Subject: Nickel Plating

From: [email-masked] (Mick Collins)
Date: Thu, 02 Nov 1995 06:45:25 GMT

I've been trying to make a very thin nickel tube by electro
 plating about 0.004 inches of nickel on to a wax former painted
 with conductive paint.
  I succeeded in getting an even wall thickness - but unfortunately
 the nickel was porous.
  Does anyone have any ideas on how to deposit solid
 nickel, please?

     Cheers

  Mick  S.M.E.E.           "From the inventors shop came
                                 the sound of hammering tin"
  [email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Steve Rayner)
Date: Wed, 1 Nov 1995 21:33:27 GMT

It seems I posted an incomplete address for Stuart Models.  The correct 
address follows:

Stuart Models
Braye Road,
Vale,
Guernsey,
Channel Islands  
UK     GY3 5XA

-- 
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     MY SECRET IS OIL OF HARLEY DAVIDSON !      Steve Rayner
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From: [email-masked] (J. Kimberlin)
Date: 2 Nov 1995 17:19:36 -0800

In article <[email-masked]>,
>  [email-masked]

If I let my imagination go, I would say to copper plate it first, then 
nickel plate.  This is because copper is much easier to plate.  If you 
don't want the copper you can get rid of it with nitric acid later, 
leaving the nickel.  But the copper makes a much better surface for 
nickel to plate upon than some of the activator solutions like palladium 
containing solutions.  The palladium activators are for plating 
electroless nickel, but you won't be very successful doing that for a 
thin tube since electroless nickel isn't all nickel but a phosphorous 
nickel combination.

You should also stir or agitate the solution without inducing gas bubbles 
into the solution.  This can be done with a bottom magnetic stir bar, or 
by rotating the electrode.  You want to make sure the solution in contact 
with the workpiece is fresh, insofar as the concentration of nickel 
salts, pH, etc. is concerned.

JerryK