Plating transformers

[VanEpsFan1914]

Mad science question here--

I have both some phonograph parts, as well as some typewriter parts, a couple 1910s-1920s alarm clock projects, various flywheels and frames and probably some other junk if I thought about it, and it could all be plated. The classic recipe is to use a little bit of nickel acetate and plate them but the power source in the old "Popular Mechanics" or 1950s Cub Scout handbook type recipes was always a "hobby transformer."

The other day in an antique store I saw some of those nifty little S-gauge trains from the A.C. Gilbert company--not related to Gilbert gramophones, but think Erector sets & those chemistry sets which used to have radioactive stuff in them. The whole shebang ran off a little alternating-current transformer, kind of like contemporary postwar Lionel. I'd almost forgotten about "American Flyer" trains but -- never mind how bad I'd like to paint one of their Pacifics in the Atlantic Coast Line livery -- I realized the "hobby transformer" back then was a chunky little thing putting out serious AC volts, not the wall wart/lantern battery/Bachmann HO-gauge power packs I was used to messing around with.

I've tried plating using an old-fashioned DC battery charger for charging batteries/cranking engines, on the "HIGH AND START" setting--and have also attempted to use the battery off my car. When that didn't work I hooked it up to the alternator, cranked the engine up, & tried plating at a high idle. That also didn't quite put out enough juice--I was plating all the brightwork off a 1929 Underwood typewriter at the time & I don't want to pull a stunt like that now.

Could I get away with using alternating current from one of those old-time train transformers to plate? Anyone tried something like this? I have some iron & tin that needs plating so a bit of extra juice will not hurt anything.

[JerryVan]

How about just a 1-½ volt battery? Pure, clean DC. Try to avoid too much voltage. It can "burn" the finish, or so I'm told.

[Marco Gilardetti]

I'm not an academist of the matter, but over the years I have become convinced that in english speaking countries there is often some ambiguity between what is named a transformer and what is instead a power supply unit. All the more surprisingly, I seem to often find ambiguity when currents are named DC (direct) or CC (continuous). For some reason, this almost never happens in continental Europe.

In order to plate with a galvanic process, at least DC is required; CC provided by a power supply or a battery better yet, but not strictly necessary. On the other hand, train transformers delivering AC are useless (unless a rectifier is applied).

I've never made tests myself, but as Jerry has already written, I've often read that too much voltage/current will just deposit a thick layer of metal that would peel off easily. It takes patience. The slower the galvanic process is performed, the better the plating will be.

[Lah Ca]

Youtube has quite a number of plating tutorials (but of course--what doesn't it have?). You will probably want to watch a number of them as they all have something offer either as recommendations or intentional/unintentional caveats.

I have never tried any plating, but I have long had an interest in trying it. I have some "DeLuxe" model guitars. "DeLuxe" is secret code for "This more expensive model has thinly/poorly gold plated hardware on which the plating quickly wears away causing the hardware to look terrible." I have long been fascinated with the idea of doing re-plating.

Wallwart DC power supplies can be used, but as a number of videos have demonstrated, you need to monitor the amperage draw, particularly if you are making your own (nickel) plating solution, or the power supply will burn out. You can change to a higher amperage supply to meet the draw, or fiddle with electrode exposure to reduce the draw. A lot of people use various batteries. Higher voltage is used for making solutions and for removing an earlier plating, say chrome, that you wish to replace with nickel or nickel and then gold, lower voltage for the actual plating.

None of the tutorials make the process seem complicated, but there is obviously some practised skill required, and there are safety precautions to be taken.

[Lah Ca]

Becker Industries offers a wide variety of plating supplies, including transformers, solutions, and kits. They also do custom plating, although I have no idea what this would cost.

https://www.beckerindustries.com

[Curt A]

DIY Nickel Plating Tutorial

Nickel Plating Tutorial.pdf

(231.67 KiB) Downloaded 15 times

[Lah Ca]

Plating pot metal is apparently a bit of a PITA because it is a highly variable mix of whatever random metals were handy at time of casting, zinc being a consistently major component, and because it is often not in good condition.

An old sticky from Caswell forums:

https://forum.caswellplating.com/forum/ ... -pot-metal