Help getting started

[gadtek]

Hello all,

I am looking to finish a good number of parts in black krome, most of them, if not all, are aluminum.

I am an experenced polished and have polished everything to a mirror like polish, and I am ready to order my kits and get started.

If you look at the picture below, you can see most of what I want to plate. Some of the objects are very large.. about the size of a large shoe boxes... I have not calculated the exact surface area, but a rough estimate is about 530 sq inches (if you include the area on the inside, as well as the outside.) for some of the largest pieces.

I aready know I will need a large tank, that is not an issue..

Here are my general questions:

Which kits will I need to buy? I don't need buckets, and i can buy fish tank heaters at petsmart if nessicary, It also looks like i will need an air pump and some air lines, which also is not a problem.

So all I will need is the solutions and anthodes. Correct?

I know i will need zinc, flash copper, nickle (not sure one that yet) and black krome.

How powerfull of a power supply will i need? I am not sure I can run enough power long enough though a car battery and bulbs to plate objects so large.

Any advise on what kind of power supply i will need?

Alternatively; Given the size of the job.. I am willing to accept that I may be biting off more than I can chew, if that is the case does anyone know of a good chrome shop that offers black krome services?

Here is a few pictures:

[CarWiz]

My advise would be to send the parts out. Your return on investment for one-off parts that large will be in the red for quite some time. Don't know where you got the idea that you can use fish tank heaters. Many of the solutions must be brought and held to much higher temperatures than you could ever get with those. And it varies by the process you decide to use.

If you insist on "winging it", spend the twenty some-odd buck$ and buy the Caswell's Plating Manual first. It contains more information than you could ever get here and it explains the necessary steps and equipment you'll need. You can buy Caswell chemicals and equipment or not but I doubt few answers here will help when you have problems using other processes. You get proven results when you follow the directions.

[gcutler15]

wow, props for that car.

[gadtek]

Well i would love just to send them out, but I have yet to find a single shop that offers black krome, any other form of black chrome plating.

If anyone knows of such a place, please let me know.