Letter 545

Plating lead came of stained glass craftings

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Help me please. I am interested in doing some electroplating on small things in my garage. I need know the procedure to do it. I don't know what i need. can you help me.

Adriana Margarita

What kind of parts do you want to electroplate and what do you want to put onto the parts? Is this plating for decorative purposes, or is it for repair or dimensional restoration?

Derek Vanek SIFCO Applied Surface Concepts Independence, Ohio

I am also looking to do metal plating in my garage. I do small stain glass crafting using lead came and would like to nickel plate the lead. Are there suppliers out there that market small plating kits for the hobbyist? I would be grateful for any leads of where to start.

Thanks in advance.

John

John Conway

Yes, there are kits, and suppliers who cater to small-lot customers. You will see them in the banner at the top of this page and in our Chemicals Directory. But before you decide that you want to do this process in your garage, please read our FAQ: Getting Started in Plating.

Also, real lead requires activation in hydrofluoric acid, which is very dangerous and will ruin the glass (although as a stained glass artist you may already be familiar with it).

See also letter 46134 please. Good luck!

Ted Mooney, P.E.  finishing.com Brick, New Jersey

I have personally brush plated two stained glass windows each approx. worth 50K$. We plated both sides of the window and the plating had to withstand an outside environment. The windows were each approx. 4 feet in diameter. To do both, it took a crew of two three days. The technique is very easy to do and can be easily learned in a few hours.

Tom Sivula
electroplating shop - Harbor City, California

Yes, John. Brooktronics Engr. manufactures brush plating equipment and chemicals which will allow you to plate leaded glass. Also, our process will work very well over zinc glass frames. Please contact me for further information.

Jeff Hurrell Brooktronics Engineering Corp. Valencia, California

July 2, 2008

I make stained glass items and would like the lead and solder to have the "shiny" look of commercially made items. Does anyone know how to plate the lead with something silvery and shiny? What plating metal is used and what materials does one use?

John Curry
- Columbus, Ohio

Hi, John. We appended your posting to a thread which may already partially answer it for you. You may also wish to see letter 46134 or search the site for more about stained glass plating. If you wish to learn about brush plating, see if your library can get Rubinstein's "Electrochemical Metallizing" for you. Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.  finishing.com Brick, New Jersey