Need to plate a 55 gal Steel Drum - Suggestions Needed!!!

[carltyson]

I need to gold plate a 55 gallon steel drum for a friend. How do you suggest that I do it to make it great. Thanks.

[Rasper]

I don't know, but I'd love to have one. What a hoot. A gold plated 55 gallon drum. Right now I'm making a four foot long pair of high heel shoes out of stainless steel.

Please post photographs when it's done.

Richard

[mcaswell]

You'll need to nickel plate it, then gold plate it. I'd suggest this will be expensive.

Set the drum so it rotates in a shallow tank of nickel and with plenty of anodes. Plate each submerged section of the drum for 30 mins, then rotate it to the next uplated section etc etc.

Finally, buff the drum until the nickel is shiny, then brush gold plate it.

Quite the task!

[jrow]

carltyson,

As Mike says mucho expensive! In addition to what Mike suggested, you may want to looking in to applying gold leaf or spray painting it gold.

John

[bhhodges]

im thinking it wont be possible to acomplish this in a regular plating bath if one end is open maybe but then you lose volume when the drum is placed inside the bath and if the bottom is still in place without holes then it seems to me like it will be pretty hard to force the drum into the bath closed end first....... wouldnt the steel need to have a flash copper plating applied first,then nickel with gold last?? maybe im missing something??

[BPP]

A good plating shop can nickel plate it for you and have it ready to brush gold.

Seems like a major task, but I have seen much bigger tasks done. The hardest part is getting started.

I work mostly with classic lowriders, and have seen gold plated frames (full chevy frames front to back 18ft long) , gold plated transmissions, gold plated engine blocks, gold plated gas tanks, you name it.

[mcaswell]

Another way to get a gold finish would be to invert he drum over a propane burner, like you cook a turkey broiler with.

Powder coat the drum outside with Mayan Gold powder, then light the burner to heat the drum's inside. Crazy? More than likely, but it MIGHT work. The finish would be quite reasonable, I think.

Do it out of doors.