I first saw the beautiful art that could be achieved with electroplating leaves years ago at an art show.

I was astonished at the beauty and delicate nature of the lace like leaves could be strong enough to be worn as jewelery.

You can see a variety of electroplated leaves as jewelry here at Jeunebugs Preserving Nature Etsy Shop.

Over 100 years ago – a system was devised for electroplating flowers.

The old (which was new in 1877) process for electroplating delicate organic things, such as flowers and insects, and so preserving matter.

They are then placed in a vessel containing distilled water, and are left in it a sufficient time to enable them to give off the albuminous matter they secrete.

This matter is then filtered and boiled for about an hour.

After boiling, a quantity of distilled water, sufficient to replace that lost by the boiling, is added, with about 3 per cent, of nitrate of silver.

This solution is then placed in bottles, which are sealed, and kept in the dark.

To use this liquid for the preparation of specimens to be electroplated, about 30 grams of it are dissolved in about loo grams ot distilled water, and the objects are immersed in this solution for a few moments.

They are then placed in a bath consisting of distilled water with about 20 per cent, of nitrate of silver in solution, and afterwards submitted to the action of sulphuretted hydrogen gas, which decomposes the nitrate of silver adhering to the albumen-coated surface of the object.

The silver reduced fits the object to receive the metallic deposit produced by galvano-plasty.

Your ride – motorcycle or automobile – is in downright need of some Bling!

Chrome is King… but Nickel is it’s second cousin and in with an economic downturn (read in – I’m broke) – nickel plate will be perfect.

Have you priced out having your parts professionally chrome or nickel plated? It’s downright ridiculous.

I thought that using an electroplating kit would be beyond my abilities. Don’t get me wrong… I’m pretty handy – but I’ve never been much for working with dangerous chemicals.

So… what we’re looking for is a way to do this ourselves – for a reasonable price and cut out the danger part (as much as possible).

My dad was into antique car restoration – big time. He loved to tinker with stuff down to the tiny details.

He loved all the brash bits and pieces and gold plating was one of his favorite things to add a bit of glitz to his old cars.

When I’m at a local car show… one of the things that catches my eye in the sea of beautifully restored cars is the glimmering bits of emblems or hardware that someone has taken the extra time and care to add.

Gold Plating small parts or pieces isn’t tough. If you are a bit of a tinkerer type you will have great results with your first project. (Probably start looking for more parts to gold plate)

What you need is a gold plating kit. Gold plating kits are not all the same. Don’t be roped into something that is called a “dip” kit. You want to use electroplating so that the gold plating will last and look professional.

The picture shows some old tarnished tuners that have been revived with gold plate.  Think about the bits and pieces of hardware that you would like to have plated in gold.

• Motorcycle,
• automotive, antique or new car emblems and parts
• hardware,
• jewelry,
• musical instruments,
• guns
• clocks
• I’m sure you have “parts” that you can think of that you want to gold plate! You can even gold plate your iPod.

At the meeting of the American Electrochemical Society, Professor Haher demonstrated experimentally that when an aqueous solution of a salt of sodium or potassium is electrolyzed, using a cathode of tin or lead, hydrogen is formed, and a dark cloud, consisting of the finely-divided heavy metal, envelops the cathode.

With a lesser current density, the cloud does not form, the surface of the heavy metal lining simply roughened.

It was pointed out by Professor llaber that here the alkali metal actually is deposited on the cathode, forming an alloy with the latter, which is then decomposed by water, yielding hydrogen secondarily and the finely divided metal.

This experiment is of great value in settling the mooted question of whether the hydrogen liberated at the cathode during the process of electrolysis of an aqueous solution of a salt of an alkali metal is of primary or secondary origin.

While, as Professor llaber staled in the conclusion of his paper, the experiment is perhaps of more theoretical than practical interest, nevertheless it is simply a striking illustration of a general fundamental principle that underlies all electrolytic deposition of metals.

When one metal is deposited electrolytically upon another, the process of alloying always goes on to a greater or less extent, which is determined primarily by the nature of the metals, and secondarily by the conditions of experiment.

Among the latter are of special importance the original condition of the surface of the cathode, nature and concentration of the electrolyte, temperature, potential and current density.

These all have been well recognized and thoroughly discussed in text-books as important factors in securing desirable, dense, well-adhering deposits that will admit of being polished and burnished.

The important fact that the alloying power of the electrolytic deposit with the coated metal underneath is a factor determining not only the strength with which the deposit adheres, but also the length of time the plated article will wear and resist corrosion, has not been sufficiently recognized.

The alloying power of two metals consists of a specific attraction of the metals for each other, a tendency to dissolve in each other, or, as it is put by others, a tendency that the metals have to bring about a mutual interpenetration of their masses.

