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Get shiny again… Nickel plating small parts is easy. And the good news is that most vintage radio parts are small. All you need are four things. And those four things are: A nickel plating solution (bath). A pure nickel anode. A way to heat the solution. A source of direct current at a low voltage and adequate current. Your one stop shop for plating supplies is Caswell, Inc. They are happy to sell you a complete outfit for nickel plating (minus power source) for $199. But that is more than I really need. Download their catalogue and right there on Page 1 is what you really need…. 1.5 Gallons is way more than I need. Go in with a buddy and split the expense. Nickel plating solutions can be thought of as permanent baths. Just don’t contaminate it. (More later.) Add distilled water as needed. The nickel anode. Good nickel plate is much less than 0.001” thick. That 6”x8” anode sheet can plate over 45 square feet of surface. That’s a LOT of small hardware! And it will likely plate even more than that. While at the Caswell site… There is a wealth of information on this site. Well worth bookmarking in your browser. You need to heat the plating bath. About 120 F is a nice comfy temperature. That big immersion heater in the Caswell outfit is WAY too big for most tasks… Find an old hot pot at the flea market or local thrift store. It’s going to get TOO hot… Run it off your shop Variac or a light dimmer rated at 600 Watts or more. That DC voltage and current…. The voltage will be somewhere between 2.5 and 5 Volts. The current depends on the surface area being plated and the temperature of the plating bath. I see ranges of 0.5 to 5 Amps. in my work. But the current needs to be current limited! There are several ways to supply it. Got an old battery charger that’s not too smart? The light bulb limits the current to a safe level. Go to a hamfest… Industrial grade power supplies can be really cheap out in the flea market! Just look for one that has a CURRENT LIMITED output of 3 Amps. or more. Going… Going… but not quite gone. Power supplies to service 6 & 12 Volt vibrator supply car radios….. They are almost indestructible! The parts have to be shiny first! Sand or wire brush parts…. Buff with a 4” cotton wheel charged with white rouge. Wash with solvent. Buff with another 4” cotton wheel charged with red rouge if necessary. Wash with solvent again. String the parts on wires….. Keep in mind that any connection will ‘shadow’ the plating current from the part. So connect at inconspicuous points. Remember electroplating is an electro-chemical process….. Parts have to be chemically clean to plate. Now to the bath. Is it up to 120 F yet? Allow the parts to pre-heat 5 to 10 seconds before turning on the current. The parts must be in constant motion or the bath must be in constant motion! Gas bubbles insulate the surface and must be immediately removed if you are to have smooth plating. You will poison the bath if… You put the parts in and allow them to stay past the pre-heat time with the current OFF. 400 & 600 mL beakers work best for me. A dull finish on shiny parts probably means the current was too high. Nickel is REALLY hard and therefore hard to polish. Better to sand off and start again. If the Nickel plate flakes… You did not remove all the oxides before you started. The parts were really not chemically clean to start with. Better to start over…. When you are done, rinse in HOT water immediately and FORCE DRY! What about other finishes? Coloring brass…. Making solder joints look old. Making nickel plate look not so new. Another source for supplies… To color brass escutcheons... Always cover colored brass with a clear coat of lacquer or varnish. To blacken brass hardware… The secret to old looking solder joints revealed! Solder your connection. Clean with alcohol to remove flux. Scratch the surface a little bit with a very fine stainless steel brush. (Dremel has a little cup brush that works fine.) Put a drop of JAX Black on the joint. Bingo! 80 years in 80 seconds… When you get the look you like, daub the joint with a cotton ball saturated with distilled water to remove any excess JAX Blackener. FORCE DRY….. And something I have not tried yet. These are all ‘lifetime supply’ quantities for folks like me. So consider dividing the solutions with a buddy. But the containers should be of high quality…. Consider these…. Be aware of this….. It’s not hard…. Give it a try… Robert Lozier [email protected] http://kd4hsh.homestead.com/index.html