Nickel Plating Hardware

[usnavystgc]

Moderators, please move if this is not the appropriate spot. 

 

I recently began nickel plating some of the hardware for the restoration of my 56 Buick Roadmaster.  I am a rookie at it but, I have learned a lot and figured someone might benefit from my successes and failures and we could maybe share knowledge on this thread.

 

Disclaimer:  Nickel plating is not hard however it is challenging to get the desired shiny smooth coating.  This process will not give you that shiny smooth coating.  If you want a smooth shiny coating, you will need to purchase "bright nickel plating solution" from a reputable vendor.  This coating will only give you a rust preventative coating but, it will not be smooth and shiny.  You can however polish it smooth if you so desire.  I do not.

 

This can also be a time consuming process.

 

Here's what I've done so far.  

 

Materials

Nickel plates 1x6" rectangular from eBay

White Vinegar

Table salt

DC Power Supply (I use a 15V/5A from Amazon)

Acid resistant container (I use a quart mason jar)

Muriatic Acid (not required but the fastest way to derust small parts)

Degreaser

Wire brush

chemical gloves

Magnetic stirrer/heating plate (Amazon or eBay)

multimeter

 

SAFTETY:  Although this is not particularly dangerous, there are some things to be aware of.

1)  If using muriatic acid for derusting, just know that it is corrosive and can chemically burn your skin.  It also produces fumes so use in a well ventilated area

2)  Plating produces hydrogen gas (in small amounts), don't breathe it and don't plate in a confined area over a prolonged period.  You can do it at your kitchen table but not in a small closet over a long period of time

3)  Be careful using a wire brush on a drill or grinder, always wear eye and ear protection

4)  And of course, electricity can shock you.  be careful

 

In order to properly coat steel with nickel, the nickel first has to be disolved in a vinegar/salt solution.  The salt is only used to increase the conductivity of the vinegar (acid).  After adding the desired amount of vinegar (i filled my jar to 9/10's full), add enough salt to decrease resistance to at least 1.4K ohms (the less resistance, the faster the plating however, faster plating results in a rougher finish, I have found 1.4Kohms to be the sweet spot).  After adding the salt, place two nickel plates at opposite ends of the jar, hook up the positive to one plate and the negative to another.  One plate will begin bubbling while the other will give up some of its nickel to nickel acetate.  The solution will begin to turn green.  

Once it is about this color, you can begin plating.  The first step to plating is preparation of the steel.  As with anything, metal prep is key.  The better the prep, the better the finished product.  I start by derusting whatever part I want to plate.  Depending on the severity of rust, it may require chemical derusting, or simply wire wheeling the part (bolt/nut/screw etc) until its shiny metal.  Sand blasting works too but, I do not own a sand blaster.  If using chemical derusting, you must wire wheel the part afterwards.  Once the metal is derusted and wire wheeled, use degreaser and a wire brush (while wearing gloves) to remove any grease.  Rinse in distilled water and immediately place in the nickel sulfate with a copper or titanium wire attached and leading out of the jar.  Hook this wire to the negative side of your DC power supply and hook the positive side to a nickel plate placed in the solution.  Turn on and set your power supply for 1-1.5 amps (I've found 1.1 to 1.2 to be the best).  The part will begin to bubble these bubbles are hydrogen gas so although a small amount, it is flammable.  If your part is bubbling, plating is occurring.  It usually takes about 30-40 minutes to properly plate a part.  This is a basic description of how to do it.  There are several videos on YouTube that I encourage you to watch.  Here is a link to one I think is fairly decent.

 

 

Edited April 25, 2022 by usnavystgc (see edit history)

[EmTee]

Awesome - thanks Phil!  I will have to give this a try.  I like to re-use original nuts & bolts wherever possible, but re-installing a rusty or painted bolt doesn't seem right.  This seems like it offers a more 'natural' appearance and won't be chipped-off like paint during assembly.

[usnavystgc]

Some things I've learned

1)  If using Muriatic acid for etching prior to plating, don't leave the part in the acid for more than a minute

2)  Make sure you do not contaminate the solution with degreaser or other metals 

3)  Always keep a lid on all liquids when not in use

4)  I use the magnetic stirrer and heat plate to disperse the bubbles on the part while it's plating

 

Here are some things I've plated

 

This bracket was not polished before plating.  You can see the rough finish that gives.

