Holding Parts

[archie5594]

I'm having trouble deciding how to hold some parts I want to nickel plate. Imagine a bronze piece 1 x 1 x 1/2 inches. The pieces ar solid with no holes or any place to secure a wire. These are to be plated for asthetics and need to be as "pretty" as possible.

I was wondering if any of you have experience holding parts like this.

Thanks,
Archie

[CarWiz]

If it's electroless, just set them on a glass or plastic shelf. (Keep them off the bottom of the tank.) Use plastic tongs and turn them about every 5-10 minutes depending on the plating thickness you're after. EN will plate where the part comes in contact but it will be thin. Turn them to balance the plating.

For electro-deposit, run a contact wire(s) along the shelf and do the same turning routine. Or use a plating basket.

[archie5594]

Thanks! It's always interesting to me how a solution can be over-engineered. A friend of mine and I had discussed this problem for some time. We neither one have done any plating before. We kept bouncing ideas off each other trying to devise a way to reposition the pieces. It never dawned on me to just reach down and move them with plastic tongs. Dooh!

On a related note...

I've read that if you interupt the plating process, that you can end up with layers of nickel that can delaminate. Question is, if I reach down to reposition a piece and it looses electrical contact for a moment, will that do any damage?

-Archie

[CarWiz]

If it's left in the solution I don't think it will effect the plate. If you're really worried about it, keep the item in contact with the wire when you roll it over. As the wire and/or item become plated, you might have to adjust your current. Nickel has a higher resistance than copper or brass so the plating amps may rise if you're not using CC.