Electroplating (Black Nickel Plating) My EK Surface Radiator PC Build Update
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- Опубліковано 12 гру 2024
- / @snaxantech
carlos.sarah
/ snaxan
/ snaxan
Here's a build update! This isn't a how to video, but today we put a nice black nickel finish on my EK Surface x360m radiator sides using electroplating. I never tried it before but it came out great and is the exact look I was looking for my build. This will be going into my new build featuring an intel 13900k and 4090 in a Lian Li Evo case with custom loop and custom distro. I used a the black nickel plating kit from Caswellplating.com (the black nickel plating kit). The kit was more than I needed so I have material to do much more. All I needed was that, a copper tube, and some copper wire.
A couple of notes, a few things I learned along the way, and things I did wrong -
-The agitator (pump) should face the wall. Or better yet, you want a bigger container and be able to have the piece spin if you don't use a pump.
-The anode should be further from the part ideally
-You usually want the piece deeper than I had mine. Another reason a bigger tank is better
-The voltage was actually at 1 or 2, 7 volts was just the max.
-Last but not least - after the video was already done recording and edited, I noticed that the plating came off in some areas. This was because I learned the hard way that the stainless steel piece had some different alloys mixed in making the bond to the nickel weak in some spots. So I ended up redoing it, polishing it back down and starting over. I repeated the steps in the video, and after researching some more and asking around, I learned I had to use flash copper on it as a pre coat using the same process (used conductive spray and then sanding). Once I did that, and making sure the copper was also shined up, everything came out perfect and the plating stuck just fine. I would have just done an update video, but it would have been redundant as the process are the same (and plus I'm pretty pressed for time at the moment). Anyway, if you're interested in trying to want to do this stuff on stainless steel, make sure you use a steel activator or flash copper on the steel, unless you're sure the part is 100% pure and will bond!
Have a great all and thanks for the support! Keep your eyes peeled for my full build video which will be the next PC video.
Thank You To My Supporters at Patreon who keep this channel alive including:
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My dedicated tech channel www.youtube.com/@snaxantech?sub_confirmation=1 will start in summer of 2024! This is a build update and not a "how to" video but that said,
if you ever want to try this, read the full description for notes and things that I learned or did wrong on my first try. Thanks for stopping by have a great week all! The next PC video will be the actual build video and hope to have it soon for you guys.
Yes! Her PC videos are always so soothing and well made. Wish we can get more of them. I hope more sponsors can help get her do more PC stuff.
that was a fun watch, this type of content is giving me abit of motivation to finish some work of my own i've been putting off lately lol, thanks for the video Sarah
Haha, been there done that even now lol. Thanks for watching, now go out and get stuff done! :)
Advanced modding made simple. Can’t wait to see your finished build!
That came out great! Electroplating and Anodizing are some things I want to try myself. 👍
It’s honestly one the best headaches and very rewarding and satisfying. It can be annoying when in the beginning but I still enjoyed it. Although I do it industrially and as a job haha
Nice can't wait for the build
Sarah your videos like this are extremely *SOOTHING* ☺️☺️☺️ and of course educational 🙏🏽
Appreciate that, I learn so much making them myself. win win for everyone :)
Your PC building videos are amazing, and I build them all the time....
Can’t wait to see the build. Great work 🎉
I got some flash copper coming in today! Glad I read the description
Once again, you nailed it! Chapeau!
Can't wait for your next build!
Thank you! It's pretty much done, just need to get everything together and edit now
Amazing results! Love the content :)
- Hey girl... whats cooking?
- My radiator
Well done, it turned out to be really cool! Congrats!!!
Thank you!! 😁
Love the videos. It is so easy to see that gaming is your passion. You are an inspiration!
Im just watching tour anime/video reactions. Also some game playthrough.. after watching this video, i can really say that youre on a different level.
Turn out so good, better than most professional shops.
Maybe most shops except for yours 😂
That was pretty interesting to watch and learn how to do that
This is a whole new level of pc enthusiasm 😍😍😍
I worked a dozen years Copper Mining and you should see the Electrolytic Process they have at the mill. Low amps for fine finish, as high current makes nodules. They had a guy walk the top of the anodes with a stick busting nodules between those and the cathodes because they used high current to get cathodes completed in 28 days. Quite the experience. By the way, all the gold and silver dropped out of solution and was filtered out by using the pumps like you have.The Anodes contained Gold, Silver, and Molybdenum.
