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Brass plating brass on cast iron

I have some old halltree hooks where the brass plating has worn off. I understand the basics if electroplating. I'm uncertain as to what solution to use, or if they first need to be nickel or copper plated before plating the brass.

Rick Hannegan
hobbyist - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
November 18, 2010

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Hi, Rick. Brass plating is not bright. If you are looking for bright brass you need to plate nickel on it first. You may need to plate nickel first anyway because cast iron is difficult to plate onto.

Brass plating is an alloy of copper and zinc. Because the copper is noble and the zinc is base, the copper will plate out preferentially, so there is more to it than just mixing copper plating and zinc plating solutions, as that would result in 99.9% pure copper plating. The copper must be complexed either with cyanide (out of the question for home plating) or with proprietary formulations available from such companies as our supporting advertisers EPI / Electrochemical Products Inc. [a finishing.com supporting advertiser] and Zinex.

Brass toned paints are available that would be a much easier route to a brass colored surface. Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
November 18, 2010