How to nickel plate at home - a detailed DIY guide to simple electroplating restoration.
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- Опубліковано 14 жов 2024
- WARNING! Before following the steps in this video, I suggest you read the pinned comment by Astra Wally regarding health & safety.
I have heaps of vintage restoration projects planned for this channel and so I decided I need to learn how to nickel electroplate successfully! Here I show you the process of making a nickel acetate solution and then we nickel plate an old steel key as well as an experiment on a polished piece of copper.
Nickel strips for plating are pretty cheap and available here..
amzn.to/2NezS7p (Australia)
amzn.to/3dwmhTE (US)
amzn.to/3k6Pzt7 (UK)
It's a pretty easy process using stuff you've probably already got at home!
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Nickel itself known to be a major carcinogenic heavy metal and has been associated with cancer in humans, in particular respiratory - lung, throat and nasal cancers - its mechanism being DNA damage at the cell level, and toxic to the liver and kidneys.
A salt solution as shown here is particularly dangerous given the propensity for inhalation exposure, eye splash and skin contact, and environmental contamination and subsequent re-exposure at a later date.
I would STRONGLY advise against any hobbyist activities involving nickel compounds without proper understanding of how to handle the material (proper PPC/E, fume/extraction, cleaning, appropriate first aid procedures) and certainly I would be wary of advice given at 21:25 - good chemical practice to rinse in distilled water - the SDS for nickel acetate salts states to wash skin for at least 15 minutes.
Thanks for the safety warning Astra Wally! I certainly wasn't aware of all this information even after researching before creating this video. I will edit the description and pin your comment.
We all die one day. Why worry about when? Live life, don't play it.
Rose Tattoo 👍🏻
Who gives a shit. except you 🤣
But nickel juice tastes good :(
I was reading comments from a guy who worked at an electroplating shop, he said they would put a sock over the positive nickel anode rod to keep the black crud you see from getting into the new finish, it doesn't impede the chemical transfer but traps the impurities
That's interesting! Thanks for sharing that tip! 👍😊
@@TheUltimateRecycler Hey man, Thanks for the video!
coffee paper filters
Aquarium sock filters 50 microns. 😎
@@DiscusRussell If you have extras, But I've found pretty much anything works, I have used paper towels, it's not the space shuttle just some crud.
Since you've found where I keep my gardening gloves, it might be a good time to advise I borrowed a couple of hammers from your shed 🤣🤣
🤣🤣🤣
I finally bought a 30v bench top power supply,
Amazing how you can use it on everything, You can short the leads to set your amps without the fear of killing it, Testing parts, running equipment, building circuits, Electroplating! YOU need one!
I do actually have a good bench top power supply, but most don't and I wanted to show this plating as an easy DIY at home project. I do agree with you - they are great!
Great easy to follow guide that actually works. Thank you!
Many thanks Steve 👍😊
Thank you so much for this experiment and posting for us to watch and learn from! This is just wonderful subject matter and your results are fantastic! Again, thank you so much for teaching us how to nickel plate items.
No worries, thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed it! 😊👍
Recycler, thank you so much for sharing your love of chemistry and electroplating with everyone. Isn't science amazing? Looking forward to more videos showing fun chemistry with metals. - the ChemTalk team
Science is certainly amazing! Thanks for watching CT 😊
A great video Chris! Thanks for sharing. I came across this today and I’ve subscribed! Keep the hints and tips coming👍
Many thanks Michael! 👍😊
ⁿ
Super channel! I am so glad I found this video. Thanks!
Many thanks Lars, I'm glad you did too! 👍😊
By dipping the copper into the acid you are releasing particles of copper in to the solution, if you leave it a lot longer you can stopper plate steel wet easily in that acid solution, just remember with the water that you don’t contaminate it but rinsing the newly nickel plated items in it, have a swathe for each acid and nickel solution. Good video… been doing this for years
Thanks Neil! 👍😊
I am "ON IT" going to plate an old repro flint lock musket barrel all prepped and ready! got everything needed.