Just imagining how big the scale is to walk on the anode lol. That must have been crazy!
Anodes are 3' x 4' x 2.5" weighing about a ton...electroplating "battery is about 1000' long. Or so...
Science!
Very excited and curious for the next buit
Thanks, me too and I think you'll love it when it's finally done :)
@@SnaxanGaming yes I love that, when it's finally done
Wow, nice job. It turned up awesome.
Excellent job. I really want to take apart my guitar tremolo which has lost a lot of its electroplating and redo it. But I've been looking at black chrome kit. So does the agitation help develop a shiny coating? I can never get this through my brain, so the negative goes to the piece plated, the positive to the piece in the tank, in this case nickel. So if I nickel plated first and then went over with Black Chrome, how do I figure out what kind of rod goes in the tank lol. Confusing because the black chrome is sold by the gallon mix. Should I be looking for what anode to use for black chrome? Dang it I should have paid attention in class.
Very Cool video. I enjoyed it on my lazy sunday morning.
You are so talented!
looking forward to the build. ;-)
This is awesome!!!! Well done!
super cool! feel like i was watching bill nye the science guy 🔥
COOL
Appreciate the gesture! Happy you enjoyed
Excitingggggggggg!!!😁😁😁😁
Yeah great job. Enthusiasm is on the roof 😊
All I can hear in the back of my head was “you know nothing Jon snow” 😂 my names not Jon snow, but the point is I know nothing of PC building but still this was oddly satisfying to watch
Buenos dias
Muy Bonito tu trabajo.
Por favor puedes indicarme el proceso y los productos para poder realizar un baño de Niquel Negro?
Gracias!!!
If you've never heard of before you can do some cool stuff with hydro dipping
This is so technical 😱
LOL I learned a lot doing it
@@SnaxanGaming gold plating next😁✌️✌️
@@SnaxanGaming im also curious what's inside those drawers at the back😁
Very cool , I have some drum set hardware I want to do this to to match the other hardware I have....we'll see how it turns out. What plating kit did you use? Caswell?
Do you have any special formation? You really seem well versed on hardware and pc building.
I really am learning everything as I go along! I am no expert. What you don't see in the videos is all the video watching or reading the manual or asking my friends on how to do things, this is the first time I did this and learned a lot. I actually bought a kit for this and they give you the formula. Even with the PC stuff, I'll forget the names of things after a while and always need a refresher unless I'm constantly working on it.
pretty cool =) Looking forward to the build :)
Nice &best information video
Thanking you
More videos
Wow! This is so cool! Do you know if your anodizing setup works on copper or brass?
Anodizing is different than electroplating although the process is similar but to answer your question, electroplating copper works much much better! This is because it's sticks to all sorts of metals easier. I learned this the hard way, (and I put this in the description for more details). after the video was done and edited, I found spots where the plating came off. I solved the issue by redoing it, but I had to do a layer of flash copper first to make sure the black nickel stuck. Once I did that, it worked 100% better.
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Professor Snaxan...
Always wanted to do this, maybe for the next time I do a full custom loop I'll nickel plate copper tubes after bending them
I'll be honest, it's great to do once to learn and for the experience, but I would probably just save all that time and get a similar look with an easier method after doing it once lol
@@SnaxanGaming Thats fair lol. It does seem fun just for the chemistry experience. Though Ive seen some do purely chemical based plating over electroplating. Not sure which I'll go for when the time comes. Either way thank you!
what's in this bag? Is it some kind of mixture? it looks like nickel chloride, but it does not give a black color
Hey Snaxan, Loved the video, loved the finishing on the sample. It is Beautiful. What anode you used ? I mean why is it black? Generally with Nickel as an anode, it comes out yellowish, no??
You can use different types with different finishes, the one that I used was black nickel from Caswell. It turned out great at the end but you do need to put in another layer of copper or similar under.
Ok so I just had 2 more questions for you? (No more ?'s after these I promise😁)
I read that it's suggested to do a:
1-Electro-Clean with a stainless Anode & 5-6 volts 2-3 minutes
followed by a
2-Surface Activator 3-5 volts 30 seconds
Then after the Activator rince & immediately do the Black Nickel bath.
