Re: plating xmas balls

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Jim Lux" <jimlux-at-earthlink-dot-net> 

$700 will buy a LOT of plating at the local plating shops...  Last time I
got stuff plated (granted, about 5 years ago), I had a pile of small stuff
(say, pieces in the 1 foot size range, a bunch of weird looking bracketry
mostly) and it ran around $100 for the lot.  I wasn't in any hurry to get it
done, nor was I concerned with absolute perfection in the plating, so that
might have helped. But even so, unless you're plating something truly
enormous, (an entire car body?) plating is quite reasonable.

Likewise powder coating and anodizing/passivating.. for that kind of stuff,
a few small pieces won't usually get you to the $50 minimum.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
To: <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2003 4:45 PM
Subject: Re: plating xmas balls


 > Original poster: "Nick Andrews" <nicothefabulous-at-hotmail-dot-com>
 >
 > For motorcycle show chrome, the part is plated with copper first, which
can
 > be built up to hide defects.  Then nickel goes on, then finally a thin
 > layer of chrome.  Caswell sells kits to do it, about $700 I think.  I was
 > going to buy a setup to plate small stuff for my bike, just never have
done it.
 >
 > Nick A
 >
 >
 > >From: "Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
 > >To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
 > >Subject: Re: plating xmas balls
 > >Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2003 12:02:08 -0700
 > >
 > >Original poster: dave pierson <davep-at-quik-dot-com>
 > >
 > >
 > >>Xmas decorations now fill the shops. I have seen silver 8-inch diameter
 > >>globes, which are probably aluminum coated plastic. Discharges strip the
 > >>coating. Now if I could metal plate one it may make a nice topload for a
 > >>small coil. I know its possible to plate almost any metal on any other
 > >>but some processes require nasty chemicals. The only simple solution I
 > >>could think of was ammoniacal copper. It will deposit copper and will
not
 > >>dissolve the aluminum. Anybody else got any suggestions involving
readily
 > >>available chemicals and anode material. Chrome would be nice.
 > >
 > >
 > >    What little I have read is that chrome is tricky to do.
 > >    Requires HIGH currents and many/most chrome compounds are
 > >    toxic/carcinogenic or both.  Yes, commercial shops do it...
 > >    In General chrome goes on over an undercoat of something else,
 > >    typically (ahemmm) copper.
 > >    (Some metals do not plate well on some others, use of
 > >    an intermediate is routine....)
 > >
 > >    best
 > >     dwp
 >
 >