Ok, I plated a small part, but this time I doubled the current based upon a recommendation earlier in the post indicating that media blasted parts will require higher currents due to their increased surface area. This improved the quality of the finish quite a bit, particularly around the edges. You might be able to see on the part that the corners are nice and shiny, but the flat surfaces are still matte. I will try a 1% nitric acid dip to see if that brightens them up, then the chromium dip.
Here's the part before entering the plating bath:
Here's it out of the plating bath:
You can see the bits of red towel that stuck to the rough surfaces when I tried to wipe it off, but if you look at the corners, they are quite bright.
