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- May 27, 2016
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First - this is about nickel electroplating with current. Electro-less nickel deposition is a separate thing.
There is a huge available store of knowledge about nickel plating. One only has to trawl the patents.
The usual plating baths use nickel chloride and nickel sulfate with "additives" for all sorts of purposes. Brighteners, buffer solutions, deposition rate regulators, whatever, but the basic transport is the nickel salts. They will be called "proprietary". We send our stuff out to be nickel plated.
So now I see videos on YouTube about "Easy DIY Nickel Plating" using vinegar and salt. You first make the electrolyte to an effective concentration from vinegar and nickel electrodes, using any small wall-wart ex-phone charger, or bench supply. The voltage needs to be low to keep the current below one or two amps. The conductivity is greatly improved by adding some salt. If you use a small battery charger - then less salt. Once you get the green solution, you can just keep using it until you contaminate it.
Actual plating is to put the cleaned steel on the cathode, and clip the positive to the nickel strip, and it starts accepting metal.
I wonder - has anyone in HM tried this and got a plating that adhered well?
Here is the first video I saw. There are many others, some with refinements about pre-treating, cleaning, etc.
I admit that I have messed about some with anodizing using battery acid, but this trick is different.
There is a huge available store of knowledge about nickel plating. One only has to trawl the patents.
The usual plating baths use nickel chloride and nickel sulfate with "additives" for all sorts of purposes. Brighteners, buffer solutions, deposition rate regulators, whatever, but the basic transport is the nickel salts. They will be called "proprietary". We send our stuff out to be nickel plated.
So now I see videos on YouTube about "Easy DIY Nickel Plating" using vinegar and salt. You first make the electrolyte to an effective concentration from vinegar and nickel electrodes, using any small wall-wart ex-phone charger, or bench supply. The voltage needs to be low to keep the current below one or two amps. The conductivity is greatly improved by adding some salt. If you use a small battery charger - then less salt. Once you get the green solution, you can just keep using it until you contaminate it.
Actual plating is to put the cleaned steel on the cathode, and clip the positive to the nickel strip, and it starts accepting metal.
I wonder - has anyone in HM tried this and got a plating that adhered well?
Here is the first video I saw. There are many others, some with refinements about pre-treating, cleaning, etc.
I admit that I have messed about some with anodizing using battery acid, but this trick is different.
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