Fantastic Dave! 💪👍
@@TheUltimateRecycler
1st overnight out in mist, test tool has zero rust looks perfect musket is a dull old looking gray I wanted.
nice and simple , and good results without using specialist products . without spending a great deal more I have used an aquarium air pump to agitate the electrolyte to help prevent the bubbles building up on the item surface , along with an aquarium tubular thermostatic immersion type heaters to maintain electrolyte temperature.
Thanks Russell! 😊
It sounds like you are setting up to nickel plate your goldfish! 🤣
I'm glad I'm not the only one with 3 bench grinders in the shop... and I'm rebuilding an antique one as well. Love the paint job on the vice! It's just grape... ;)
Haha @ grape!! I did a stock take and it turns out I had 5 bench grinders!! I've managed to cull 2 of them! 😂
It makes sense to have multiple grinders set up with different grinding, wire and polishing wheels on them. I saw one stand here on UA-cam a few years ago that had 3 bench grinders on a carousel. Flip a lever and turn to the type of wheels you need.
@@a-k-jun-1That is a cool idea!!!
Great video. I've some antique fausets to re nickle Thanks
Thanks Roger! 👍😊
Very nice job, very interesting.
Thanks mate! 😊👍
Great video! Thanks.
Thanks Pat! 👍😊
Man chris that’s crazy 😳I can’t believe how much the Current changed then you put the salt in .. and I can’t believe how quickly it plated the copper plate was all most instant.. they both turned out get 👊🏻 your shop is going to be Cadillacin in no time ..another great video chris man down the street is we’re I want to be 👊🏻
Haha, thanks Seth! You get the prize for the best comments on here! 🤟👌🤣
Very Good explanation sir.
Many thanks Ranjib 😊👍
Great tutorial! Thank you! Very well done. Video is exactly what the title say's
Thanks! 😊👍
Awesome video. I just found a new project. Going to try nickel plate my .45 colt brass for cowboy action shooting. I chrome my lead bullets too. I’ll be the talk of the saloon. Thanks soooo much😁
That's awesome! 😊 Thanks for watching 👍
@Ol’ Reprobate
How’d the gun turn out?
I’m thinking of doing the same thing.
Thanks in advance my friend.
The way I've seen others do this to get plating on the front and back at the same time is to have strips on both sides of the container with a wire rod running across the top of the jar to hang the item in the solution.
Yes, that would work! Many thanks BR 👍😊
Well done and quite informative.
Thanks Lyell 👍😊
Great informational show my friend.
Thank you.
Excellent, glad you enjoyed it! 😊
Good video! Subscribed. I will say it is hilarious to hear you talk about the importance of keeping the parts clean even from fingerprints then laying them down on the most oil-smudged towel in the house! But that's how things get done sometime! ;-)
Haha, that's the cleanest towel I had! 😉🤣
Great tutorial, thanks.
Thanks Steve! 👍😊
Well done.
Thank you Erle 😊
excellent video thank you 🙂
Thanks mate! 😊👍
Very good job!
Thanks for watching! 😊
Excellent video - many thanks. I'm restoring an old trumpet gramophone very similar to the one towards the end of your electroplating video. Just wondering if you've completed a video of the restoration of your gramophone? - I don't seem to be able to find it in your channel Thx
Nah, that project has been buried under mountains of other projects!! One day! 🙄😲🤣
Maybe a bench power supply with a current limiting functuion would be best. Hoping to try this over the christmas break :)
Yes David I agree a proper bench supply would be the go! I decided to use wall chargers as most people have them laying around. Let us know how you go 👍😊
Thanks for a good helpful video, no worries, from uk
Thanks Eric! 😊👍
Handy skill to have.
This was actually my first attempt Mitch! Looking forward to fine tuning the skill for future projects! 😊
Great Video and ignore the couple of bad comments and the few dislikes
Thanks Captain! 😊
Really good video and well explained. For the plating is the anode on the negative ? and the item (key) on the positive?
It's just the wire codings are confusing me a bit. Thanks
Thanks for watching and your comment! The item to be plated is the negative lead (and this is called the cathode). Sorry - I should have used red & black wires to avoid confusion!
Great vid, very informative! I want to plate a clock that is around a foot and a half diameter, how do you work out/know how much nickle to use for the project?
