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#1
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Partial Plating
I have been trying to talk a friend into doing a partial plating job for me.
He refuses, saying that the masking material contaminates his plating solutions. He prefers to plate the whole object, and then buff the plating off of the areas to be left unplated. Is he using the wrong material as a resist? Is there a resist that can be applied which won't come lose in hot plating solution and contaminate the works? |
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#2
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On Tue, 04 Nov 2003 19:16:08 -0800, in rec.crafts.jewelry "Don Wagner"
wrote: I have been trying to talk a friend into doing a partial plating job for me. He refuses, saying that the masking material contaminates his plating solutions. He prefers to plate the whole object, and then buff the plating off of the areas to be left unplated. Is he using the wrong material as a resist? Is there a resist that can be applied which won't come lose in hot plating solution and contaminate the works? You didn't mention what metal you're trying to plate, and over what. I'll assume gold over something else, such as silver. or perhaps silver over something else. And I'll also assume that your friend is using cyanide based plating baths. The problems are twofold. first, a number of organic compounds can contaminate plating baths. In many cases, the results are not actually objectionable, since often, such compounds act as brighteners, giving a smoother and shinier plated surface. However, they may also change the color, and this, along with the different look of a slightly brightened bath, is probably what your friend objects to. The other problem is that hot cyanide (gold plating baths, at least, are usually used hot. Some silver baths also need heating.) is an unfortunately good cleaner. Like many strong alkalis, it will be effective in breaking the bond that a number of potential resist materials have with a surface. Thus some of the easy resists we might use with an acid based bath like Rhodium, don't work well with cyanides. Fingernail polish or other similar resists, for example, quickly lift right off the metal. Most simple tapes also don't hold on well, nor does asphaltum varnish. There ARE resists made for this use. They are rubber based paint-like things, and one usually puts several layers on to get a thick resiliant layer that bonds well with the metal, and is thick enough to prevent the solution from penetrating it, but which then can be peeled off when done. The stuff is not easily available from common sources, though. You'll have to go to the industrial level suppliers who serve the plating industry. If the surfaces you wish to mask are smooth, then there is a tape that can work fairly well. Called platers tape, the stuff is clear, very flexible, and has an adhesive that will resist the plating bath. It's also not cheap. made by 3M. There are no doubt many places to buy it, but the only one I know that sells smaller quantities is Reactive metals Inc. Even then, it's still not cheap. I've sometimes wondered whether one of the latex type rubber paints sold for replenishing tool handles, or sealing rope ends, or the like, might work, or whether even just rubber cement might work. But i've not actually tried it. Both use bonding agents to stick to a surface that are different from the usual things that I know don't work. I just don't know if THEY will work or not. If you only need a small quantity of this selective plating done, your friend is probably suggesting the simplest route. The other common way to do this is without resists, but using a pen plater. This way, you don't stop out unwanted areas, you simply don't go over them with the pen plater, so you only plate where you want it. Pen platers, though, don't give as even a coating, nor usually, as thick a coating. For small areas, they can be quite effective, though. And before giving up, call the major jewelry tools suppliers (Rio, Gesswein, etc), and ask them. They may have a product available that will do this. I've not checked recently. Peter Rowe |
#3
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Don Wagner wrote:
I have been trying to talk a friend into doing a partial plating job for me. He refuses, saying that the masking material contaminates his plating solutions. He prefers to plate the whole object, and then buff the plating off of the areas to be left unplated. Is he using the wrong material as a resist? Is there a resist that can be applied which won't come lose in hot plating solution and contaminate the works? I use good old "rejected, no longer used" nail polish, my wife gives me. It works great. Never had a problem with any contamination of my plating solution. I must add, that the only plating I do, is 24K over 18K, and I always use a cold bath, never hot. The nail polish would not hold up in a hot bath. Abrasha http://www.abrasha.com |
#4
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Thanks for the help. My friend does hot cyanide gold plating over silver.
He also casts in steel. He won't do pen-plating, says he's not satisfied with the results. What I wanted him to do was a cyanide copper strike over steel, and then gold plate over that (probably with a nickel strike in between). Maybe I should have mentioned that, but I was looking for the simple answers (what kind of masking material) before making the question more complicated. |
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