I think i want to try nickel plating at home...
- Thread starter gpjoe
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #22
That was one of the videos that I watched and probably one of the most helpful and informative. Very well done.
As soon as my power supply arrives, I plan to copper plate some brass pistol and/or rifle cases, and then apply nickel plate over the copper (which is supposed to be more robust). I also plan to nickel plate some of the cases without the copper to compare the results. I've got tons of brass cases to play with before I submit any of my brass razors to the process.
And a bit serendipitous - I already have a magnetic stirrer. I plan to put my beaker on the stirrer to agitate the plating atoms to hopefully get more even coverage. I suppose I will try both: with and without the stirrer, to see if it really makes a difference in the plating result.
As I said earlier, I'm expecting spectacular failure at first, but will post some pictures of my results.
- Thread starter
- #23
Ok, so I can't just sit and wait for my power supply and nickel stock to arrive from the 'Zon, so I went to Home Depot today, and grabbed a bottle of Zep Root Kill and a short length of thick-wall 1/2" copper pipe (to use as the "donor").
Anyway, after opening my package from Italian Barber
I patiently waited for my wife to go off to work before turning her kitchen into my laboratory.
I had a bunch of old phone chargers, so I chose one that was 5v and 500mA. Cut the end off, stripped the ends of the individual wires, plugged in the charger, and used my multimeter to determine which lead was positive. I used a small red tie strap to mark the positive lead (this will come in handy later). Since this was a temporary set up, I just twisted the leads from the power supply to a couple of alligator clips. If I were going to use this regularly, I would have soldered the wires to the clips.
Next, I measured 3 cups of distilled water into a wide mouth Ball jar and nuked it for about 1.5 or 2 minutes - the temp of the water was just over 115F. I then dumped 2.4oz (by weight, using a digital scale) of the Zep crystals into the water. I had already dropped a "flea" into the jar to use on my magnetic stirrer.
After setting the jar on the stirrer, I turned it on to agitate the solution and completely dissolve the crystals in the warm water. Once done, and I had a beautiful clear blue liquid, I switched off the stirrer.
Next, I inserted an 8" length of the copper pipe, which I had cut earlier, into the solution and connected the positive leads to the end of the pipe (the red one, remember the red tie strap?). I used a large spring clamp to weight the top of the pipe to keep it from moving.
After spraying some .40 caliber pistol brass with brake cleaner, wiping then with paper towel, I clipped one to the negative lead and submerged it into the solution, suspended with a wooden chop stick. The experimental subjects:
Polarity is very important. The positive lead MUST be connected to the donor metal - the part that will shed atoms/ions during the process, into the solution to be attracted by the part you with to plate, which is always connected to the negative. Short version:
Negative lead to the part you are plating.
Positive lead to the plating material.
On with the show:
I plugged in the power supply and switched on the stirrer. Using the stirrer, I was hoping to agitate the solution to get even coverage around the entire brass casing. My understanding is that otherwise only the side facing the donor material will be plated, or the side facing away will be thinner. Think of it as getting a sun tan, only the side facing the sun gets tan.
The extra alligator clips on the rim of the jar were used to hold the chop stick in the center, as it wanted to slide to the edge of the jar.
Anyway, I let it run for 15 minutes, and got this (you can see the difference from the unplated case):
Pretty ugly. I don't have a buffing wheel, so I polished the copper plated case with some Never Dull wadding, by hand, wiped it with an old cotton t shirt, and got this, on the left. Much better:
I'm thinking I need a bench buffer to get a dazzling shine, but may try a small buffing wheel on my Dremel tool al LOW speed to see what happens. Don't want to be launching metal parts into HER drywall. That just creates more work for her maintenance man.
Anyway, pretty happy with the results. No real mess and critically important, no stink.
My plan is to nickel plate over this copper pistol case and buff it out. After that, I'm going to try the same process on one of my brass Gillette New razors.
Anyway, that's it for today. I've gotta go have a shave with the new stuff I got from Italian Barber today (Razorock brush and soap).