Thanks Ian. I haven't done bigger items, but would expect you'd just have keep an eye on the nickel electrode and replace it when it becomes badly etched away.
i just subscribled my dude and im gponna nickle plate my mini bike frame i just need a whole bath tub or can i use a plastic rubbermaid tub love the vids and info
Thanks mate! Good luck with your project! 👍
I know the video is from three years ago, but serious question.. is that the old Maxwell house 500g jar your using in this video? 🤙🏼🇦🇺
It probably is! We get lots of old jars when cleaning out houses & sheds! Thanks for watching Joe😊
I'm doing some plating right now! It's nice to restore some old stuff for a nice shiny bright finish.
I would like to find a better source of nickel metal than ebay, because it seems rather expensive to purchase bits of nickel on there.
Eventually I want to get set up to do some large parts. It's going to require a mot more nickel metal!
I hung some parts on copper wire and somehow some copper ended up in solution. After mucking about with it for a bit, I'm not seeing copper on my parts or anodes anymore so I think it's about gone now. I have ordered some nickel vaping wire to hang parts from in the future to avoid any copper contamination.
Thanks for your comments Krankle V. Yes, a cheaper source of nickel would be good - I think some have used nickel welding rods! I'm not sure how copper went into solution... it should have been plated rather than be dissolved, unless the polarity was reversed somehow.
@@TheUltimateRecycler I wonder if my power supply wasn't clean and some AC was getting through. I was using a very old car battery charger. I changed over to a lithium battery instead. S
Got it as a resist thick permanent marker nail polish and thin down rubber cement with mineral spirits. I've done it before just couldn't remember made a copper bangle in order to keep wrist from turning green I nickel plated the part that touches the wrist top part is copper as longs person not allergic to nickel! it's all Gucci! 😂
Very interesting, ill have to remember this one,,, also I have a record player similar to that one in your video, my uncle has asked me to have a look at it, but have not had time as yet, he thinks its not winding up, .... thank you for the video Mr Ultimate Recycler.....
Thanks for watching Melissa and I appreciate your comments! 😊
Oh, forgot to mention - that's a common issue with the old gramophones. The mainspring either lets go on one of the mounting posts, of simply breaks from over winding. I haven't even checked mine yet!
@@TheUltimateRecycler ok thanks, I'm interested now thinking about it, ill have to get it out and have a look, maybe not to day, just working on one of my new projects for UA-cam, not a Radio, more home automation and android app
Would you recommend using the 2amp charger from the start? Is the issue that using too much current damages the charger? How much current should we be aiming for?
Yeah, probably a higher current would help make the solution faster. Yes, drawing more current than what the charger is rated at usually burns them out pretty quickly! I think 2 amp would be fine 😊
Thanks for sharing! What's your thoughts using nichrome wire and/or stainless steel spoon(s)? method?
Thanks for watching! I haven't tried those methods.. I must do some more research on that one day!
Thank you!
You're welcome Gavin 👍😊
Question - when you 'washed' the items in the distilled water and acid baths are they still useable or should they be discarded as they would be contaminated?
I think for a few uses they would be fine. The acid bath would be ok for longer - but the distilled water should be kept fairly pure and free of contaminates.
Thank you for another great educational video. Cheers from Anth just up the road.
Thanks Anth from Chris just down the road! 😂
Thnx, I'll try this on a Action man mini-cuiras of a life guard model
Ok cool - hope it works out nicely! 👍😊
Very well explained, good video, have you done zinc plating cause I've tried it but it was very dull
and heard you need to add a brightener or something
I haven't tried it and I have heard the same about a brightener. I feel zinc plating is more for corrosion resistance rather than a shiny look!
@@TheUltimateRecycler OK thanks
Back in college, when we were learning about plating, to do nickel plating we first plated the item with *copper,* but I'm not sure why.
Yes, I have been told that Dave. Apparently copper has a better coverage ability and will fill in imperfections better than nickel. So that plating over copper will give a nicer, smoother finish for the nickel 👍😊
Ive got everything here in my shed to do this. Thing is ive just ran outta beer so the question I need answering is, what vol% alcohol is that green liquid?
