Electroplating small parts - how hard?

[flipper35]

So, with the 3D printer I learned I can paint stuff with copper or graphite paint to make it conductive and then plate it. Mostly copper and possibly copy chrome is what I would be interested in.

Hen3drick has good tutorials but he is not a beginner.



I have the space, PPE and stuff from printing and painting. Kits start about $300.

[herr_oberst]

Tons of videos on cheap and easy nickel plating. I'm not sure how that word work with that benchy, but it apparently works good on real metal parts.

[flipper35]

Nickel is one I would probably avoid given the allergens and toxicity. Palladium maybe. I think most have a copper plating as the base anyway so once that is done it is real metal.

[Scott Douglas]

In another lifetime I was involved with electroplating. It's an art form to get it right.

[A930Rocket]

Good timing. After installing new spring plates and using the old hardware, I bought all new bolts for about $75, from Macmaster. That didn’t include any of the eccentrics. That made me think about doing DIY plating at home.

[onewhippedpuppy]

This feels like a good question for Shaun…

[flipper35]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

This feels like a good question for Shaun…

I thought he might have an opinion on it. Was hoping anyway.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I saw this quickly the other day but didn't understand exactly what you were after Brent. Do you want to zinc/copper/nickel/xxx plate over plastic?

[flipper35]

Copper, copy chrome, maybe palladium and maybe gold. Over resin, correct. The conductive paint seems a non issue for a base for plating.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

That is something I know very little about. I am working on some Porsche factory speaker covers now though. They are plastic and have been first copper and then electroless nickel plated. Because I'm sanding them, I talked with the vendor in England about the plating process and they said, without details, that is was a difficult and extremely expensive process. That was confirmed with my plater who was able to add nickel to the original layer.

I don't see why it's so expensive though and did want to look into it when I had time. I had thought adhesion promoter followed by a weld through primer would be a good start for testing if I needed to recreate them.

But it sounds like you might already know how to do it.

I will say that home plating takes a lot of testing and dialing in to get it right. Even electroless nickel isn't as easy as just hanging parts.

I'm sorry I can't help more. But am interested in what you find out.

[flipper35]

I know once the copper is on you can use a galvanic pen or another bath for other metals, but mostly I am looking for the initial copper coating.

Among other things, I want some things for the camper since it has copper trim.

[flipper35]

I know see the advantage of the electroless nickel. Wonder if you can then drop copper on top. Would cover better than the conductive paint I would think.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I'll talk with my plater on Monday, we have a good bond, he bought a new Boxster last year.

[Jeff Alton]

We tumble (3 different steps) parts to a mirror finish in house. Then we work with a local plating company (massive company) that can do whatever finish we need- yellow CAD, yellow Zinc, Silver Zinc where we match it up to the era of the vehicle and what was delivered at the time by Porsche.

The prep is what it is critical to get a good final product.

We package up Porsche engine parts in our system in sealed bags "case assembly" "head assembly" "cam tower assembly" "valve cover" "timing cover" etc

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

In another lifetime I was involved with electroplating. It's an art form to get it right.

Wow, that came out alright!