Nickel Plating Brass

[Blue HeelerParticipant @blueheeler]

This is how I DIY Nicket Plate Brass, a quick and quite simple method. Always wear disposable gloves.

 

Edited By Jim Dobson on 15/05/2019 02:02:24

[Blue HeelerParticipant @blueheeler]

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Jim,

I like the disposable gloves!

Much more important if chromium plating.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Thanks for that, Jim … Your plating tank looks rather classy

Have you tried electroforming with Nickel ?

If so … I would be grateful for any advice you can give.

MichaelG.

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

There's an interesting book available on line published by the Nickel Institute with all the information you need, including plating solutions:

Nickel Plating Handbook

https://www.nickelinstitute.org/media/2323/nph_141015.pdf

Russell

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

I've had recent success using home made Nickel Acetate following Geoff Crokers method on Youtube

**LINK**

Rod

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Russell Eberhardt on 15/05/2019 11:55:32:

There's an interesting book available on line published by the Nickel Institute with all the information you need, including plating solutions:

.

Thanks a lot for that, Russell

MichaelG.

[vintage engineerParticipant @vintageengineer]

Can you reverse this process?

[Blue HeelerParticipant @blueheeler]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 15/05/2019 07:45:32:

Thanks for that, Jim … Your plating tank looks rather classy

Have you tried electroforming with Nickel ?

If so … I would be grateful for any advice you can give.

MichaelG.

Thanks Michael, needless to say my wife was very unimpressed!

[Blue HeelerParticipant @blueheeler]

Nickel welding rods are the easiest source of procuring virtually pure (99%) nickel.

You just take a hammer and knock the flux off on some scrap steel with newspaper underneath and when the rods are pretty much clean just finish up with some steel wool and then wrap up the newspaper.

[PlasmaParticipant @plasma]

Would old nickel silver cutlery be a good source of nickel for plating?

I'm fancying giving this a go, got to find the you tube video of how to make the basic solution.

Mick

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Plasma on 16/05/2019 11:27:58:

Would old nickel silver cutlery be a good source of nickel for plating?

.

That was my assumption … which is why I've been stockpiling it.

and de-plating EPNS should also provide a modest source of Silver

MichaelG.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 16/05/2019 14:12:21

[Fowlers FuryParticipant @fowlersfury]

Not so sure I'd want to risk Ni plated stuff.
When I was Ni plating old motorcycle parts (of steel) using a Dynic Sales kit, I purchased a pure Ni crucible.
They're cheap enough when purchased singly and "you know what you're getting".
For example a Ni crucible lid here is GBP7.26p:-
**LINK**

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Fowlers Fury on 16/05/2019 16:10:03:

Not so sure I'd want to risk Ni plated stuff.

.

Not sure that I understand ^^^

EPNS is solid 'Nickel Silver' electroplated with Silver

… I had assumed that if NS was used as the electrode; the Copper and Zinc would just get deposited as sludge.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

MichaelG.

.

**LINK**

https://www.smithmetal.com/nickel-silver.htm

[Fowlers FuryParticipant @fowlersfury]

My understanding is that if Cu and Zn are present in either the electrolyte or anode they will also get deposited on the item to be Ni plated.
However that understanding is not based on practical experience.
On some of those aforementioned m/cycle parts, I first Cu plated the item as it was said to produce a better base for the later Ni plate. This was definately not the case with my amatuerish methodology. The subsequent Ni plating was patchy & discoloured. In contrast, using a pure Ni anode and plating onto scrupulously cleaned steel, adhesion & finish was excellent.
My comment " Not so sure I'd want to risk Ni plated stuff " (as an anode) was to imply a risk of poor adhesion of the Ni in presence of any Zn and Cu ions. The low cost of a pure Ni anode didn't seem worth the risk.

The book cited by Russell is an interesting & comprehensive read. Therein the only statements relevant to anode purity I found on a quick scan were:-
"Primary nickel for plating has high purity of 99.95% Ni + Co."
"…..could lead to contamination by anodic dissolution of copper ions into the solution".
"Copper, cadmium, lead, tin and zinc: These metals tend to preferentially deposit in low current density areas, causing haze and dark or black deposits."

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Thanks for that

Looks like my stash of cheap NS cutlery will simply be raw material.

MichaelG.

