Do we have nickel plating? And if so, is it electroplate, or electroless? I need to plate two bobby-pin-sized objects. Thanks.
2 Likes
We’ve got the setup for electroplating nickel and copper in science.
3 Likes
Are there classes on this, out of curiosity?
There have been some in the past, but as far as I know, nothing in the works. If you drop be a weekly Science Committee get together (Sundays at 2;30 PM), someone could likely show you how it works.
2 Likes
Do we have a nickel anode?
We did have a nickel anode, as @Josh_Melnick has taught the class, Although it’s been a while, I’m guessing we still have one. If no one can before, I’ll check this Sunday.
1 Like
re-awakening this thread, but how big of an object can we nickel plate? more specifically, can we nickel plate this? Ends up being about 11.5" across
I’m not sure what the limits are off the top of my head but I definitely think that is too big. Pretty sure it won’t fit in the tub.
1 Like
yeah, that’s what i thought
1 Like
As long as you can submerse it in the solution you can plate it. If is is hollow and plugged so the interior doesn’t fill, then the reduce area is reduced in half. The larger the area to more amps needed or time to plate required.
If buoyancy is a problem, if you can fill with water, then plug, that will work to make it sink. Not sure how big the ones in Science are, but the unit I bought is 0V-30V and 0A-10A.
If you are looking for a mirror surface you may try using a car battery charger, preferably a 6V/12V charger using the 6V for a slower plating. This should have amps needed for larger surfaces. Do initial plating on this, then switch to slower rate for a better finish.
According to google, the surface area is about 312 insq.
I had planned on using the powder coating oven to blacken the inside of the numbers, based on what you say, what might be an option is to use silicone caulk to fill in the numbers after powder coating. That should plug the holes up, as well as protect the black powder coating; thoughts?
I’m referring to the physical surface area INSIDE the polyhedron. It looks like 312 is for both sides. If you can plug it, you’ll reduce the amps required for the plating.
oh, yay, but will it fit in the tub? or could i just make a new tub? Also, how do i nickel plate this? What supplies would i need?
I’d use a 5 gallon bucket. It is probably well beyond 12" dia. Has plenty of depth. Cheap. easy to haul solution away and has lids so solution can be stored for future use.
What kind of solution should i get? I keep getting conflicting answers from Google. And where can I get it?
These are some of my notes:
Electroplating Links and Data
Nickel Plating steel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHBIlz5Pt5g
Ni plating copper
Names chemicals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8Xo43sfLgY
Ni Plating Brass https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KiHKQDCeXQ
Nickel Acetate - purchase
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Nickel+Acetate
Nickel Welding Rod 99% pure: $43/pound
Nickel Brightner
If you are going to get into electroplating, strongly recommend getting this book, get a used copy on Amazon, used copies are less than $16. Great cook book of formulas for solutions.
2 Likes
What is the substrate?
One of the excellent things about this book covers is plating various materials.
Even provides solution temps.
Awesome project!
One word of caution, please do not do this at dms. We are not setup to dispose of any of the solution for this. We are on the water quality folks radar and they have zero tolerance for it.
As long as folks take the solutions and spent chemicals out, plating and etching hasn’t been a problem - just no disposing of solutions here.