Home electroplating

Hi there,

I run a small aluminium polishing business , as in fuel tanks alloy wheels bumpers and bullbars on trucks . I was interested in trying some electroplating just small time stuff. The question is can it be done from home or is too much equipment needed to do electroplating. And if it is possible how and where and what do I need ?

Hi, Udo. The first thing you may need is a good plating book. See our "must-have" list and see if your library has one of the listed ones. Good luck!

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

There are some pretty harmless plating experiments you can run from the FAQ section of this website. You can safely play around a bit with home electroplating if you stick to small-time stuff.

However, I hope you do not plan to start a full-scale plating business out of your garage. One would need to deal with the chemicals in the wastewater and somehow not get into trouble with the EPA and your city government.

Before you even consider a DIY plating operation use the services already available in the industry. These people have years of experience and in some cases millions of dollars in equipment to back the expertise. As you mention aluminium you would need a lot of preparation and pre-treatment to plate on aluminium some processes involving cyanide. Then you need nickel and chrome (as the items you mention would usually be chrome finish) rinsing, waste water treatment, licensing from water authority and EPA just for a start.

You would have to be very careful as some of the salt solutions are very deadly and not for the use of backyard use.

There is also the problem of the licensing required for the substances used and the problem of disposal when finished, you just can't throw it down the drain (the authorities get a little upset when cyanide is tossed into the environment). It's a lot easier to get the articles done by the pro's.