Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ

The authoritative public forum
  for Metal Finishing since 1989
  

Brush plating of aluminum parts

Q. Is there a practical way to brush plate aluminum parts like car wheels, amplifier mounts, speakers, etc. with nickel and then gold? I know that I can dip it in nitric acid, zincate, nitric acid again and then electroless nickel plate it but that is a little much for what we want to plate. I need something simple but something that will yield a decorative, bright surface as well.
Thanks

Multiple threads merged: please forgive chronology errors and repetition  🙂

Are Aluminum Rims Brush Platable?

Q. I have recently purchased a Plating Machine. I have since been asked many times to chrome plate over aluminum car rims. As I understand this is very hard to do to say the least, or impossible. However, curiosity got the best of me and I would like to know is there a way to brush chrome/plate over aluminum?

Thanks in advance.

Brush Plating Aluminum Instrument Cases

Q. I wish to Brush Plate Aluminum Instrument cases and backplates so that they can be soldered to. Many Aircraft instruments are hermetically sealed with a copper band and solder. Most cases and backplates are made of aluminum that have been plated up to a copper with a nickel finish which has been coated with a 1/2 " wide tinning of solder (60/40) rosin core. When opening the unit sometimes the plating comes off.

I'd like to know what size power supply along with the correct chemical's should be used. I've heard of Sifco using an Electrocleaning process first then reversing polarity and applying some type of Activator (#1 or #8) what ever is used for aluminum. Next Nickel is applied (Acid or Alkaline)? and last, Copper High speed. Does anyone have an instruction sheet and procedure available? Also where can I obtain the correct chemicals and equipment. There is such a wide price range that I 'm not sure what to believe. If anyone would be so kind as to direct this Newbie plater it would be appreciated.

A. There are 3 or 4 major vendors of brush plating equipment that are all good which advertise here. Their prices used to be quite different on individual pieces and there was a noticeable difference in the price of a total package. You need to get literature from each of them and sort out what is the minimum that meets your needs.

For me, I do not need a calculator with all the variables built into a unit, but some operators could not function without it, so is it worth that cost. Bottom line is you need a power supply big enough to handle the area that you are going to prep and plate. After that, it is which vendors' wands and tips serves your purpose best. Then you make a cost benefit trade off. Do not forget to include solution costs in your calculation. Brush plating is very probably the most operator influenced plating going. The best equipment will produce bad results with a sloppy operator. If you follow the vendors instructions, the secret of brush plating is keeping the part wet and having a very rapid changeover from step one to step two and etc.

Regardless of price, buy from a vendor that has a school that you can go to. Half a day with a tech sales person is not the same as 3-5 days in a hands on classroom. Also, there is room for negotiation if everyone is aware that you are seriously looking at 3 vendors.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
2004

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"THE" brush plating book:
Electrochemical Metallizing by Marv Rubinstein

on AbeBooks

or eBay or

Amazon

(affil links)

A. Hi, Charlie. For a good insight into brush plating, see if you can locate a copy of Marv Rubinstein's "Electrochemical Metallizing".
It's super informative.

Regards,

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

Brush zinc plating over aluminum

Q. Brush plating standards utilize certain alternate chemicals and brush plating methods to activate aluminum apart from the traditional zincate. I wonder if someone has attempted the build-up of heavy layers of zinc after a traditional zincate (either double or triple) to restore worn or mis-machined aluminum?

The actual situation is the impossibility or extreme difficulty to import those specific chemicals offered by brush plating houses into our country. I would appreciate any comment.

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June 2016

Hi Guillermo. Hope you are well, and hope someone offers encouragement.

opinion!  Re. "the impossibility or extreme difficulty to import those specific chemicals offered by brush plating houses into our country". Mexico doesn't want to import USA products, and why should they? There was a time when trade helped everyone, but today there is little actual "trading", just the mega-corps making workers compete for jobs against whichever country's workers are more destitute.
NAFTA promised to increase USA jobs via exports that would more than make up for the "giant sucking sound" -- no surprise it didn't work that way. Now they tell us we must do the same thing with Vietnam, Malaysia, etc., via the Transpacific Partnership :-)

Regards,

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

Q. Hello Ted,

Back to my question, the chemical we are searching for is supposedly a potential precursor of explosives, thus, strictly banned.

Guillermo

adv.
Brush plating equipment, chemicals, and supplies from Gold Touch