Brilliant vid btw 😎
Haha, nowhere near high enough mate! 🤣
Resist say you want to plate a part of piece and not another part of same piece what can it be covered with not to take plateing example permanent maker?
That's a good question, I'm not sure what would be best to use. Some experimenting required I guess!
To mitigate what you said on 20:15 people use aquarium pump to circulate the nickel plating solution ,also if you heat solution to around 60C°(i think ,not sure)you will get better results.
Yep, I have heard of both of those improvements. Thanks for your input! 👍
Fantastic
Thanks Chris! 😊
Workshop practice series has a book about electroplating,it even gives formulas for calculation of voltage and amps according to size of object you are electroplating.
Just to add couple more things-you can plate steel but its way better if you copper plate it first.You can do same thing as nickle plating but instead of nickel you put in some copper wire or plumbing parts as anode and cathode.Then for copper plating itself process is same.Bathroom taps are made of brass and then they are chrome plated the same way ,take a file and scratch old one and you will see yellow brass ,thin copper layer and then chrome.
Also if you melt lead from fishing weights or car wheel balancing weights you can make a electrode strip that will last you forever without eroding or attracting nickel.Titanium wire works great for hanging peaces.
Thanks for all the extra info! I'll look into copper plating before nickel plating for future projects! 👍😊
When making the solution, after the process eats away one strip for awhile, could you switch the polarity so it starts using up the opposite strip?
I imagine you're just trying to get the nickel to move through the solution so some of it stays dissolved. I figured moving it back and forth might continue building up the concentration.
Yep, I guess that would work! Thanks for watching 👍😊
And that's the real life situation where you would use a sonic screwdriver! Yay for reversing the polarity!
@@albertdewulf7688 Ah, if only I had a sonic screwdriver!! 😀
Have you tried,or is it possible, to plate brass silversoldered to steel?
I haven't tried it, but I think it would work ok as long as the metal was properly prepared 👍
very interesting but can you nickel plate brass or other metals
Thanks Julian. Yep, certainly brass & copper. You'd have to ask google on others..
i know its probably late ,but you can nickle plate every metal that can be copper plated.
@@armageddontools no your ok i was pondering something, I have just had Brass turn silver, I do not understand how this can be?
Is there a follow-up to the nickle plating of the victrola pieces?
Nope, never got back to that. Shortly after this vid I had to pack up all my stuff of 20 years and move out! I don't think I have found this plating stuff since but will dig it out and do more in the future!
My solution is green, I'm getting a lot of bubbling on one of the nickel strips, but no plating whatsoever. One of the items is stainless and the other is pot metal.
I'm not even getting plating on the copper wire. Do you have any ideas? I've also used to brand new nickel strips today.
Everything was completely cleaned and prepped also. Thx!
It sounds like the polarity may be around the wrong way Keith..
I'll check that and thanks!
Hi when you nickel plated key did you use new nickel strip
No Michael, you can keep using the old strips while there is still enough there..
Im going to try to use an old train power supply...they are cheap and you can adjust the voltage with the dial and the usually have two set screws for your positive and negative....but it says only 300ma? maybe I can just meter down the voltage to keep it from burning up?
Yeah, 300mA is low! The older train transformers would deliver more current I would think..
What can you use as a resist?
As a resist? Not sure what you mean here..
Could you use a 9v battery from a smoke alarm to do that? Or 2 or 3 1.5v batteries wired in series?
I think batteries will work, but will go flat fairly quickly. Perhaps one of those large square torch batteries would be better.
You can put glass marbles in the jar to help concentrate your solution.
Yes, to raise the solution level. Thanks Mike 👍😊
What would happen if you used two anodes of different material, like nickel and copper, or copper and zinc?
The anode is the positive electrode and whatever material you use as the cathode (negative) will have atoms from the anode deposited on it. The electrolyte solution must be suitable though..
Great video
Thanks CS - it was a fun video to do! 🙂
the reason your solution got hot at 12v 2.59 amps is because that's 31 watts of electricity being dissipated as heat! As a person at the beginning of research into this, it is handy to know that meaty power supplies are needed when most videos advise the use of 500ma phone chargers. I think i'll use a cheap 5a bench psu for mine. I wonder what effect plating at really low power like 2v would have
Interesting! There's probably lots more to learn if you delve into the process more deeply!
