Letter 41076

Brush plating on brass casted mesh [Pakistan] 

June 10, 2006

I want to deposit gold on the mesh of an holy tomb which is brass casted & cannot be removed from it place. Its size 5x11 feet. I want to deposit gold on it, by brush plating system. Nickel plating is not possible there prior to gold plating because the mesh is in vertical position. Is it possible to get better results without nickel coating kindly tell me what technique should I use for better results, Thank you.

Muhammad Tariq
Sunny plater - Islamabad, Pakistan

I don't quite understand why the orientation of this mesh prevents nickel plating while allowing gold plating. If you can explain, it might be helpful. Nickel plating usually performs two functions in this kind of situation: it levels the surface for good brightness and reflectivity, and it acts as a barrier to prevent copper from diffusing into the gold.

At low temperature the issue of diffusion is reduced, and you will see letters on this site where people say they do not nickel plate their parts and diffusion has not been a problem for them. But brightness may be an issue; gold deposited on a rough surface doesn't look very good. Maybe you can acid copper plate, and then buff the high points to a good shine? Or buff areas of the casting to a shine before gold plating?

Please talk to an expert in brush plating like our supporting advertisers Brooktronics and Liquid Development Corp, or consult "Electrochemical Metallizing".

Ted Mooney
finishing.com - Brick, NJ

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