Anyway, after opening my package from Italian Barber
I patiently waited for my wife to go off to work before turning her kitchen into my laboratory.I had a bunch of old phone chargers, so I chose one that was 5v and 500mA. Cut the end off, stripped the ends of the individual wires, plugged in the charger, and used my multimeter to determine which lead was positive. I used a small red tie strap to mark the positive lead (this will come in handy later). Since this was a temporary set up, I just twisted the leads from the power supply to a couple of alligator clips. If I were going to use this regularly, I would have soldered the wires to the clips.
Next, I measured 3 cups of distilled water into a wide mouth Ball jar and nuked it for about 1.5 or 2 minutes - the temp of the water was just over 115F. I then dumped 2.4oz (by weight, using a digital scale) of the Zep crystals into the water. I had already dropped a "flea" into the jar to use on my magnetic stirrer.
After setting the jar on the stirrer, I turned it on to agitate the solution and completely dissolve the crystals in the warm water. Once done, and I had a beautiful clear blue liquid, I switched off the stirrer.
Next, I inserted an 8" length of the copper pipe, which I had cut earlier, into the solution and connected the positive leads to the end of the pipe (the red one, remember the red tie strap?). I used a large spring clamp to weight the top of the pipe to keep it from moving.
After spraying some .40 caliber pistol brass with brake cleaner, wiping then with paper towel, I clipped one to the negative lead and submerged it into the solution, suspended with a wooden chop stick. The experimental subjects:
Polarity is very important. The positive lead MUST be connected to the donor metal - the part that will shed atoms/ions during the process, into the solution to be attracted by the part you with to plate, which is always connected to the negative. Short version:
Negative lead to the part you are plating.
Positive lead to the plating material.
On with the show:
I plugged in the power supply and switched on the stirrer. Using the stirrer, I was hoping to agitate the solution to get even coverage around the entire brass casing. My understanding is that otherwise only the side facing the donor material will be plated, or the side facing away will be thinner. Think of it as getting a sun tan, only the side facing the sun gets tan.
The extra alligator clips on the rim of the jar were used to hold the chop stick in the center, as it wanted to slide to the edge of the jar.
Anyway, I let it run for 15 minutes, and got this (you can see the difference from the unplated case):
Pretty ugly. I don't have a buffing wheel, so I polished the copper plated case with some Never Dull wadding, by hand, wiped it with an old cotton t shirt, and got this, on the left. Much better:
I'm thinking I need a bench buffer to get a dazzling shine, but may try a small buffing wheel on my Dremel tool al LOW speed to see what happens. Don't want to be launching metal parts into HER drywall. That just creates more work for her maintenance man.
Anyway, pretty happy with the results. No real mess and critically important, no stink.
My plan is to nickel plate over this copper pistol case and buff it out. After that, I'm going to try the same process on one of my brass Gillette New razors.
Anyway, that's it for today. I've gotta go have a shave with the new stuff I got from Italian Barber today (Razorock brush and soap).
Last edited:
No
I did this. Ive had some great results and some not so great. I used a phone charger and put clips on the leads.
- Thread starter
- #26
I don't expect Backroads Gold type results, just doing it to keep occupied - a wintertime distraction. So long as I don't blow up the house or poison myself, it's all in fun.
- Thread starter
- #27
One more thing I want to add:
I am not a chemist. I do not have any knowledge regarding any of the compounds that may be generated from these processes. If you try this, do so at your own risk. I would also urge you to wear PPE as required: gloves, safety glasses, even a respirator, as you see fit.
I am not a chemist. I do not have any knowledge regarding any of the compounds that may be generated from these processes. If you try this, do so at your own risk. I would also urge you to wear PPE as required: gloves, safety glasses, even a respirator, as you see fit.
- Thread starter
- #28
- Thread starter
- #29
This will be my last post in this thread. I will continue posting my results in my journal, which feels a bit more appropriate. Anyone who is interested, can find it here:
www.badgerandblade.com
My "Ah-Ha!" Moments
Sometimes, I will discover something related to shaving, which may be painfully obvious to seasoned shavers (my "Ah-Ha! Moments). Those times where the mental switch is flipped, the light bulb finally illuminates, and something works. Instead of boring the community by starting a new thread and...
www.badgerandblade.com
The worn spot on the top cap of my Goodwill razor
shows that it was gold plated on top of copper plating.
On top of solid brass, I think.
Similar threads
