Nickel Plug n Plate Questions

[Gungineer]

Well, after much anticipation, I attempted brush-plating nickel on a small polished gun part that I thoroughly cleaned with rubbing alcohol...

There was a definite reaction occurring during plating (small bubbles formed). When I stopped, I rinsed the part in warm water.

What I saw surprised me. There was a thin, translucent, green film left over the plated part that scratched off easily with my fingernail and 0000 steel wool.

Under that, the part was not as shiny as when I started and the color seems to be about the same.

So, I'm not sure if (actually doubting) any plating occurred. How can I tell?

I purchased the copper/nickel Plug n Plate kit. Should I copper-plate first?

I have read on this forum of problems plating nickel over copper - other posters say the nickel didn't "take." Is there a special deoxidizing step required on the copper?

Also, how does the hardness/durability of the brush-plated nickel compare to other methods of nickel plating?

Thanks in advance. I hope these questions don't sound dumb...

[KCV6]

First suggestion is to get a small piece of steel as a test piece. Polish it, de-grease it and then activate it immediately prior to rinsing and plating in a 10% solution of hydrocloric acid for 30 seconds, then plate in either copper first or nickel.

For some reason I'd say it wasn't plating at all. Are you sure you have all your connections the correct way around (-ve to item, +ve to wand.

Brush plating and tank plating should be no different, just easier to put thicker coats on in a tank.

Copper is fine. Nickel goes best on polished and activated copper.

Cheers

Mark

[Gungineer]

Originally Posted by KCV6

First suggestion is to get a small piece of steel as a test piece. Polish it, de-grease it and then activate it immediately prior to rinsing and plating in a 10% solution of hydrocloric acid for 30 seconds, then plate in either copper first or nickel.

For some reason I'd say it wasn't plating at all. Are you sure you have all your connections the correct way around (-ve to item, +ve to wand.

Brush plating and tank plating should be no different, just easier to put thicker coats on in a tank.

Copper is fine. Nickel goes best on polished and activated copper.

Cheers

Mark

Thanks Mark. I followed the instructions that came with the kit, and don't see any mention of needing to activate first. That's a bit frustrating, if it's a required step and there's no mention of it...

What's a good, common degreaser? I had alcohol handy at the time.... Is acetone or lacquer thinner or something else better than alcohol?

Caswell makes the connection pretty ID10T-proof (even for me!).... Unless it were a ID10T who put the banana plug and alligator clip on the wrong wires at the factory...? I'll have to check that!!!

Where is 10% HCl solution readily available? And is that used to activate copper before nickel plating, as well?

Thanks again!

[CarWiz]

Use acetone to remove "most" oils. Alcohol will evaporate and leave behind water and an oil film. Lacquer thinner contains petroleum distillates that will leave a film. I use acetone as a first step in cleaning parts. I follow that with a hot degreaser wash/scrub and rinse with distilled water. Do not touch the item with your bare hands, rubber or latex gloves. Make sure the item passes the "water break test" before any plating.

The degreaser everyone speaks of is NOT the automotive type in a spay can. The degreaser is an Amine soap similar to Caswell's SP degreaser. It's also commonly found in commercial cleaners and strippers. I use a commercial product rather than SP but that's because I do aluminum too and the product is readily available.

HCL or hydrochloric acid activates steel but use H2SO4 or sulfuric acid to activate copper and it's alloys. Hydrochloric acid is available at most hardware stores and home centers as "Muriatic Acid". Sulfuric acid is available at most auto parts stores as "Battery Acid". I get mine from NAPA auto parts. Use accepted safe methods when handling and diluting acids. Both are extremely caustic and produce irritant gasses. Caswell also carries an activator sold as "Pickle #4" that can be used for both steal and copper alloys as well as zinc but use separate batches for each major alloy. It's also safer to use than HCL or H2SO4.

[Gungineer]

Thx, CW! A few more quetchuns, if you please...

Originally Posted by CarWiz

I use acetone as a first step in cleaning parts. I follow that with a hot degreaser wash/scrub and rinse with distilled water.

And then the HCl?

Do not touch the item with your bare hands, rubber or latex gloves.

Then how? Tongs/tweezers?

Make sure the item passes the "water break test" before any plating.

What's that?

The degreaser is an Amine soap similar to Caswell's SP degreaser. It's also commonly found in commercial cleaners and strippers. I use a commercial product rather than SP but that's because I do aluminum too and the product is readily available.

Would Soylent, er SIMPLE Green work?

Hydrochloric acid is available at most hardware stores and home centers as "Muriatic Acid".

Picked some up today. It's about 31% (by volume, I'm guessing?). Should I dilute that so it's about 10%?

Many thanks!

[CarWiz]

Originally Posted by Gungineer

And then the HCl?

Yes. Follow that with a rinse too. Stock up on distilled water. It's used throughout most plating processes. Don't use tap water in chemicals or rinse.

Don't touch item - Then how? Tongs/tweezers?

That will work for small items or use the blue nitrile gloves. I've had good luck with those. The idea is to keep oils and contaminates off the surface. Finger prints (skin oil/sweat), rubber and latex compounds leave a residue that will not over-plate very well. Keep that in mind if you use the same gloves to handle other objects or tools.

Water Break Test - What's that?

It's a test of the surface tension and/or cleanliness of the item. When sprayed with distilled water, you should not get water beading up on the surface. The water should more or less cover the item. Any beads will be flattened as to look melted into the surface. This has been covered many times on the forum but here it is again.

Would Soylent, er SIMPLE Green work?

I don't know. There's lot of different "Simple Green" cleaners. According to their Heavy Duty Cleaner MSDS, they're pretty tight-lipped about the ingredients. It does have one stated ingredient that is a common solvent. One way to tell is to touch the mixed compound then rinse. If your fingers still feel slippery after the rinse, it's probably an Amine soap. Wash your hands afterword because it will dissolve the fatty tissue of your skin!

Picked some up today. It's about 31% (by volume, I'm guessing?). Should I dilute that so it's about 10%?

Yes. SLOWLY Add acid to water! DO NOT add water to acid. It will generate an exothermic reaction that can get so hot as to boil and spew the acid everywhere. Mix only what you need. Store the container(s) in another sealed plastic bag or box and away from anything made of iron or steel. If you don't, chlorine gas will leach out and rust any metal near by. (Don't ask how I know that.)

[Gungineer]

Originally Posted by KCV6

For some reason I'd say it wasn't plating at all. Are you sure you have all your connections the correct way around (-ve to item, +ve to wand.

Cheers

Mark

Wow... The polarity is right (thak God for small things, eh?), but instead of the spec 4.5V, my power supply is 7.74V!

Will that work at all?