I write this as what I discovered the last few days may be useful for the board's diy'ers.
I model builder friend asked me a few days ago to nickel plate some brass stanchions he made for a loco tender.
I agreed as I had nickel electrolyte in my workshop together with all the rest of the paraphernalia to do the job.
After preparing the little brass objects for plating, I discovered that the commercially-made nickel electrolyte had become unfit for use as I last used it 15 years ago.
So I googled a bit and found a 'recipe' on how to make your own electrolyte.
All you need is a bottle of white vinegar, a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of sugar. The salt is for improved conductivity and the sugar acts as a brightener during the plating process.
Besides the vinegar and its ingredients, you will require a bench powersupply of say 30Vdc rated at 3 to 5amp,
and two pieces odf nickel to act as anode and cathode.
The powersupply's + is connected to one piece of nickel and the - to the other nickel piece.
The process of making nickel electrolyte will take about 3 to four hours or until the vinegar turns green.
Once this process is complete, the item you want to nickel plate is attached to the - of your power supply and the + to the nickel cathode.
There are lots more involved like ensuring total cleanliness of whatever you'd like to plate and perfect connection of the current.
And it worked.
mafioso
I model builder friend asked me a few days ago to nickel plate some brass stanchions he made for a loco tender.
I agreed as I had nickel electrolyte in my workshop together with all the rest of the paraphernalia to do the job.
After preparing the little brass objects for plating, I discovered that the commercially-made nickel electrolyte had become unfit for use as I last used it 15 years ago.
So I googled a bit and found a 'recipe' on how to make your own electrolyte.
All you need is a bottle of white vinegar, a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of sugar. The salt is for improved conductivity and the sugar acts as a brightener during the plating process.
Besides the vinegar and its ingredients, you will require a bench powersupply of say 30Vdc rated at 3 to 5amp,
and two pieces odf nickel to act as anode and cathode.
The powersupply's + is connected to one piece of nickel and the - to the other nickel piece.
The process of making nickel electrolyte will take about 3 to four hours or until the vinegar turns green.
Once this process is complete, the item you want to nickel plate is attached to the - of your power supply and the + to the nickel cathode.
There are lots more involved like ensuring total cleanliness of whatever you'd like to plate and perfect connection of the current.
And it worked.
mafioso
