GOLD PLATING KIT question

[socal]

I want to buy the GOLD PLATING KIT to plate some car emblems. Do I need to strip the chrome first, and what current would be safe in order to not overdo it? And do I need to activate the nickel base before gold-plating it? I've noticed that Caswell doesn't offer activator for nickel.

[mcaswell]

Yes, you need to strip the chrome, use our stripper or battery acid. Reverse the wand polarity to strip 4-6 volts. Activating nickel is a dubious past time, but it does help sell sulfuric acid at silly prices, thats why some tout it so well.

We don't sell it as a product; the kit instructions tell you how to make activator from battery acid.

[socal]

Originally Posted by mcaswell

Yes, you need to strip the chrome, use our stripper or battery acid. Reverse the wand polarity to strip 4-6 volts. Activating nickel is a dubious past time, but it does help sell sulfuric acid at silly prices, thats why some tout it so well.

We don't sell it as a product; the kit instructions tell you how to make activator from battery acid.

Thanks for the info. Some companies use sodium hydroxide in chrome stripper. Is there any difference using the acid or hydroxide for stripping? And someone in this forum mentioned using 14-16 volts for stripping and 8-10 volts for activation. I guess 14 volts will strip the chrome faster, but is it still safe regarding not overdoing it?
And someone here reported excellent results gold-plating over nickel without activation as long as it is free of oxides. The nickel on car emblems is probably free of that because it was protected by layer of chrome, but gold plating old nickel might require de-oxidizer. Any recommendation for that?