Home Nickel Plating

[aboulton1989]

Well done, not something that I would try at home or anywhere for that matter.

I can see how it might seem like playing with fire, but really it wasn't too hazardous. I just made sure to know the dangers up front. I also work in the sciences, albeit in cancer drug development, so it may have been less crazy from my viewpoint.

 

[santamariasteve]

That seems like a lot of work, aboulton1989, though I admire your effort.

For me, I'll gladly pay $100 or $150 dollars to have a pro refinish a razor, and do it right.

 

[aboulton1989]

OUTSTANDING!! Congratulations!!

Save the congratulations until the full razor plating works, haha. I've read quite a bit about scaling and current density, so hopefully it works in practice as much as theory.

 

[aboulton1989]

That seems like a lot of work, aboulton1989, though I admire your effort.

For me, I'll gladly pay $100 or $150 dollars to have a pro refinish a razor, and do it right.

If I had an important or rare razor I'd likely go that route. Fun is fun, but I'm not ruining my grandfather's combat razor.

 

[HDSledge]

Hat's off to you for the great job and detailed information. The most I have done is a refresh of a couple of caps in gold. Fairly easy: Gold solution, low voltage plugin power supply with the wire cut/stripped, glass container.

 

[psfred]

The two biggest issues with home electroplating are uneven or rough coverage and "burn" marks from too much current. Even plating of hundreds of parts simultaneously and metal consumption aren't a big deal if you are only plating one razor.

It's easy enough to polish out any imperfections (or electrostrip and start again) for a hobbyist. Most of the rest of the issues in electroplating are related to plating thousands of parts at the same time to a finished product without "cleanup" steps. Uneven thickness won't be visible to me, and since I'm not worried about how much nickel per part I'm using, those variations unimportant.

 

[aboulton1989]

Hat's off to you for the great job and detailed information. The most I have done is a refresh of a couple of caps in gold. Fairly easy: Gold solution, low voltage plugin power supply with the wire cut/stripped, glass container.

What brand solution did you use? I have a couple gold razors that I really don't want to convert to just nickel, but will if I have to. The 100+ for solution is what is keeping me from pulling the trigger. I feel like I want to have a few razors to do before I invest that much.

Speaking of, I just got a nice Aristocrat today in need of some plating, so I'm on my way, haha.

 

[aboulton1989]

The two biggest issues with home electroplating are uneven or rough coverage and "burn" marks from too much current. Even plating of hundreds of parts simultaneously and metal consumption aren't a big deal if you are only plating one razor.

It's easy enough to polish out any imperfections (or electrostrip and start again) for a hobbyist. Most of the rest of the issues in electroplating are related to plating thousands of parts at the same time to a finished product without "cleanup" steps. Uneven thickness won't be visible to me, and since I'm not worried about how much nickel per part I'm using, those variations unimportant.

I agree, I think at the hobbiest level with a little invested in a good power supply, this is something most of us could do because we can fix anything that looks less than optimal. I don't envy the professionals out there that do quite a few razors at a time or really just the bulk platers in general. Precision equipment very much needed for these applications.

 

[jruschme]

I've been sort of wondering how this would work on a razor: https://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Plating-System-Medallion-Immersion/dp/B002SHS6M2

 

[aboulton1989]

I've been sort of wondering how this would work on a razor: https://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Plating-System-Medallion-Immersion/dp/B002SHS6M2

It seems to be a non-toxic, electro-less solution that should work for us. It won't be able to plate brass, but will be able to plate over nickel.Unfortunately that kit is 4.25oz so I would need at least 4 for my beakers to cover a razor. At that point I might just get the Midas solution that I've been eying, haha.