📍it doesn't appear you did either? But you results speak for themselves...
Thoughts....
Thank you very much!!!
Lee
It's ok! And do be honest I don't recall the exact voltage but the manual will tell you the exact amounts. As for electro clean and activator, I don't remember even doing those. But if its recommended in the manual I'd say it would be an important step. Different products will have different methods. I'd test the process first on a practice piece first if I were you.
@@SnaxanGaming Thank U😁
Loved the video, been wanting to do black nickel plating for a while now. Looks like you used a premixed formula, do you mind telling me where you bought it? Looks similar to the one offered by Caswell. Thanks!
It’s is indeed the one from caswell! Also really important, as I added on the pinned comment and description, just make sure you apply a layer of copper conductive paint and polish it up before plating. I learned the hard way that the nickel doesn’t stick on well unless you do this step. So I had to go back and redo it.
@@SnaxanGaming Oh the copper layer is paint? So interesting. I work in a plating laboratory and for electrolytic nickel we use an old formulation called 'woods nickel strike' before other nickel plating. I will have to check out the copper conductive paint, I've even seen people electroplate on 3D printed objects using conductive filament. Thanks again.
@@matthiascarroll1924 "paint" probably isn't the right word but the product I used was sprayed on. Sounds like that woods nickel strike works well. I just know that the nickel plating didn't bond bond to the stainless steel well on it's own and there needs to be a layer of something between the nickel and stainless steel part. Good luck!
Awesome
Hi,what is the green salt that you dissolved in the water? Thanks!
It's a premix solution for Black Nickel. You can get it from places like Caswell plating. Quick warning though if you ever want to do this, and I mention this in the description and pinned comment- after the video, I had to go back start over and do a "pre" coat of copper to ensure that the black nickel stuck. Once I did that, the plating bonded great and looked just as good. It's actually a lot of work and I'd recommend it only to people who enjoy the process and get satisfaction of knowing that you did everything yourself. (plus having real nickel on it).
Do, was that stainless steel or aluminum that turned black and what was in that bag?
Wow. That looks so damn awesome!
I'd buy plates like that if anyone sold them. It's so annoying that EK sells these super awesome black nickel fittings but then just black/white on stuff like radiators.
Right? I'm sure it has to do with dealing with the additional logistics and additional costs of process but imagine if they did come out with them
Where u get the black nickel plating solution?
Snax is way smart
Hello, are the parts more dark gray or deep black? can't really see on the video as it depend on the light. Thank you
Not sure which exact parts you were asking about, but the OEM parts were a dull matt black. After black nickel plating its like a black chrome. It's not quite a black, but not grey, but in between. Black nickel/black chrome.
What kind of current voltage u use for this ?¿ and what u trow inside paint????
The number for amps and voltage will vary depending on the solution. The one I used needed very low amps. You will mostly likely need to spray on a conductive layer of paint (usually copper), sand/polish that layer. After that, you can electroplate the part. This way it will make sure it will stick nicely.
Please dont use that spoon for anything other than PC building from now on! Be safe Snaxan! Keep up the great content.
This is a great advice, cancerous stuff not good to mix with food lol. Thanks stopping by :)
I was scared when the cat was jump on the table
Black Nickel ASMR...
Did you use special anode or solution to get the black effect thanks
it comes that color. Its made by Caswell. but be sure to add a pre layer of copper or similar to ensure it bonds correctly.
@@SnaxanGaming thank you ! good job!
When I saw the thumbnail I thought "Why is Clara Oswald holding up a radiator?"
What solution did you use to get the black finish rather than a shiny bright one?
The radiator originally came in black but what black finish are you referring to?
Great job! I'm too lazy to do all that plating...I would just use chrome color spray paint, lol. Looking forward to your PC build video.
lol, that works too! and tbh, it can look just as good
@@SnaxanGaming if you do it right...still have to sand polish to get the surface clean and smooth..are you building the new PC in the same 011 XL case or will this be a completely new build in a new case, etc? Lian Li finally announced the 011 EVO XL case which will support 420mm radiators and 140mm fans. Of course the announcement had to come after I bought a second 011 XL for my AM5 build. The new Ryzen 7000 3D CPUs go on sale any day now too.