This bolt was highly polished before plating and after I buffed it up.

None of these were polished

Edited April 25, 2022 by usnavystgc (see edit history)

[usnavystgc]

3 minutes ago, EmTee said:

I will have to give this a try. 

It's a lot of fun if you like this kind of stuff.  It is time consuming and I'm not certain it saves any money however, it does give you the ability to say, I used the original parts. 

[prewarnut]

Looks good! I use an at-home commerically sold kit/product. I'd re-stress much of what you mention if a uniform surface/shine is desired. For nickel this depends on:

 

1. temp of bath

2. aeration of final bath with bubbler

3. voltage (not to high as you note)

4. time

5. I find if I move the anode in different locations every few minutes and/or for larger objects multiple anodes will help more uniformly deposit the coating.

 

Also as nickel can and will deposit a thick layer for fine threads or a nut not fully screwed off a fine thread it can block or fuse such. The bolts shown are too course for this problem though and for most automotive issues not a problem but could pose a problem for small interior trim/bezels etc. Lastly for the perfectionist (not really an issue for hardware parts as shown) if a perfect finish is needed you have to get it right the first time with nickel. Most other metals: gold, copper, etc you can replate easily and it will blend together - sort of like lacquer paint. With nickel you can get a seam or step line and it is a tough surface to polish down and again go over - but it is that tough surface that is advantageous here. I wish more hardware was nickel plated....

[usnavystgc]

@prewarnut I appreciate that insight and I'm sure others do as well.  

 

Yes, moving the anode or the object definitely makes for a more uniform plate but, it also adds to the amount of time you have to dedicate to the process.  IDK about you but, I have found this to be a very time consuming process.  It has been fun to learn and I have made many mistakes (mostly with lack of proper metal prep).

 

In my current set up, I basically made a cage of nickel encircling the middle of the jar to try to give a more uniform plate to round objects.  I also use the heat plate to raise the temp to about 140 F  

[usnavystgc]

I should mention that this same process can be used for zinc, copper, silver or just about any other type of plating.  You can also do chrome plating at home but, I have not tried this.  Industrial chrome plating requires 4 steps (cyanide copper plating, acid copper plating, nickel plating and finally chrome plating).  There are very few people that attempt it but, there are videos of it on YouTube.  There is a commercial kit from Caswell for doing it but, this kit leaves out the cyanide copper step.  IDK what the long term impact of leaving that step out would be.  

 

Commercial nickel plating uses what vendors refer to as brighteners to give you that shiny finish.  The ingredients are proprietary and I have not found any hints on what they use.  They're doing a great job of guarding their secrets.  If anyone knows, I'd love to know. 

 

Although I haven't tried it, I'm told that if you first plate the metal with copper, you can get a better finish with the nickel plate.  I'm also told that acid copper will not adhere directly to steel so, there's some conflicting data regarding that.  If anyone knows, please share.

[prewarnut]

   Yes I heard that starting with copper before "decorative" nickel is the thing to do as well. It's not that nickel won't stick to low carbon steel or other metals but copper can "flow" slightly and allow one to polish and fill pits which is useful prior to the nickel which is harder to "work"

   One point which I haven't fully proven but do suspect is that if someone nickel-plates the threads of a torque sensitive bolt it will probably throw off the final torque requirements and I believe it will drop the needed torque (just like when adding thread locker or an oil will mean one should lower final torquing). I say that because I have parts which slide and sliding friction seems to be reduced when nickel plated - so a caution for torque sensitive bolts. In that case one can block the threads by not submerging in the plating solution, painting, waxing or other methods to prevent plate deposition there. At very least beware!

[JFranklin]

Plating threads will defiantly skew torque results. I had door handles plated and had to grind the plating off the square shanks because they wouldn't enter the door latch mechanism.

Edited April 29, 2022 by JFranklin (see edit history)

[usnavystgc]

Great info, thanks for sharing your knowledge/experience.