Chrome Plating

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switch62

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Could anyone tell me how I can do my own small scale chrome plating?

I want to make a one off pen clip of my own design. I was thinking of making it out of brass as it is easy to cut, file and polish. Then I could chrome plate it. I don't want to spend +$200 for a chrome plating kit for just one (possibly 2) clips.

My other option is using stainless steel, but it will be a lot harder to cut and shape.

Any sugestions?
 
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Hi
A copper based alloy is best such as copper or brass, dont use stainless or mild etc as that will increase your processes as they will need to be copper plated, nickel plated, then rep chrome plated.

First of allm forget chrome plating get that completely out of your mind. its extremely dangerous and definately not to be done at home. a drop of the chemical going down your sink or toilet etc will trigger alarms at your local waterworks. if you have ever seen the film Erin Brocovich where all the people in the town were dieing of cancer, its because hexevalent chromium was seeping from a nearby factory into the waterworks. nasty stuff.

The good news is, there are platings which look very close to chrome. certainly close enough so you wont tell the difference. sure if you were to put it aside a car at a show with all ts bright polished chrome you may not have that ultra high mirror finish as the car, but youl be close.

In an ideal world you should tank plate to increase its durability as it will give you a thicker coating. however this will exceed your budget. brush plating would be the way forward, though remember that just because the piece has turned rep chrome, that doesnt mean you are done. that will take a minute or so, but you really need to keep brushing the piece for at least 20 minutes so you can build up a thicker coat so it doesnt wear as much with use. i suggest you put some music on while your doing it because so much as 10 minutes in you will be bored out of your mind.

Take a look here for a kit.
Plug N' Plate® Copy Chrome Kit - Plug N' Plate® Brush Plating Kits - Caswell Inc

Here is a pen done in this method:
phoca_thumb_l_chrome1.jpg
 
I'm following Brads adventures and cool tutorials like a hawk at the moment but I'd go for the stainless option in this instance.( for a clip ) Brass isn't going to give you any spring.
Yes, it may be tougher to file and drill, but that also means it will take more effort to mess up while you make it. :biggrin:
 
Thanks Brad, Steve for the replies.

Brad, the stainless steel option was to make it and then polish it to a high gloss. Chrome plating it would be a pain, as you said. Read on Wiki about hexavalent chromium, don't want to be anywhere near that stuff.

Steve, I wasn't sure how strong the brass would be. Was looking at some in a hobby store, reckon that it would need to be about twice as thick as stainless for the same rigidity.

Looks like I'll be making the clip out of stainless.

BTW I follow everything both of you do with great interest and awe :smile:

Tony
 
Brad, cheers for those links as I too have been looking at plating and have had little luck with finding any setup that would be cost effective for a small number of parts. I have really enjoyed reading your series on exothermic etching although in practice it is way above my head.

Dave
 
Brad

Is that Caswell Copy Chrome as hard and durable as real chrome plate? Or at least close to it?

The price is certainly right.
 
From what I have heard from people who have used it, it would be plenty durable for pen parts. Some of them had issues with hard use items, but that was with way more abuse than a pen should ever see.
 
Frank
If you are looking to compare something to chrome, then you need to compare the processes.

Chome is done in a tank which will build upa thick even layer. you can do this with the replica chrome which will be just as durable when tank plating.. this will cost you around 4 times more than a brush plating kit so still pretty cheap. Brush platings work well and are quite durable, but you cant fairly compare it to tank plated chrome which is at least 4 times thicker in coating.
 
Brad that pen looks great. Is that steel?

Also anyone tried the silver or gold plating from that site? How many pens per bottle?
 
its brass.

If you read the specs of the product it will tell you what surface area it will plate. you will be able to work out how many pens based on that bearing in mind that the thickness of the plate will be a contributing factor
 
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