@@GSP-76 this one is going in the smaller evo case but it's new. The other o11 I have will be used for a separate project, which is my am5 upgrade but I'll still use the same distro and existing rads. I actually already have the new 3D 7950!
Did you get your supplies from caswells?
Yes I used the black nickel from caswell. Note that the type of metal that they use in the rad side isn't the most pure, so you have to flash it with copper or something similar/better that will ensure the nickel plating sticks correctly. honestly you can just sand, prime and paint and save a lot of time. Or even use vinyl. It's a LOT of work and prep to get done right. BUT, I think it's worth it if you get it right because there is nothing like that nice black finish.
Well done for the first Time, Greetings from a German Electroplater
What if my part is already chrome can I add black chrome on top of it?
It's a little more difficult because you need to take it back down to the raw metal and smooth it out usually. It's a lot of work. For most people I recommend just finding a radiator in the color you want, using vinyl, or painting. I just electroplated because I'm crazy and wanted to try something new.
I understand nothing what you doing but thumb up
BRILLIANT WORK! Literally 😆
Excellent video, New Subscriber here👍
Thank-U!
Lee
Appreciate that! FYI this is my gaming channel and I mostly do the gaming playthroughs here. All my tech stuff will move over to my tech channel www.youtube.com/@snaxantech?sub_confirmation=1
@@SnaxanGaming I ordered that Caswell Black Nickel kit on Amazon. I wish there were smaller sizes available . The parts I’m doing are so small (like 15-20mm) so I guess I’ll have a lifetime supply😆
@@SnaxanGaming
BTW: I just mixed up the 1.5 gallon batch of that “Black Nickel” solution & stored it into several different containers. Since the parts I’m actually plating are very small. I can’t tell the difference between it & the “Bright Nickel” solution I already had… both same clear emerald color. 🤔
Thanks again !
Lee
What was stuff u put in the water to plate
Black Nickel Plating solution/kit from caswell. It's in the description. But you also need to prep the surface (sanding/polish) and use conductive paint prior to it for things to make it look as good as I was able to.
Did this affect the performance at all? Like before and after
Doesn’t affect performance at all since the panels are literally just covers.
That was cool! i think ill plate my rads with pure silver
Try it and tag me so I can see!
I would have just put see through black tape, cause I am terrible. Could you make a lightsaber next?
haha, whatever works. also lightsaber, now that actually sounds like a fun project maybe one day
ASMR
that's all I wanna say
Ahuu ahuu era agua caliente que aguante. Pero se nota que te apasiona.
Mad Science!! Lol!!
Advertise the Kit properly and show the Before and after side by side.
It would’ve been nice if the whole process was explained
Hi there 👋 😊
Dang , that·s l33t .
Sarah, you better find an amazing husband! Don't settle! PHEW!
Lol. Well I'm fortunate to have someone special already and also my pups and cat too :)
Can you electro plate my cat?
Hello, when is the next god of war ragnarök upload?
The next one will be out by the end of the week but there will be 2 this week. One on Sunday and one towards the end of the week
yo snax ur a gigachad but ur thumb nail reminds me of meghan foxes thumb nail xD
lol that's actually true we actually both have the same short thumb
@@SnaxanGaming its weird i love it, ur such badass sarah!
its not going to last ,couse you did not did a good clean on the parts ,A CAN SEE THE THE WATER STAY ON THE CLEANING PARTS
🤞🏻😇❤️✨So cute 🥰💯
7 views
i want to do that
Thanks for the support!
400th like from me xd
marry me
: )
I have no way to read your mind to know what chemicals you use and cuantitis, so I learn nothing from you. My $.002
You can't read her mind but you can read the title. It's a "build update". Not a "how to". That said, you can also read the pinned comment and description for what she used.
did you try hogwarts legacy ?
Not yet but I have the code! No time to try it yet but I probably will eventually
Video is horrible. Why didn't you explain what you were adding etc? Definitely not an instructor.
It's a build update for my subs like I've said. Not a how to video. Less than 1% of viewers would even want to try it and those that do will look at "how to.." instead.
Please do more vids like this very neat and professional
I would actually love to! The PC videos are really fun but they take time and money and sponsors so hopefully things keep growing on that end. Thanks for watching!