Electroplating the hard to get bolts and pieces

[Rikard]

You can paint bolts and small parts with some metal finish, but it will not look good, and wont be resistant to any wear.
Our old Kubotas were properly plated with some sort of banned cadmium based plating.
I coat the parts from my old loved Kubota 6001 with nickel. It gets a slight yellowish shine to it and is both weather and wear resistant.
It is also rather easy. You only need nickel sulfate and boric acid.
After glass blasting, the parts can be dipped in a water tank with the sulfate and acid soluted in it.
A small current is induced between the part and a piece of nickel welding rod also put into the bath. Negative is the part.
This method is called "Watts nickel plating".
It looks like this.

 

[skeets]

Electrolysis is a fun thing to do, I use a 24 volt power supply out of an old copy machine to clean rusty stuff you just reverse the + and - leads. And like you say you can plate almost anything, makes them look really nice

 

[olthumpa]

What voltage, amperage , AC or DC did you use? Amount of Time in solution? Thanks.

 

[Rikard]

The important thing is no noticeable bubbles from object being plated.
With 2*17mm bolt heads dipped and app. 3" distance to nickel rod, 0.5A is transferred at 3.3V and that gives no bubbles (see picture). Time under these conditions is around 1-2 minutes. DC. Negative on bolt. Positive on nickel rod. Current is proportional with area dipped.
Less current need more time.

Layer can be measured or bolt can be thrown out in the rain for a few days to test corrosion resistance.

 

[coachgeo]

Thanx for posting this info

 

[Caver50bmg]

Im setup for anodizing. Been at that for years. I would like to do this. I have an adjustable 12v 30a supply. Sounds like it will work. What solution do u use and what temp, voltage and time is typical of the screws?


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[Rikard]

Nickel sulfate NiSO4 30–53 oz/gal
Boric acid H3BO3 4–6 oz/gal
40-60 centigrade, but room temp works just as well when the solution is already made.
A good source of more info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_electroplating

 

[Tooljunkie]

That is cool on so many levels....
Wanna try it.

 

[olthumpa]

Thanks for posting the info Rikard.

 

[coachgeo]

Electrolysis is a fun thing to do, I use a 24 volt power supply out of an old copy machine to clean rusty stuff you just reverse the + and - leads. And like you say you can plate almost anything, makes them look really nice

What would I like for; old copy machine wise, to get such an animal. My boss has one sitting in storage. Not a huge one..... so not sure it is big enough.

 

[skeets]

It was an old office machine we had, they were replacing it and I asked the guy if i could have the power supply before they junked it. I know it is 24 volts DC, Im not sure of the current. But a 12 volt battery charger will work as well,, the only thing you have to remember is to switch your + and - for what your doing This guy is a little hard to understand but remember youtube is your friend for things like this.. I never used the air pump but I can see how it will keep the solution aggregated

https://youtu.be/3nyp7vtNUQQ?t=3

 

[CaveCreekRay]

A friend of mine used electrolysis to de-rust a severely rusted metal part. He used a 14v computer power supply. After a night in the water solution it was clean bare metal. Amazing.

 

[skeets]

Yepper, I have to admit I have a love of cast iron cook wear,,and I buy it when I can find it at a reasonable price. Most of them are pretty grungy to say the least and they clean up like brand new after a couple hours in the bath.
My favorite piece ( a round griddle) I found at a camp grounds way up in the GWN. Lord know how long it laid in the weeds but it was down right ugly I tossed it in the back of the truck Im mean what the heck right? It cleaned up so nice the even the OL uses it, and thats sayin something,,lol

 

[ShaunRH]

Electrolysis has some drawbacks when de-rusting things. It's a 'line of sight' process, so the electrodes have to be 'visible' to all the rusted surfaces. This makes it worthless for some parts.

However, a longer term solution that can de rust about everywhere is white vinegar. I'm starting to think this is the miracle solution for so much stuff. It's extremely gentle and cheap to purchase in bulk. It does take longer than electrolysis, but it can work everywhere.

I've toyed with the idea of mixing electrolysis and white vinegar but haven't done it yet. I think a heated, agitated bath would probably be best. Your neighbors would probably think you are whipping up one massive batch of salad dressing though...

Another idea I'm toying with is converting a bladeless poly tub electric concrete mixer into a mild multi-surface cleaner/de-ruster with a vinegar and play-sand solution. Toss part in barrel, turn on and let tumble for a couple of hours. Parts should come out perfectly clean and polished. I'd have to slow the motor down to about half the speed though.

PS: By the way, the reason I haven't done it yet is I'm unsure of what gas is going to be out gassed as part of the process. I think vinegar is a mild citric acid but I also think it can vary depending on the source...

 

[skeets]

You have it figured out, though I use regular washing soda in water and a touch of an acid, I have tried vinegar, and even some H2SO4, really diluted mind you. It all works, but a cement mixer tumbler might be interesting.. wonders how much range brass I have laying around,, water vinegar and stainless pins,,, hmmmm yeah that could work

Now the plating aspect I have fooled with really never provided a good product.. I would like to see more on how he did it