Where theworld gathers for metal finishing
Q&As since 1989
-----
New gold plater looking for help
Q. I have been interested in doing gold plating for many years now. I have decided to take the plunge and get the necessary supplies & equipment and start learning. I have been searching the Internet for as much information as I can find on the subject but I have some questions for the seasoned gold platers please.
First, my main focus in on brush plating, but I would also like to have to be able to do some very small tank plating (say up to 1 gallon tanks). I am a little confused about what size power supply to purchase. Based on what I have read, tank plating requires pretty exact voltages and amperages. I have found a power supply that is variable voltage from 0 to 16 volts, variable amperage up to 20 amps and very low ripple. I know this will work for the brush plating but would this supply also work for the tank plating that I want to do?
Second, I have been trying to find some good reference material, such as voltage ranges for different applications, information regarding the plating procedures, etc. Is there any one source (book, tape, website, etc) that has this information for someone getting just started? I have looked at the site sponsors here but the book that seemed like the one to have is no longer in production. I did purchase one of the cheapest made, cheesiest gold plating video tapes that I have ever had the opportunity to own and it seems to be somewhat informational, but I would really like to have more of a reference manual type of information source.
Third, I have found about a dozen websites offering the "get rich quick gold plating kits" but I prefer not to pay thousands of dollars for a $150 power supply, rubber gloves, plastic drop cloth, a roll of tape, some cotton batting and some 4 ounce solutions samples. Does anyone know of a good source for the necessary consumables? Any information or replies would be greatly appreciated!
Gold plater want-to-be - Tulsa, Oklahoma
2005
A. Your power supply sounds fine for brush or tank plating. No one can tell you what amperages and voltages you'll need, since those things depend on bath composition, tank configuration, distances, temp, etc. As a rough guess, you may want to plate at 10 amps/sq. ft. and will need 2-3 volts for tank plating. As to supplies, we can't recommend commercial establishments here, so check the internet. A helpful site is the electroplating hobby group at Yahoo. good luck.
Jeffrey Holmes, CEF
Spartanburg, South Carolina
2005
A. It may well be that some plating "kits" are overpriced packages, Patrick, but that doesn't mean you should be trying to formulate your own gold plating solutions from raw chemicals either. The gold is so expensive that the additional cost of the support chemistry may not be significant anyway. Please buy your processes from reliable suppliers (some are listed in our directories here) like virtually all professional plating shops do.
Our "must-have" booklist identifies the books that most shops consider useful. Probably the most popular introductory book, based on wide breadth and low cost is the Metal Finishing Guidebook. Yes, some good plating books are out of print, which is a problem, but most are usually still available used.
If you intend to be in the plating business, a critical step is joining the AESF (www.nasf.org). Attend a meeting or two of the Tulsa branch as a guest first. Good luck.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2005
Q. I build guitars and make my own hardware...guitar bridge, control plate etc. I want to gold plate this hardware and have been looking into the different kits and info found on the internet. Because of the high usage I want it to be a very hard finish and long lasting (especially on the saddles where the strings will be rubbing). Obviously also as economical as possible. Any advice on which kits are good, if I should be using 24 karat or a lesser karat, etc., would be much appreciated.
Thanks So Much.
- Vancouver, BC, Canada
August 11, 2012
"Electroplating Engineering Handbook"
by Larry Durney
on
AbeBooks
or
eBay
or
Amazon
(affil links)
A. Hi Graham.
We don't recommend specific brands here for a number of reasons, including the fact that it has encouraged shills to reply with fictitious names, posing as satisfied customers; but some vendors who make this site possible are shown in the banner at the bottom of the page :-)
In any event, you'll want to make a number of decisions before buying anything, such as, should you do brush plating or tank plating, and what type of prep and plating layers will be required before the gold plating?
Are the hardware items that you are making stainless steel, plain steel, or brass? You'll need a nickel strike before the plating if they are stainless. If they are plain steel or brass, you may want to copper plate and buff before the next layer. Next comes the nickel plating, or white bronze plating as a substitute for nickel. It would be best to have a mentor for the plating issues, but at the least a good book.
24 kt acid hard gold plating will probably be the top layer. Good luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
August 12, 2012
Q, A, or Comment on THIS thread -or- Start a NEW Thread