Electroless Nickel Plating questions

[lcapriccio]

I just purchased an EN Kit, and will be plating small brackets, hardware for an auto restoration project.

My questions are:
1. Since this is electroless, I assume Iwill not need to "hang the parts" in the plating solution. Can I just place the parts in the plastic container or do they need to be suspended for uniform plating?

2. If the parts should be supported, what would you suggest to be the best method, i.e wire, a basket, etc. Can it be plastic, or is metal prefered?

3. If I want to mask certain holes/ cavities, can I use rubber type stoppers to prevent the nickel from plating into these features?

Thanks in advance for your input.

[CarWiz]

1. It's better to suspend the item off the bottom and/or sides. The bottom tends to collect contaminates. While surfaces in contact with the bottom will plate, the area will be very thinly plated and could spot from contaminates.

2. You could suspend the items with fishing line or use a basket. I use #18 enameled magnet wire because I have a lot of it and it forms and holds hooks for small items. If you use a basket, the item should be turned every 3-5 minutes to even the plate. But keep the items off the bottom of the tank.

3. As long as your stoppers are water tight, they'll work well for masking. Since most plating will be .001" or less, most machining (threading) operations take into account the plating thickness in the design. If you use taps, the H3 or H4 taps will give sufficient clearance after most plating if it fits your tolerance limits. Lacquer paint also makes a good usable mask. It dissolves in lacquer thinner after plating. I use black because it has more solids and it's easier to see when it's all removed. Besides that, black is about the only color still available in lacquer.

Follow the directions accurately. Don't immerse the item into the tank until the solution reaches at least 180°F and don't let the solution boil (~205°F Maximum). Outside of those ranges produces a poor plate.

Hope this helps.
Ken

[lcapriccio]

Ken,
Thank you for the feedback. This will help a lot.
I plan on plating some samples in the next few days and I will use your suggestions.

Regards,
Lew

[sross]

What kind of basket are you using? Is there a plastic mesh that will take the temperatures?

Thanks,
Seth

[sross]

My questions are:
1. Since this is electroless, I assume Iwill not need to "hang the parts" in the plating solution. Can I just place the parts in the plastic container or do they need to be suspended for uniform plating?

My most difficult thing to overcome was the need for CONSTANT agitation WITHOUT air. Otherwise, the surface can get grainy.

Seth

[lcapriccio]

Seth,
Thanks for the comment about having constant agitation.
Regarding your question about the type of basket I am using, I am not. I asked the question because I am not sure what to use. I think I am going to use Ken's suggestion of hanging them by wire for starters. I haven't had a chance to set up the tank yet. I am in process of preparing the parts.

regards,

Lew

[sross]

After getting in direct contact with Caswell, I find I advised you incorrectly. The electroless I am using now (another provider) requires constant agitation. Without it the metal gets gritty--almost sandy feeling. The option there is a stirrer made from a motor or, as I have done, stand there for 30-40 minutes constantly stirring.

The Caswell EN requires NO agitation. I even double checked that with them. What a blessing! However, this comes with the requirement to keep the solution at a given chemical level. In some cases (small amount of solution, larger piece to plate) it is done every five or 10 minutes. Plating smaller items in larger containers of solution lets you wait until you are finished.

Read their manual completely--FIRST.

BTW-I always suspend using black iron wire. That way even copper will plate without "touching" it. I strip the wire coating with steel wool then run it through all the cleaning processes for plating. The loss of nickel to the wire is minimal.

Seth

[lcapriccio]

Seth,
Thank you for following up on the agitation. I did read the manual, I will review it again before attempting to plate my first pieces. I am goiing play around with different methods of " hanging the parts" in the solution.
Lew

[emuk]

Just found your site and subscribed to your online manual. The pieces I want to nickel are fairly large(and are flat bronze pieces)...The largest being about 193" sq..Can I block off the back side and just nickel the front(thereby saving solution)? Is there a product or process for this? Will not- cleaning the back side accomplish this? Do I have to do the process in the bucket provided with kit or can I use a flat type plastic container? The 193"sq piece I mentioned is about 11"x17.5...I'm looking at approximately 1350"sq on all the pieces...I collect antoque and am looking for a more financially reasonable alternative than a metal finisher...I do my own bead blasting and polishing but now and then I come across a machine that needs renickeling so the reason for my inquiry...thanks, CHET

[sross]

As far as how much starting solution and how often to replenish, I suggest you e-mail Caswell directly. Altough it's not always a quick response, they will respond.

As far as the flat container, so long as it can handle the heat I see no problem. I do it all the time. Two of my main plating containers are like that for gun parts. In one case I use a ceramic interior oval slow cooker. The kind with variable temperature--NOT low and high.

My other "utensil" is one of those roaster pans--the blue with white-speckled enamel. I use one that allows an equal amount of solution above and below the piece. It holds 1-1/2 gal.

There is a laquer mask that can be painted on parts but it is mostly used in regular plating so I don't know if it can handle the temperature or not. Since one of my cleaning steps is acetone it would have to go on after.

I am AM going to try is the tape that photo processors use to attach the roll of film to a plastic leader card. It is either dark green or wine colored. Both work. Although the chemical part runs at 105 to 112 F, the dryer section is upwards of 200-deg F.