After reading a post here where a member used a silver plating solution on one of his old razors (basically dip or wipe for a temporary silver coating), I decided to look into the process of actual nickel electroplating at home.
I've got several old Gillette razors (New Long and Short combs, Old Type) that the gold plating is gone. I can also find tons of old "donor" razors at local shops to experiment on for a few bucks. Nothing important to start, mind you.
Surprisingly, all that is needed is vinegar, salt, nickel stock, and a power supply. Even though I've seen an old phone charger used, I will probably pick up an inexpensive bench-top variable power supply.
The process looks fairly harmless, with no toxic substances used (or created), and the only chemicals that require any special care in handling would be acetone or brake cleaner for cleaning the parts, and (more seriously) hydrochloric acid diluted with distilled water, to microscopically etch the parts right before the actual plating.
I already have vinegar, salt, and brake cleaner, and other than the acid (which I may not use on my first experiments) all I would need is the nickel and a power supply (which is not strictly necessary if you want to use an old phone charger or even D-cell batteries).
Anyway, total cost from Amazon for the power supply and some 99.6% pure nickel: $75. Much respect to the professional platers, but that's not much more than the cost of a single re-plate.
I think I'm gonna try it. Winter is already feeling too long, and I'm already getting bored.
Oh, and copper too. I have a vision of a copper-plated Gillette New.
I've got several old Gillette razors (New Long and Short combs, Old Type) that the gold plating is gone. I can also find tons of old "donor" razors at local shops to experiment on for a few bucks. Nothing important to start, mind you.
Surprisingly, all that is needed is vinegar, salt, nickel stock, and a power supply. Even though I've seen an old phone charger used, I will probably pick up an inexpensive bench-top variable power supply.
The process looks fairly harmless, with no toxic substances used (or created), and the only chemicals that require any special care in handling would be acetone or brake cleaner for cleaning the parts, and (more seriously) hydrochloric acid diluted with distilled water, to microscopically etch the parts right before the actual plating.
I already have vinegar, salt, and brake cleaner, and other than the acid (which I may not use on my first experiments) all I would need is the nickel and a power supply (which is not strictly necessary if you want to use an old phone charger or even D-cell batteries).
Anyway, total cost from Amazon for the power supply and some 99.6% pure nickel: $75. Much respect to the professional platers, but that's not much more than the cost of a single re-plate.
I think I'm gonna try it. Winter is already feeling too long, and I'm already getting bored.
Oh, and copper too. I have a vision of a copper-plated Gillette New.