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The ultimate guide on coating old metal objects in nickel
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Nickel plating refers to any process that covers a metal object in a protective layer of nickel or nickel alloy. If you’re interested in doing this at home, nickel electroplating is one of the safest and easiest options out there. There are two main reasons to nickel-plate an object—to protect it, or to improve its overall appearance. Whether you want to breathe new life into that antique jewelry or you’re looking to protect the lug nuts on your vintage bike, read on to learn more about the nickel-plating process.
Things You Should Know
- Fill a jar with white vinegar, add a dash of salt water, and hang two nickel anodes in it. Charge the anodes with a 6- or 12-volt battery and submerge the item to plate it.
- Your white vinegar will turn green when the fluid is charged with enough nickel to plate.
- Nickel plating will protect your item from general wear and tear. It will also increase its overall sheen and remove any tarnish.
Steps
Section 1 of 7:
DIY Nickel Electroplating
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Gather your supplies and put on gloves and protective eyewear . Grab two pieces of nickel anode , some white vinegar and alligator clips for a battery or power source. Make sure that you keep the room ventilated by opening the windows and turning the fan on. [1] X Research source
- This process is known as electroplating , and it’s the only DIY method you can use to nickel-plate an object. There are other methods out there, but they require industrial labs and chemicals you don’t have access to.
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Fill a glass container with vinegar and set up your plating probes. A mason jar works best, but any glass will work. Fill the jar with white vinegar and add roughly 1 tablespoon (17 g) of salt. Hang your two pieces of nickel on the rim of the container so that they’re halfway submerged in the vinegar. Grab a small power supply and use the alligator clips to hook the positive and negative leads up to the pieces of nickel. Hook the positive wire up to one of the nickel pieces, and the negative wire to the other one. Plug the power supply in and wait. [2] X Research source
- For your power supply, you can use a 6- or 12-volt battery. You can also buy a dedicated power supply with built-in alligator clips .
- So long as the power supply isn’t putting out more than 1 amp, this will work. [3] X Research source You can measure the amperage by sticking multimeter probes into the vinegar solution.
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Submerge the item once the vinegar turns green. The salt, vinegar, and charged nickel anodes will flood the solution with electrolytes and cause it to turn green. Once this happens, it is charged. Clean the metal object you want to plate and disconnect the power supply. Leave the positive nickel piece hooked up where it is, but take the negative anode out. Hang your object from some copper wire and submerge it in your solution. [4] X Research source
- The easiest way to hang the object is to wrap copper wire gently around the item, wrap the other portion of the copper around a pencil, and hang the pencil over the solution. The copper won’t interfere with the plating process, although it will also end up plated in nickel.
- Hanging your object in the solution will keep it from floating to the bottom of the container. If this happens, the plating won’t coat each side of your object evenly.
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4Wait roughly 20 minutes until the plating fully develops. It may take a little longer if the item is especially large, or if it has lots of grooves and textures. Periodically pull the item out to see if it is completely plated. Once you’re happy with the appearance and quality of the item, remove it and rinse it off with water to remove any charged vinegar. [5] X Research source
- Keep the solution! It won’t go bad and you can use it in the future to nickel plate items so long as you keep the bottle sealed.
- You can complete this process on basically any metal or alloy. Popular options include items made out of gold, silver, tin, platinum, nickel, chromium, cadmium, palladium, brass, and zinc. You can even electroplate 3D prints!
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Tips
- If your nickel-plated item turns out kind of yellow, it’s a sign that you weren’t using pure nickel for the plating process. [15] X Research sourceThanks
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References
- ↑ https://nickelinstitute.org/media/lxxh1zwr/2023-nickelplatinghandbooka5_printablepdf.pdf
- ↑ https://youtu.be/G-PtnwtOR24?t=46
- ↑ https://youtu.be/G-PtnwtOR24?t=12
- ↑ https://youtu.be/G-PtnwtOR24?t=287
- ↑ https://nickelinstitute.org/media/lxxh1zwr/2023-nickelplatinghandbooka5_printablepdf.pdf
- ↑ https://www.explainthatstuff.com/electroplating.html
- ↑ https://youtu.be/UcFZJNs29X4?t=27
- ↑ https://youtu.be/INiyYbFUihA?t=25
- ↑ https://youtu.be/w40t0RxQd3Q?t=4
- ↑ https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/metals/seth-gold-tells-all-national-pawnbroker-of-the-year-explains-the-need-to-drop-the-acid/
- ↑ https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/nickel-allergy/symptoms-causes/syc-20351529
- ↑ https://sites.dartmouth.edu/toxmetal/more-metals/nickel-hidden-in-plain-sight/the-facts-on-nickel/
- ↑ https://www.pfiinc.com/hard-chrome-plating-vs-electroless-nickel-plating-the-differences-explained/
- ↑ https://www.dorsetware.com/types-nickel-plating/
- ↑ https://www.dorsetware.com/types-nickel-plating/
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