Thanks for watching 😊👍
I tried this with a small car battery charger set at 6 volts to make the electrolyte, and two decent sized pieces of nickle in about 2 litres of distilled malt vinegar. (White vinegar) added a table spoon of salt and let it brew for two hours. when it was a light shade of green I tried it with a 1/2" brass plumbing fitting connected to an old phone charger this time. Left it for about an hour and got very poor results. I set up the two pieces of nickle again and the car charger and left it overnight, 12 hours or so, by then it was a very dark shade of green and one piece of nickle was very dissolved. Tried it again and got instant plating this time. It needs to be a very dark green to work I find. Also you do need something to agitate the solution to get rid of the bubbles, I'm using a cheap fish tank air pump. How good the plating is or how long it will last I don't know but I'm pleased with the results, thank you for taking the time to show us this,👍
Thanks for the report mj mayo! Yes, I've read that a fish tank air pump works well! And yep, the stronger the solution, the better the results! 👍😊
@@TheUltimateRecycler your welcome man, it's from watching vids like yours that I have been able to improve the finish of my restorations, and saved a few quid as well, plating is horrendously expensive.
Hi Chris...Do you know how to remove the white coating from the brass keys?
I'm not sure what white coating you are referring to.. 🤔
@@TheUltimateRecycler
Hi Chris...You know the door keys are made of brass, right? Most of the keys are white. Because they have a coat and under the white coating the keys are yellow...I am wondering how to remove the white coating from those keys...I tried salt and vinegar but the coating its too strong. I kept the keys for one week inside the vinegar salt solution but the white coating did not dissolve. Hope you understood to what i am referring.
Ah, you mean the keys are plated. Probably nickel plating actually. Why would you want to remove that?
@@TheUltimateRecycler I like the keys to look like brass :) I like them yellow :) Any idea how to remove the nickel plating?
@@cristian7051 You'd probably need to look at reverse electroplating!
Is the blue lead positive or negative?
The blue lead is negative 😊
Комментарий для поддержки Вашего канала👍
Большое спасибо!
Ваша поддержка приветствуется! 😊
Nickel strips for plating are pretty cheap and available here..
amzn.to/2NezS7p (Australia)
amzn.to/3dwmhTE (US)
amzn.to/3k6Pzt7 (UK)
If you make a purchase through Amazon from these links (even if it's something totally different), it helps a lot to support my channel with small commissions - at no extra cost to you! 😊
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Will citric acid instead of vinegar work?
Nope because you need to make nickel acetate (vinegar is acetic acid)
@@TheUltimateRecycler it seems industrially nickel citrate is used more often for this job, but never alone. So it's discussable but I unfortunately don't have means to try now.
@@vantajmnextajm2402 Ok, that's interesting! I may have to experiment a little when I have time! Thanks for your input 👍👍
@@vantajmnextajm2402 According to the internet, commercial nickle plating is done with nickle sulphate, nickle chloride and boric acid . Nickle citrate is a new comer.
çok teşekkür ederim,,,,,,
İzlediğiniz için teşekkürler!
HCL usually comes in at a 32% solution. So a 50/50 dilution is around 16%.
Ok thanks 👍😊
Hey my Aussie friend
Hiya Jeremiah! 🖖
Having my first shot at this as I watch. Should have used a glass jar due to the heat, used plastic coffee can. I started out at 12V and was only getting .4A after adding salt. Saw another video that used bench power supply and he turned it all the way up (30V), got brave and put power supply to 32V then in series for 64V. Was at about 1.5A then. Sat down for about 15min and then saw it boiling, solution was taking all 200W of the power supply. oops.
There's always guys who take things to the extreme! 🤣
Let me know how yours works out... 😊👍
@@TheUltimateRecycler Liquid is starting to get some color to it. Hooked to a lower voltage, much more powerful power supply and limited it to 100W. Keeping it to about 150F(60C). Hopefully I'll have a good solution soon, trying to put a thick plate on some brass probe points for some antique electronic equipment I rebuilt. Good video BTW
It worked. Got a nice colored solution. Cleaned my brass probe point up for the signal tracer, set the power supply for 3.5V and swished it around for about 6 minutes. Be nice to know how thick it is, but it just needs to be hard and not corrode. After some research, I don't think you can drive the initial making of the solution too hard, but I'd use glass if you plan to drive it to a boil, lol.
