Plug n Plate Gold over Sterling

[novenarosary]

Hello.
I'm an experienced rosary artisan, but novice plater. I wanted to get that same "vermeil" look that I order my parts in, and purchased the plug n plate gold kit.

For what I understood, all I had to do was clean it very well, and then plate away. That isn't the case. I cleaned it with sterling silver cleaner, removing all oxidized matter on it, then washed with with warm water and dried it. I followed the instructions that came with the plate system completely, and the gold has a parts with a greenish copper-patina look to it. Reading my Rio Grande catalog, it said you should always nickel plate sterling silver before plating with any type of gold to stop copper color migration, which sterling contains copper. Does this mean I need to purchase the nickel plating kit as well, or what is the deal? Also, the gold is too orangy for my other items, and I was wondering if caswell carries a 14k or 18k gold solution for the plug n plate, or if it's possible to use other brand solutions with the kit I purchased. Obviously, I'm very new, but I'm trying to do my homework.

Any detailed instructions on this matter would be greatly appreciated, or feel free to email me directly at info@novenarosary.com . Please no spammers, though.

Thanks.