Metal finishing Q&As since 1989
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Gold plating on ABS plastic
RFQ: I have some plastic parts for my street rod that need to be gold plated. Only part of some of these parts are to be gold plated. The rest is to be left black plastic. I had a person in CA do some but he is not available anymore. (Items such as trim around power window switch, the levers on the switch itself.)
Thank you,
- Pottstown, Pennsylvania, USA
2001
Ed. note: Sorry, this RFQ is old & outdated, so contact info is no longer available. However, if you feel that something technical should be said in reply, please post it; no public commercial suggestions please ( huh? why?)
Q. This is a question from my polymer course at university. What and how are the process of gold plate on ABS plastic? Could you please help me? Thank you a lot!
Maria Linsstudent - São Paulo, Brazil
2004
"Standards and Guidelines for Electroplated Plastics"
by American Society for Electroplated Plastics
on
AbeBooks
or
Amazon
(affil links)
A. Hi, Maria.
If you look at a chrome plated grill or bezel on an automobile, you will see that it is chrome plated plastic, and probably ABS. Gold plating of ABS would be the same process except the final layer would be gold plating instead of chrome plating.
The earlier steps would include etching (ABS is a two-component plastic, and one of them dissolves in strong chromic-sulfuric acid, putting a good "tooth" on the surface), seeding with a palladium colloid, electroless nickel plating the palladium, and then electrolytic nickel plating. For automotive quality there are usually a few more steps, including copper plating between the electroless nickel and the nickel plating.
There is plenty of info about plating of plastic available on this site and the rest of the web, and authoritative information can be found in plating texts and the journals serving the plating industry. Best of luck.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2004
Dear Mr. Ted Mooney, thank you for helping me with my question.
Best regards,
- São Paulo, Brazil
2004
2001
RFQ: I need to have a cast acrylic part (a prototype of a cap for a jar, 3 5/8 dia. 9/16 high) electroplated gold. Any help regarding the process and where I could have it done would be appreciated.
Thanks.
- NYC, New York
Ed. note: Sorry, this RFQ is old & outdated, so contact info is no longer available. However, if you feel that something technical should be said in reply, please post it; no public commercial suggestions please ( huh? why?)
Q. I'm working in an electroplating company.please;
I want to know how I can plate plastics by gold or silver.
electroplating lab assistant - Egypt , Cairo
July 22, 2008
A. Hi, Marwa. Please ask around among your peers to try to find a copy of "Standards and Guidelines for Electroplated Plastic". This is the best single source for that info. Good luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
July 22, 2008
Q. I have a question. I am restoring my 85 Honda Gold Wing. I need all my emblem's redone. They are painted satin black background and the actual emblem is gold on all raised letters and surfaces. How and what all do I need to do this operation at home? Thank you so much. Jeff
Jeff Busche- Warren, Pennsylvania USA
February 12, 2019
A. Hi Jeff. One downside of today's advanced technology is that when we can very nearly make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, it's hard to know what we actually have. That gold color could be titanium nitride applied from a PVD chamber; it could be actual gold electroplating; it could be vacuum metallizing with aluminum followed by a gold toned translucent lacquer; it could be chrome-look paint followed by gold toned lacquer.
If you cannot find out from enthusiast magazines and blogs what it actually is, you'll have to guess. If the gold finish is conductive when measured with a V-O-M multimeter, my guess is that it is real gold electroplating, and that the thing to do is to clean the existing gold plating and try to add another layer with a brush plating kit. If the black paint is in good condition it can probably act as a maskant so only the existing gold plated area will get additional plating.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
February 2019
adv.
Brush plating equipment, chemicals, and supplies from Gold Touch
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