PLATING I NEED HELP BAD

[smokeycity]

I need help bad I can't get it right.First i dip it in the cleaning activate for 30 seconds. Then I zincate the part for 40 sec after that I go to the nickel strike set my voltage at 4.5 for 5 min. It comes out dark gray so I move to the next step. the copper tank this is were my problem start. i let it stay in for 10 min.voltage set at 4. do you have to buff the part after copper because caswell didn't put that in the how to do booklet and i realy need to know. OK soon as put the part in the nickel tank for 20 min 8 volts. The part comes out pilling I have never made it forther then the nickel tank. Please help me

[dadkar2]

Hello,

I wonder if we could start with some questions.

1. What is the base metal that you are trying to plate and what are its dimensions?

2. Does your power supply have constant current control?

3. What is your cleaning procedure?

4. What is the desired surface finish on your part? eg, will it be highly polished, satin finish etc? (The copper needs to be prepared accordingly)

Let's start there and try to get enough info to help you out. An initial concern is that you're using voltage control to set up the plating current. This can be done, but not without characterizing your system first. And, the voltages you quoted just seem too high.

Regards,
Ken

[gsw3]

Ken, I e-mailed him with 17 more questions.

I'll post the questions here so everyone can see.
Perhaps it may help others when trying to get answers from the board.


1. What are you trying to plate? (must be aluminum if using zincate)
2. What does the part finish look like prior to being plated? (shiny and reflective like a mirror or otherwise)
3. Does the part (after cleaning) pass the water break test? (water should sheet off the part, not bead up on the part)
4. What is the basic shape of the part? (box-like, disk, long rod, etc.)
5. How is the part hung in the solution? (vertical or horizontal)
6. How close are your anodes to the part?
7. How many anodes are you using?
8. What type of metal wire are you using to hang the parts in the solution? (alum, steel copper, brass)
9. How are you connecting the positive wire to the anode? (alligator clip, etc.)
10. Is the connection to the anode outside of the solution? (it should be)
11. What type of agitation are you using? (air, rotation or fluid pump)
12. What are your rinsing methods? (dip or spray rinse and water type being used (distilled or tap water))
13. Are you rinsing the part after every step?
14. What are you using for a power source? (a "real" power supply or a home made rig (batteries, bulbs, etc.)
15. Are you using Caswell solutions? ( I assume so)
16. What size tanks are you using?
17. What are the temperatures of your solutions?
18. How old are the solutions?
19. Do you think the solutions may have been contaminated? (not rinsing parts in between steps, etc.)
20. Are you connecting the power correctly? (Positive goes to anode, negative goes to part being plated)
21. Typically, what are the amperage readings when plating the nickel and copper?
22. Are you going "hot" into the solutions? (by hot, I mean electrically connected prior to going in the solutions)

George W.

[jmerson]

Need some help

Well here goes, I'm plating a piece of 1/2" X 5' copper pipe Type M. I put it in the Degreaser for about 15 min., rinsed it with Distilled water and then put it in the Nickel tank. It ran for about 1 hr. at 110 deg, 4 volts @ 3.8 amps. The area is 22 sq." I am using a 100 amp X 18 volt plating rectifier. After leaving it for 1 hr. when I pulled out the pipe it was covered with a yellow scummy film. I checked the Nickel anode and it was mostly black with a small amount of what I think was Iron Oxide. It was a rust color. One side of the anode had an area about 1/2 of the whole side that was still nickel in appearance, but there were splatters that looked like slag from a weld. As I was cleaning off the Nickel anode I noticed under the black the metal looked like it was a faint copper color. Yep, you guessed it, I had the + and the - backwards from the rectifier.
I cleaned up the anode with steel wool and degreased it, got a new piece of pipe, steelwooled it, degreased the pipe and then put it in the nickel tank again. It only stayed it for about 15 min. and when it came out there was a lot of nickel on the pipe. It also had some slag like appearance on it and some black film. The anode was almost clear of the remaining black but in the area that had been clear of contamination before, now had very light lines or etchings that looked like they were made by an electrical or magnetic field. Instead of going around the pipe the field appeared to be going up and down the same direction as the pipe. I had used the filter and pump to circulate the water in the Nickel tank, and I was wondering if that had anything to do with the pattern? The second time the amps were set at 2 and the volts were 2.5
Now what do you advise me to do? Is the Nickel solution O.K. to use or should something be done to it? What should I do with the nickel anode? I'm wondering what effect the screwup on the direction of current had on everything? What do you think! Maybe a different hobby?
Thanks for now
Jim

[jmerson]

Need some help

Well here goes, I'm plating a piece of 1/2" X 5' copper pipe Type M. I put it in the Degreaser for about 15 min., rinsed it with Distilled water and then put it in the Nickel tank. It ran for about 1 hr. at 110 deg, 4 volts @ 3.8 amps. The area is 22 sq." I am using a 100 amp X 18 volt plating rectifier. After leaving it for 1 hr. when I pulled out the pipe it was covered with a yellow scummy film. I checked the Nickel anode and it was mostly black with a small amount of what I think was Iron Oxide. It was a rust color. One side of the anode had an area about 1/2 of the whole side that was still nickel in appearance, but there were splatters that looked like slag from a weld. As I was cleaning off the Nickel anode I noticed under the black the metal looked like it was a faint copper color. Yep, you guessed it, I had the + and the - backwards from the rectifier.
I cleaned up the anode with steel wool and degreased it, got a new piece of pipe, steelwooled it, degreased the pipe and then put it in the nickel tank again. It only stayed it for about 15 min. and when it came out there was a lot of nickel on the pipe. It also had some slag like appearance on it and some black film. The anode was almost clear of the remaining black but in the area that had been clear of contamination before, now had very light lines or etchings that looked like they were made by an electrical or magnetic field. Instead of going around the pipe the field appeared to be going up and down the same direction as the pipe. I had used the filter and pump to circulate the water in the Nickel tank, and I was wondering if that had anything to do with the pattern? The second time the amps were set at 2 and the volts were 2.5
Now what do you advise me to do? Is the Nickel solution O.K. to use or should something be done to it? What should I do with the nickel anode? I'm wondering what effect the screwup on the direction of current had on everything? What do you think! Maybe a different hobby?
Thanks for now
Jim

[dadkar2]

Not good. Most likely, your reverse plate has contaminated the nickel tank with copper, permanently. My recommendation is to replace the tank.

You might be able to dummy plate out the copper, but given the amount of copper you passed into solution, it's going to take a long time to clean it out--if it ever comes completely clean.

Check with your local household hazardous waste facility and see if they'll take it. If not, hold on to it until you find someone that will--perhaps a friendly local plater would be willing to dispose of it for a song.

As a future reference, I plate my nickel at 100mA per sq inch, maximum, which in this case would have been 2.2A. Any more and you risk having pin holes in the nickel due to excessive hydrogen bubble formation on the surface.

All this talk about using voltage as the control parameter for these small items--it's all fine and good, but you must set up your system based on 100mA/sq inch first, note the voltage measured right at the anode and item, and use that voltage in the future. Don't just rely on what people say here. I'm telling you everyone's setup is different. Tank temperature, dimension, lead resistance, anode size, everything will affect it. Calibrate YOUR system based on 100mA/sq inch.

Kind regards,
Ken