Oregon Desert model 45 Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 (edited) Winter cold weather and cold garages motivated me to finally start work on the small nickel plated trim parts for my Buick. After reviewing several Youtube videos on DIY nickel plating, I decided to use the nickel acetate process, which can be brewed up using distilled vinegar, salt, nickel metal, and cell phone charger. An aquarium bubbler provides agitatation for the solution. There are a lot of variables to the process which takes some trial and error to figure out too: electrolyte conductivity, voltage density, agitation, cleaning and preparation. Small parts with "points" attract too much nickel which can lead to flaky or lumpy plating. Side curtain socket heads had flaky build up when only 1 part was in the electrolyte, but when 2 were plated simultaneously, the plating quality was very good. Inside corners of bezels often had a smoky appearance. Back sides received no plating at all. Last photo is a concave reflector from the big Type C tail light which is made from a grey metal, (probably zink) and the only plating it attracted is a thin crescent around the rim; everything else in the center turned black from a reaction with the vinegar. I will have to make new reflectors from aluminum sheet. The (3) 1927-28 tail light bezels had cracks, and were in pretty sad shape when I got them. I straightened them and soldered .015 brass sheet over the cracks using lead free solder. Some of the literature online states that lead causes problems with nickel plating, so it was simple to avoid it by using new lead free solder. The cracks still show after replating, but you can't see them unless you look closely at the part. Kevin Edited January 25, 2020 by Oregon Desert model 45 edit (see edit history) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 (edited) I didn't know you could do that with nickel. I did something similar with zinc, using non-poisonous chemicals (vinegar, sugar, etc). It works, but you really have to be able to control the current, and babysit, and card the parts a lot if you want bright zinc. It works a lot better if you just want to keep corrosion at bay, and don't care so much about looks. Keep us posted on how it goes. I'm thinking there has to be a way to plate the reflector. What is it made of? If possible without eating it, a quick dip in pool acid makes zinc plating go away. Not sure if you can do that to brass. The rings look great to me. Edited January 25, 2020 by Bloo (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Wright Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 Nickel plate on the brass? That reminds me of when I was young I used to work at Cadillac in Michigan. We took the steel bumpers and electroplated them with copper, then electroplated the copper with nickel, then electroplated that with chromium. They said chrome didn't stick to steel well enough for Cadillac standards so they used different layers like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregon Desert model 45 Posted January 25, 2020 Author Share Posted January 25, 2020 Several parts appeared to have a layer of copper under the old nickel plating. I am not sure if it was to improve the quality of the final coat of nickel or to help with plating adhesion issues. In a high volume commercial plating shop the electrolyte is circulated by a pump, and there will be nozzles which can be directed at inside corners and concave areas to get full plating coverage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michealbernal Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 My tail lite reflector is similar to yours although slightly different. Anyway all of the plating was gone from it. I took it along with several other small parts to a local plating shop and they charged me $35.00 to replate all of them. I thought they did a great job for the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 It is normal to put copper on before nickel. I believe copper is another metal that can be plated with ordinary non-toxic chemicals, although you probably don't get much thickness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyfamily Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 Are you going to polish the nickel plating? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Str8-8-Dave Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 (edited) One other reason for the copper step according to Graves Plating is it is used to fill defects in the metal. Graves copper plates, then polishes and if need be copper plates again until they get a perfect starting surface to either nickel plate only or nickel plate then chrome plate. They did a 1965 Chris Craft boat for me and the clamshell bilge vent intakes were diecast pot metal which was pitted. Finding pit free examples was impossible so Graves copper plated them 3 times to get a perfectly smooth surface, then nickeled then chromed and they were fabulous. Edited January 27, 2020 by Str8-8-Dave Correct grammar (see edit history) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregon Desert model 45 Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 That nickel can be wet sanded but its still pretty hard. Copper is easy to sand or polish, so that would be a good filler for small pits or imperfections. I spent a lot of time at the laundry sink scrubbing and cleaning parts prior to putting them in the plating bath. The only parts I polished using the buffing wheel are hood hold down hooks. Those bezels have too many edges that could get caught on the buffing wheel so I am not taking any chances with those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregon Desert model 45 Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 Another part that was originally nickel plated is the steering column jacket. The original had some dents, scrapes and pits, so I searched for a new tube to replace it, and found that stainless steel tubing was available in the same size (1.75 OD x .05 wall) for $60. After trimming the new tube to correct length, I discovered the lower end had to be turned down .010 to fit inside the steering gear box clamp. This would be easy to do on a lathe using emery cloth, but unfortunately the tube was too long for my Grizzly wood lathe. Plan B was to build a longer lathe using the old headstock & tailstock that were salvaged from my grandfathers lathe after his shop burned down years ago. The headstock already had new bearings and pulley, so I cobbled up this contraption using some old lumber and a motor. I made a friction chuck from a face plate and some wood, and bored a precise hole