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-----BRIGHTENERS AND LEVELERS FOR DIY HOBBY NICKEL PLATING BATHS
Q. Greetings,
About a month ago I started plating some motorcycle parts at home. I have a 20 gallon setup with all the necessary tanks. What I'm inquiring about is what chemicals act as brighteners and levelers in nickel baths, and in what quantity must I use them? After polishing, my pieces look impeccable prior to the chrome bath, and have exceptional brilliance after the chromium plate. The only problem I need to resolve is what additives can I add to my nickel bath. Most pros I've discussed this with don't know what they are exactly. I'm using a non-cyanide Watts bath.
Any and all help is appreciated.
Regards,
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
2003
9th Edition, Vol. 5
"Surface Cleaning, Finishing & Coating"
on Amazon or eBay
or AbeBooks
(affil link)
A. Hi Frank. Try to get your hands on the ASM Metals Handbook, Vol. 5.
because it has an excellent chapter that explains nickel additives and how each class works; and it offers examples of older ones that you can still get and use like butynediol, formaldehyde, saccharin, and coumarin.
But there has been almost a century of progress on nickel brighteners, and the best additives are proprietary. Not only are people legally forbidden from telling you exactly what they are, but you can't make them anyway because they are not mixtures or compounds, but are "synthesized from precursors" (synthesis is how plastics are made from crude oil, and is way beyond what a hobbyist or small professional laboratory can do). But best of luck with the generic brighteners.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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