[Blue HeelerParticipant @blueheeler]

Posted by Plasma on 16/05/2019 11:27:58:

Would old nickel silver cutlery be a good source of nickel for plating?

Mick

I don't think it would be worth the bother. If you popped into a welding fabrication workshop and ask nicely they should sell you a couple of pure nickel welding rods.

These are easy to use, 99% pure nickel and you can bend them easily to the shape(s) that you need.

[Paul H 1Participant @paulh1]

Nickel strip is easy to get hold of on the two very popular on-line buy anything sites. Just search "nickel strip 18650". It is very popular for building LiPo 18650 battery packs. Not expensive at all. After watching the videos referenced on this thread that is the route I will be going rather than buying a plating kit.

Paul

[Blue HeelerParticipant @blueheeler]

Posted by Paul H 1 on 17/05/2019 08:30:08:

Nickel strip is easy to get hold of on the two very popular on-line buy anything sites. Just search "nickel strip 18650". It is very popular for building LiPo 18650 battery packs. Not expensive at all. After watching the videos referenced on this thread that is the route I will be going rather than buying a plating kit.

Paul

Hi Paul

Those strips are pretty thin material, you're going to eat through a helluva lot of that to make the nickel acetate solution.

Again, the easiest way to procure pure nickel in thick round round material is by purchasing some nickel welding rods.

Also just a heads up to all, be careful of nickel acetate in regards to your person. Make sure you don't spill any anywhere and contaminate your work area and disposal of it should be down the sink or via normal home waste removal methods.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Youplate looks promising, as a source of materials: **LINK**

http://www.youplate.co.uk/anodes.html

MichaelG.

[Paul H 1Participant @paulh1]

Mike, thanks for the link it's very promising. I'll have to look into delivery costs from UK.

Jim, point taken. Welding rods here can be rather expensive, so the anode route may be better for me. Fleabay fr has quite a lot, though not as thick as on Mike's link.

Paul

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

When I was plating parts for a vintage car I was restoring some years ago I purchased high purity nickel from Johnson Mathey. EPNS is no good. Nickel silver is an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc, mostly copper I think.

Nickel plating on brass can be done directly. On steel or cast iron you might get a good finish but it is not weather resistant unless you plate with copper first.

I did the nickel plating on this car myself and it lasted for the twenty years I owned it:

Russell

[Fowlers FuryParticipant @fowlersfury]

Nice job Russell, looks magnificent ! I kept my steel plated m/cycle bits well waxed. The bike was only taken out in good weather so didn't experience your " it is not weather resistant unless you plate with copper first."
It'd be interesting to read about how you did the plating.

The topic was discussed on here before – just over a year ago.
I've tried b4 to insert a link back to postings without success, so trying again…..
**LINK**

Forgive the repeat, but to anyone "contemplating plating" at home, this was my posting then (truncated):-
"…. kit was 'Dynic Sales' (no longer exist)…….But – and it was a big but – you had also to purchase:-
An aquarium heater / aquarium aerator / amp meter / stabilised power supply or 12v battery / accurate current controller as well as being prepared to construct various non ferrous rods from which to suspend anode & cathode on top of a plastic container. Effective plating required control of temperature, current, agitation and a perfectly smooth surface on the steel item otherwise corrosion pitting would show up badly after plating.Eventually results were consistently good. (I did a petrol tank filler cap, shrouds for rear shocks, lamp bezels, Cu oil pipes and numerous steel bolts and nuts).
Bottom line? It is possible to Ni plate at home but requires one hell of a lot of aggravation and preparation."

(Edit for typo)

Edited By Fowlers Fury on 18/05/2019 11:35:38

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Must get around to silver soldering then replating the various banjo parts I shared a year or several ago…

Neil

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

Posted by Fowlers Fury on 18/05/2019 11:34:33:

It'd be interesting to read about how you did the plating.

I'm afraid it was done in the late 1970s and I don't have my notes. I used an electrolyte recipe from an old chemistry handbook that was being thrown out by a university library as being out of date. I was able to buy all the chemicals, including concentrated acids, direct from a laboratory chemical supplier. I doubt that they would deal with a member of the public now!

I used guttering to plate the long pieces of the windscreen frame. Other parts were done in a bucket. Current came from a car battery and resistor to control the current. The radiator surround was made from german silver (nickel copper alloy) so didn't need plating. Anodes were pure nickel.

Russell

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