@@clytle374 That's great! Yes - a longer, slow & steady solution build is probably better. The more you use the solution to plate, the stronger it will get anyways.
Nice work 👍😊
Why material turn black while plating?
It shouldn't do! 🤔
Chrome plating protects the nichol from rusting.
Chrome plating is much more involved and dangerous - not something to be done DIY. Nickel plating protects against rust - it doesn't rust itself. Thanks for watching 😊
I NEED TO SEE THAT RECORD PLAY PLAYING PLS.
Sorry I sold that one a long time ago!
I have heard that sulphuric and hydrochloric acid work better?
Quite possibly Paul, I haven't tried..
@@TheUltimateRecycler Ok I am looking to do this. I have heard it throws better and you get a better coating especially with copper.
I want to know what I keep doing wrong. I first started out with .999 nickel rods long enough to stick out over my solution. I made the solution no problem. making sure not to contaminate the solution with any other metal types. next I would prepare my piece I wanted plated into the muriatic acid then dipped it in distilled water. next I placed my piece I wanted to plate onto the negative attached with a copper wire. after I removed the piece from the solution the plating looked nice but within a few minutes it always rust, what the hell is going on. I have been extremely careful not to contaminate or put the wires on backwards. Three times I went through this making new solution each time.
Sounds like you are doing everything correctly Tommy! I would be suspicious of the nickel rods you are using as nickel doesn't rust..
@@TheUltimateRecycler I have wondered if by chance they did get contaminated somehow. Not sure how or when but plan to bring off the top layers to see if I get lucky there. Also so I don’t have to just toss roses rods out. My project has already gotten expensive as I bought a very nice power supply. I was thinking I could have 3 batches going at once but I struggling on the first one still
The use of a surfactant greatly increase even plating
Yes, I have heard that. Thanks for confirming! 👍😊
Very goog
Thanks JC 😁
Harder wearing surface, thats what i want
I think nickel does indeed give a harder wearing surface 👍😊
Thanks, you could have reversed polarity your 12v in a waste thank to clean items ;)
Thanks Howie 👍😊
Sir I did not see how much uging acid please
I'm not sure what you are asking?
ماهي المواد نيكل ناري اشتريها وامزجهن كل مراء
لست متأكدا ما هو سؤالك.
يمكنك شراء النيكل على موقع ئي باي
كيف اصنع محلول بلمنزل نيكل ناري
I have been told that should be left in solution for 40min to an hour
That may be so! I probably need to do some more experimenting! 👍😊
Don't use latex gloves. Latex is for keeping dust and smuds away not for any kind of chemical protection.
Always wear at least nitrile gloves it will keep your hands looking better 👍
Interesting! I did not know that. Thanks Jesper! 👍
Zinc video plssss ???
I've never actually tried zinc plating! I guess I should give it a go! 👍😊
Muriatic acid strips all the rust in 30 seconds.
I think Muriatic acid is the same as Hydrochloric acid. Perhaps different strengths.. 🤔
short video will be fine.
👍👍😊
Hi 👋
Hi back! 🖖😊
@@TheUltimateRecycler Here is another comment for you. ;-)
@@hommerdalor6301 Haha thanks - you are too kind! 😆
@@TheUltimateRecycler 😂
its called acid fish eyes when u leave it in too long lol not a pickle lmao
haha, but I like pickles! 🤣
Could have been worse, could have been neon pink instead of purple.
🤣 Very true!
مكونات نيكل ناري اصنع محلول بلمنزل
ماهي المواد نيكل ناري اشتريها وامزجهن كل مراء 🍌🍓🍓
كيف اصنع محلول بلمنزل نيكل ناري كب 🍌🍓🍉❤️ سيارات
It might also be very wise to mention that nickel salts such as nickel acetate are highly toxic to humans. As a doctor and chemist, I can only advise caution.
Thanks for your comment and warnings! 👍