to snugly fit the tubing using the metal lathe. For the tailstock end I used a live center and some bearing races that filled up the gap inside the tube perfectly. Now the lower end could be turned down and the entire tube polished by wet sanding progressing from 240 to 400 to 600 grit. In the photo below, the original column tube is sitting below the new stainless tube. Kevin 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Str8-8-Dave Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 Hey Kevin- that is quite a contraption! I've been drooling over old South Bend "Heavy Ten" metalworking lathes a lot on E-bay lately, they go for $2500 for a fixer-upper to about 5500 for one that has been restored and has some tooling with it. Not sure where I would put it and it would have to be a 110volt single phase machine for my garage. Instead I bought a commercial sewing machine so I don't have to beg trim shops to sew edges of vinyl-over-panel board kick panels and such for my 31 Buick 8-86S project. It's coming Thursday and I can't wait to get it and start experimenting. I may not be able to do the seats but I can surely do all the rumble compartment panels and that could actually offset the price of the new machine. I have a ton of plating to do on this car too, it's plating and interior trim and it should be ready to roll. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregon Desert model 45 Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 The metal lathe I have is a South Bend 9A which was purchased by my grandfather after he rebuilt his workshop and was buying new machinery. I have already made so many parts for the Buick on that lathe: fan hub & shaft, shackle bolts, bushings, other odd bolts, etc. To complete the steering column, another bushing needs to be fabricated. The original column has what looks like water pump packing and a sheetmetal seal retainer at the upper end, just below the steering wheel, to act as lubricated bushing for the steering shaft. A new bushing made from UHMW plastic could be press fit into the stainless tube and serve the same purpose. Plus UHMW should stay stuck without backing out. I didn't have any on hand, but found an old kitchen cutting board with similar properties to UHMW. So I made a pair of bushings using the cutting board plastic, on grandpa's South Bend lathe. The steering wheel I bought for the Buick has deep grinding marks on the aluminium spokes, so they must have been in a hurry to get parts made and not waste time polishing. That wheel is going to look shabby next the highly polished column jacket, so now I have to figure out how to polish the aluminium without damaging the wood. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibarlaw Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 (edited) Kevin: That is a nice upgrade from the nickel plated steel as original. I had thought about doing the same. I had a complete steering column, box and wheel. It had not been painted black as what was done on my car. The steering column jacket length is to be 38 1/2" according to the parts book. #254991 (1925-45-45A-49-49A-57) The nearly identical 1924-45 is to have a column length of 37 3/8". The spare column I have is 38 5/8" It does need re-plated and has a dent. I still may have it done. I would only need to trim an eighth of an inch. It could have come out of any 1925 closed car as it has the closed car dash bracket. It is maddening how many minor variations there are in these columns between models. The book mentions 7 different lengths for 1925 Master series models alone. Of course requiring different length internal steering shaft, spark and throttle tubes. Made worse in 1926 with the added dimmer switch tube. All dimensions are within about an inch overall. To me, it does not make any sense to engineer, manufacture and then catalog the dozens of extra parts requires for this slight variation. These engineers made sure there was job security. Edited January 28, 2020 by dibarlaw spelling (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregon Desert model 45 Posted January 28, 2020 Author Share Posted January 28, 2020 The steel toggle handle from the brake lever failed to plate on the first attempt using the small power source. I tried it again using the battery charger and it worked this time. I was not paying attention to voltage/amp setting. The part was rusty and deeply pitted which cleaned up after soaking in the "cleaning" vinegar. Its rather strange how vinegar dissolves rust (and copper), yet is the same liquid used to make the electrolyte. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Wright Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 Vinegar dissolves rust but does not dissolve iron. Think of pickle jar lids and cans of saurkraut. Muriatic acid is much better at dissolving rust, but it doesn't know when to stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Brink Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 On 1/27/2020 at 1:34 PM, Oregon Desert model 45 said: The steering wheel I bought for the Buick has deep grinding marks on the aluminium spokes, so they must have been in a hurry to get parts made and not waste time polishing. That wheel is going to look shabby next the highly polished column jacket, so now I have to figure out how to polish the aluminium without damaging the wood. Kevin, Best metal polish I've found is Blue Magic Metal Polish Cream (https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Magic-400-Ounce-Polish/dp/B000BO8Z9I/ref=sxin_0_osp20-bf3d0f63_cov?ascsubtag=bf3d0f63-fb92-43e9-8a32-3b423fca9170&creativeASIN=B000BO8Z9I&crid=1132SJAZ74UZH&cv_ct_cx=blue+magic+metal+polish+cream&cv_ct_id=amzn1.osp.bf3d0f63-fb92-43e9-8a32-3b423fca9170&cv_ct_pg=search&cv_ct_wn=osp-search&keywords=blue+magic+metal+polish+cream&linkCode=oas&pd_rd_i=B000BO8Z9I&pd_rd_r=a90df18b-e450-4fa2-8033-45b6fa2c75d0&pd_rd_w=NuEVl&pd_rd_wg=vrZyq&pf_rd_p=62c00474-6fe0-420f-9956-a05256e04b43&pf_rd_r=RQ5Z1E4CRNA39MER6P7A&qid=1580432549&sprefix=blue+magic+%2Caps%2C213&sr=1-2-32a32192-7547-4d9b-b4f8-fe31bfe05040&tag=bestcont06-20). Prior to finding the Blue Magic I always used Never Dull Wadding Polish (https://www.amazon.com/Eagle-One-Nevr-Dull-Wadding-Restoration/dp/B000CNBI1A/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=never+dull+wadding+metal+polish+cream&qid=1580432634&s=automotive&sr=1-1). Neither will address the grinding marks but will polish the aluminium very well and are both easy to use (but wear some gloves or your hands will be very black after using). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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