Good job! I suspect many of us go through this and it's good you posted your experience as not everyone does. I also tried this at home, with pretty good results (not quite as good as yours). My 0.02$ are to plunge the parts in a dilute nitric acid solution for 30s just before plating (once they are on the hooks) to remove the surface oxidation. Also, always wear clean gloves when touching the parts (surface contamination is a real killer).
Lastly, be aware that everything around your plating setup will RUST! The acid is just dissolved in the water, and the released gasses will carry it around.
