Do-It-Yourself Metal Plating
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When Brian Laine decided to metal plate motorcycle parts at home, buying a plating kit was just the first step. A 3-gal. Copy Cad kit from Caswell Plating cost $290 (www.caswellplating.com). He spent a day driving around to gather an aerator pump from a pet shop, brass wire, rubber gloves, distilled water, beads from a fishing store, copper tubing, and several other things. Plating also needs a variable power supply, which he had.
“I found out an extra heater would be nice, as the degreasing tank should be 140 degrees at a minimum and ideally 190 degrees,” says Laine. “The included heater only gets the solution up to 160 degrees in ambient conditions.”
To prepare parts, Laine used sandblasting or tumbling, though he suggests that bead blasting would have been preferable. A plastic brush for cleaning parts was included in the kit, but he also used a wire brush on a grinder.
Once prepped, the kit directions required computing the surface area in square inches. This is needed to compute the current required at 25 mA per sq. in.
Parts are first immersed in the degreaser tank and then misted to prevent beading. They’re then placed in the plating tank for about 30 min.
“When plating is done, you dunk rinse them, blow off the big drops and let them sit, as they can show a fingerprint for the first couple of hours,” says Laine. “I wanted a matte finish, so I didn’t use the brightener included in the kit. Without it, they came out duller than I wanted. To get the effect I wanted, I used steel wool on each part, although bead blasting might have had the same effect and been much less tedious.”
Laine was satisfied with the job done. He notes that Caswell sells other solutions that apply color. Additionally, the kit can also be used to deplate metal by reversing the electrical current.
“I ended up spending about three times as much money and a huge amount of time compared to having a local company treat the parts,” admits Laine. “Still, it’s interesting to do stuff yourself, and I’m set up for the future now.”
As with many other projects, Laine has detailed the entire conversion process on his website, with lots of pictures.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Brian Laine, 7921 Wade Rd., Arlington, Wash. 98223 (brianlaine@aol.com; www.lainefamily.com).
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Do-It-Yourself Metal Plating FARM HOME recreation When Brian Laine decided to metal plate motorcycle parts at home buying a metal plating kit was just the first step A 3-gal Copy Cad kit from Caswell Plating cost $290 www caswellplating com He spent a day driving around to gather an aerator pump from a pet shop brass wire rubber gloves distilled water beads from a fishing store copper tubing and several other things Plating also needs a variable power supply which he had “I found out an extra heater would be nice as the degreasing tank should be 140 degrees at a minimum and ideally 190 degrees ” says Laine “The included heater only gets the solution up to 160 degrees in ambient conditions ” To prepare parts Laine used sandblasting or tumbling although he suggests bead blasting would have been preferable A plastic brush for cleaning parts was included in the kit but he also used a wire brush on a grinder Once prepped kit directions required computing the surface area in square inches This is needed to compute the current required at 25mA per sq in Parts are first immersed in the degreaser tank before misting to ensure no beading occurs Then they’re placed in the plating tank for about 30 min “When plating is done you dunk rinse them blow off the big drops and let them sit as they can show a fingerprint for the first couple of hours ” says Laine “I wanted a matte finish so I didn’t use the brightener included in the kit Without it they came out duller than I wanted To get the effect I wanted I used steel wool on each part although bead blasting might have had the same effect and been much less tedious ” Laine was satisfied with the job done He notes that Caswell sells other solutions that will apply a color Additionally the kit can also be used to deplate metal by reversing the electrical current “I ended up spending about three times as much money and a huge amount of time compared to having a local company treat the parts ” admits Laine “Still it’s interesting to do stuff yourself and I’m set up for the future now ” As with many other projects Laine has detailed the entire conversion process with lots of pictures on his website Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Brian Laine 7921 Wade Rd Arlington Wash 98223 brianlaine@aol com; www lainefamily com
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