Caswell Plug-N-Plate Plating Kits?

[dklawson]

I will be posting this inquiry in a couple of locations so please excuse the duplication if you come across it more than once.

My wife just bought one of the Caswell Plug-N-Plate plating kits to improve the appearance of some parts on a machine she is restoring. These kits are similar to ones sold by Eastwood and Micro-Mark among others. I of course am going to be watching to see if the results are good enough for me to use this kit on my automotive projects.

My wife and I are both looking at the plating kits for cosmetic work, not heavy or thick plating for wear or permanent corrosion resistance. The particular kit my wife bought was the dual component kit for both copper and nickel. I encouraged her to buy that kit as my industrial experience is that copper is often applied as a flash or tie coat plating between nickel and steel.

My question here is, have any of you used the Plug-N-Plate kits and do you have any tips and tricks for getting good results?

Thanks in advance,

 

[Sarastro]

I've used the Caswell "copy chrome" tank plating kit. It is essentially bright nickel plating, with some cobalt in the solution to give the result the bluish color that real chrome has. I've found it quite useful. You do need to be careful to plate a heavy enough layer, especially if you plan to buff it to get a shine. I started by plating and then buffing, and in some cases I took off all the nickel; it's hard to see what is nickel and what is the underlying steel, once it's shiny. (This is especially important with the "plug and plate" because the nickel builds up more slowly.) Since then, I buff the steel underneath, clean it, then plate with the nickel, and finally give it a very light buff. It adheres well even to a shiny surface.

You do need to be careful of the current density, or you can get a lot of smut, which is annoying.

I have done copper plating, too. But for that, I just use copper sulfate with some sulfuric acid (battery acid from Napa). Of course, you can just use a piece of copper pipe for the anode. It's really simple. I'm away from home now, and don't remember the quantities of chemicals, but I can find them when I get home over the weekend if you wish. Copper is really easy and fun to plate, because it's really obvious as it builds up. Buffs up beautifully too, as you might imagine.

I haven't tried using buffed copper under the nickel, which is what quality chrome shops do. Should be straightforward, though.

 

[dklawson]

Thanks Steve.

The kit arrived yesterday and my wife is very anxious to try it out. I've given her some bits of steel to try plating with the caveat that whatever condition the base part is in will certainly show up in the plating. From my past experiences I'm aware that preparation is everything just as it is with painting.

The kit she bought has an electrolyte for copper plating. In my youth I remember using copper sulfate as you suggested above, however, I did not add sulfuric acid. That's probably why my results did not adhere well.

Thanks again for the information. She is likely to spend the weekend tinkering with the kit and I'll be sure to post back with her results.

 

[GrahamP]

I've used the copper and silver plating kits with good results, from what I recall there are two types of copper solution for different base metals. As I wanted the option to plate zinc alloy I had to purchase the more expensive solution, but it worked well.
Graham