"Brush Plating"

Although most electroplating is conducted by fully immersing the components in the plating solution, an alternative in some cases is to brush plate them. The term "tampon plating" is sometimes used, and probably better describes the application device -- which is a metal electrode encased in an absorbent cloth sleeve which is periodically dipped into plating solution, then rubbed across the surface to be plated.

Some typical applications of brush plating include:
• changing the chrome plating on auto emblems to gold, in place
• plating of jewelry, where only specific areas are to be plated
• repair 'in place' of propeller shafts on large ships
• gold plating of building domes

There is little mention of brush plating in most plating textbooks, but "Electrochemical Metallizing" by Marv Rubinstein is a 400-page book dedicated to the subject, and the suppliers to the industry conduct periodic training courses. Although hobbyists can do brush plating for simple applications like gold plating their auto emblems, the skills required for critical applications can require decades of experience.