper pipe? This will give you a good indication of any problems with the mix.

Cheers

Mark