home plater, what's the prob?

Letter 2869

home plater, what's the prob?

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I am concerned with most platers saying it isn't possible to plate safely at home, for one thing I would never do it in my house but my garage sure. I have an inexpensive draft booth set up for painting, witch is a hell of alot more dangerous than any plating i've done, yet painters are rarely saying anything about not painting at home, why is that?. inside the draft booth I have a metal storage/shelving unit that has an appropriate poison warning's. I keep it a lot cleaner than any plating shop I have ever seen, i wear better safety equipment than I have even seen at a plating shop also. I pay for my waste to be thrown away, and it's not extremly expensive, for a 55 gallon drum all I pay is 300.00 canadian. everything stays in a locks cabinet in a locked room. One more thing I am only sixteen and I have no one who is there to show me what to do. I really don't understand why everybody is so uptight about it, my local platers don't think it is a big deal at all. So to all you wannabe platers out there, get involved, it feels great to do it yourself.

Barrett Russell
hobby plater
  Saskatoon,
     Saskatchewan,
               Canada

I applaud your responsible attitude toward safety and environmental responsibility, Barrett. You are right that it is easy to overstate the dangers -- plating solutions are not plutonium --
But . . .

A garage chrome plating shop in Odessa, TX caused contamination of the whole city's water supply. That shop is a superfund site and millions of dollars have been spent just in the courtroom, let alone in the attempted cleanup.
If you work alone, where you cannot get instant asistance, and you get one drop of caustic in your eye you have condemned yourself to a life of blindness.
In my neighborhood last month, a man ended up in critical condition in intensive care, and the policeman who rescued him also ended up in the hospital due to a spill from a jar of copper cyanide containing less than a quart.

If it were necessary for people to do plating at home, I might be on your side, i.e., that the risk is not out of proportion to the benefit. But when it's proposed as a hobby--which to many people means something to just idly and mindlessly tinker around with--I can easily think of better ones.

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

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I agree with your points entirely, that's scary about that copper cyanide incident. I do not have to worry about much of this because I wear a self contianed breathing apperatus (hood) and a full chemical body suit, with bodies. All i really do is brush plate Pottasium Aurocyanide. I do aplaude your safety concerns here, I am not against that. I hope to soon get a degree in chemistry and open up a plating shop, gotta wait till i'm out of high school though.

Barrett Russell
hobby plater
  Saskatoon,
     Saskatchewan,
               Canada

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My hobby is drag racing this ever changing turbocharged suzuki. Let me tell you this thing demands serious attention and it is no where near mindless or idle :> . A hobby for me should be very absorbing and demanding. The risks should also be very clear and understood and compensated for as best as possible. Just because the plating process is dangerous and complex shouldnt exclude it for a hobbyest.

This web site is good in providing pertinent info for one to consider. I want to start up small scale powder coating operation. Mostly for motorcycle frames and small parts. Do you have any advice or info on small scale setups ? THANKS .

Peter James
- Bridgewater NS Canada

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Peter You may wish to look at a system by the name of HotCoat which should work great for motorcycle needs.

I have a Machine shop and access to Hazardess waste disposal and can't see spending the amount of money needed to start a chrome plating proccess on a small scale.

John C. Walker
- Tuscaloosa, AL

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One of the main reasons for powder coating is its environmental friendliness because there are no solvents as in painting; instead you melt the coating on. But plating is different than powder coating, primarily because all of the waste products are considered hazardous and are regulated, even hose water under 40CFR433; it can be quite a problem to do it as a hobby.

In your drag racing, Peter, I'm sure you received some hands-on training. I'm sure you learned under personal instruction. I'm confident you belong to various clubs where you have the opportunity to interact with your peers. As a hobby plater you would be welcome to do much of the same, attending meetings of the American Electroplaters Society, etc., but we simply don't find hobby platers attending and gaining that learning experience for some reason. I hazard the guess that it's because they want to maintain a low profile when they realize how harassed by government the professionals are.

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

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I am interested in purchasing a chrome plating machine for small/home shop use. It would be used to chrome finish small motorcycle parts, bolts, shifters, brackets, and other small parts I machine. Any assistance if finding a supplier for a suitable machine here in Canada would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Rene Waters
- Medicine Hat, AB, Canada

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Hello, Rene. Please see our Chrome Plating Tutorial. You will find why there are not chrome plating machines in the sense that you probably envision. Good luck.

Ted Mooney
finishing.com
Brick, New Jersey

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