copper plating old gas stove panels

[lendavinki]

hello We have a vintage 1950 Chambers gas range and this model was copper plated steel panels instead of porcelain . The copper plate is either worn off or rust pitted down to the steel.I ground down the pits and tried to brush plate nickel to the area ground and smoothed, it seemed to plate but copper does not stick to them areas when i dip plate it with copper .its more corroded now than before i started. anybody know good plating shop in north los angeles area or bakersfield, ca. i know i,m over my head richard frazier park ca thanks for listening!

[bhhodges]

did you use a bright nickel over the steel?? what type copper did you try to plate over it??

bill

[lendavinki]

I used a plug n plate copper and nickel brush plating kit. i also made up 3 gallons of acid copper electrolyte so far. the bath work good on small parts like the burner handles with no rust and i clean and rinse well prior to plating. the stove doors have tiny rust pitting, as i sand to remove the rust i get down to bare steel and the brush plating nickel i guess is not sufficient on too big an area? i would like to do it myself, building a box 40" by 40" by 6" lined with 3mil plastic.i guess will need bigger power supply too. thanks for any info lendavinki