Nickel plating DIY

[arrgee]

Has anyone done any nickle plating using one of the kits commercially available, I want to plate this little chap (about 40mm x 160mm) and wondered if the DIY kits are any good?

[gameswat]

I know what's going on here, you're pulling some kind of scam with your employer's National, pilfering from the cash register, and you a Plod an' all Arg, tsk, tsk.

[arrgee]

GW you never cease to amaze me, is there any type of machine on the planet that you do not know

You are correct, it is a lid counter from an NCR machine - Candy Store model 46 - a beauty.
Incidentally, I have never been one of the boys in blue, I have spent my working life as an architect. My first ever experience with a slot machine was when I was about 4 years old and on holiday, I spent ages just staring and listening to the laughing policeman automaton and it etched an indelible memory that I still recall vividly well over 60 years later!

[spanky]

http://www.broadwaybrass.co.uk/page/finishes/

[coppinpr]

I once tried to repair one of those lid counters but couldn't do it. The works were very delicate and, I suspect, they didn't get used much anyway and got easily clogged up. Is this one working?

[arrgee]

Yes it works well PC, it is a little grubby although I have not yet taken it apart, all the wheels rotate and work as they should - its an ingenious little device.
Have you ever stripped/rebuilt a NCR?

[coppinpr]

Yes one, it went into my shop where it's still in use. I traced its age and where it was built through its reg. number. Have you done that to yours?

I did have the original one from my grandfather's time at the shop with the gold sovereign wheel on the side, but it was stolen before I ever had the chance to restore it.

One interesting fact about the lid counter, it's built so you can't re-set it. If always working, it will show how many times the lid was opened since new (not allowing for working right round the cycle).

[arrgee]

Interesting PC - I have PM'd you.

..............But has anyone used any of these nickle plating kits

[treefrog]

There is a website that gives all this info if you search

[pennymachines]

I had a go at replica chrome plating and hope to get set up to do some more this year.

I was very pleased with the results, but wouldn't say it was easy. There's a bit of setting up and you have to be meticulous in getting everything right and making sure the item is clinically clean. The items I did were small (largest was a coin cup) and un-plated, so polishing them wasn't difficult. My plating bath (plastic drum) is about 1.5" across, so medium-sized items could be accommodated. The result is dependent upon the quality of the high shine polish you achieve before plating. Defects in preparation won't be hidden by plating; in fact, they'll be emphasised.

That would be the first challenge with your casting I guess. Ideally you'd want to remove the old electroplate. Having not experimented with chemical stripping, I'm not sure how easy it is to do mechanically. Nickel stripper is available for home use, but is classed as hazardous.

The replica chrome is actually a nickel-cobalt alloy and about half way between nickel and chrome in colour - i.e. a bit warmer than chrome. I think it's ideal in that respect. Here's my set-up in use:



My kit came from http://www.classic-plating.co.uk and included clear, detailed instructions and a crude, but reasonably effective, current controller which you put between the electrodes and a 12V car battery. The current required depends upon the surface area you're plating and this needs to be quite accurately calculated and controlled. My clever uncle built a mains power supply so I can independently control voltage and current. I also added a water agitator and thermostatically controlled heater (fish tank supplies) and cheap electronic probe thermometer. First attempts were on the kitchen table, but the operation moved to the workshop after complaints about funny smells and tastes.

[livinginthepast]

I have found home nickel plating very successful. Time consuming yes but rewarding and you can fit the parts tomorrow! I'm sure the kits are good but I got the Canning electroplating handbook from the library and got my supplies independently. Good luck with it.

[arrgee]

Thanks Mr PM and livinginthepast, I think some experimentation is needed.