This force is no doubt chemical in character, slight though the affinity may be in sonic cases.

The alloys of mercury, the amalgams, especially those of the alkali metals, have become of considerable importance in the electrolytic preparation of caustic alkalies and of alkali metals.

Here the alloying of the alkali metal with the mercury constituting the cathode is well recognized. But when gold is plated on lead, for example, an alloy of gold and lead is just as truly formed at the point of contact between the two metals.

A thin plating of gold on lead will gradually soak into the lead entirely as the alloying process continues. This goes on at room temperatures.

The experiments that Roberts-Austen made in 1900 demonstrating how gold diffuses into lead at ordinary temperatures are of special interest in this connection.

A thin plating of gold on zinc is absorbed in a few days. The “tarnish” becomes visible very soon. After the deposit has been absorbed, the gold may be exposed again by carefully etching away the zinc from the surface by use of a dilute acid.

The experiment of Gore, illustrating how copper plated on platinum penetrates into the latter, is well known to electroplater’s.

This affinity between metals asserts itself the moment one metal is deposited on the other. The stronger the affinity of the metals for each other is, the better the deposit is apt to adhere. On the other hand, the plating is also more apt to be absorbed by the base metal underneath the greater the tendency of the metals to alloy is.

A higher temperature generally aids this alloying process, and so it is that frequently much better adhering deposits are obtained by working at temperatures above the ordinary.

A clean, slightly roughened (etched or scratch-brushed) surface of the cathode clearly facilitates the alloying of the deposit with the metal of the cathode, for thus a more intimate contact is secured. When two metals are to be alloyed under ordinary conditions, the affinity between them must overcome their cohesion’s. This frequently requires a high temperature.

In the process of plating the affinity between the metals clearly does not initially have to overcome the cohesion of the deposited metal, since the latter is gradually built up, starting with an exceedingly thin film. Thus it is that alloys of metals may readily be formed at room temperatures by electrolysis, whereas under ordinary conditions the alloys would not form at all, or would form but very slowly.

The fact that platinum will not amalgamate with mercury under ordinary conditions, and that platinum amalgam may readily be prepared electrolytically, is a good illustration of this.

In the case of any electroplated article, the deposit and the metal underneath continue to act upon each other, or mutually diffuse into each other.

This action is great between zinc and gold or lead and gold, as has been stated above.

Between copper and gold and brass and gold it is less noticeable. And yet who has worked with brass, gold or platinum-plated weights and has not noticed that the plating is, after all, but a relatively poor protection against corrosion?

Especially as the weights grow older they are all the more easily corroded by moisture and traces of salts in the atmosphere of the laboratory. If the plating is heavy, this corrosion will, of course, not take place so early as when the coating is thin, which is so frequently the case.

The mechanical character of the alloy formed by the deposited and the base metal is also of practical consequence. If the alloy has a strong tendency to become crystalline, or is brittle, or has a considerably different co-efficient of expansion from that of the pure metals, the deposit is more apt to chip off than if the alloy is pliable and does not exhibit tendency to crystallize.

Nickel may be successfully plated on copper and its alloys— brass, bronze, etc.—for with these nickel alloys readily. On the other hand, when an object of lead is to be nickeled, it is first copper plated, and then the nickel is deposited on the copper. Nickel Plating Kits.

In this operation use is made of the fact that copper alloys readily with nickel, and copper alloys better with lead than docs nickel; and so copper serves here as a cement, as it were. Many other similar illustrations from practice might be cited.

In general, then, metals that will alloy readily with each other may, other things being equal, successfully be plated on each other.

Whether the plating will be absorbed faster or slower will depend on the character of the metals and the temperature at which the object is kept, as noted above.

If the deposit consists of a metal of the same color as the base metal underneath, as, for instance, gold over brass or copper, the effect of this diffusion of the metals into each other will not be so apparent as when the metals are of different hue— gold on lead or zinc.

And yet metals of very different color may at times be plated on each other, and the effect of this diffusion remains unnoticed because the alloy formed has the color of the plating even up to very high concentrations of the alloy. Nickel 011 copper is a good illustration of this.

While it thus appears that a strong alloying power is desirable between base metal and electrolytic deposit, as it tends to secure good adhesion of the latter, it is also evident that this tendency to form an alloy frequently militates against the very purpose for which the electrolytic deposition was made, namely, to secure a better appearance or to protect from corrosion.

It is evident that in the long run all plated objects must slowly deteriorate, even when not in use and when carefully protected from the atmosphere by a lacquer of some kind. The electroplater must study the subject carefully so as to plate those metals or alloys upon each other that possess sufficient affinity to coalesce well, and yet will, at the temperatures at which the plated objects are to be kept, diffuse but very slowly into each other.

He will also choose the color of the metals or alloys so that the final alloy formed may have the same, or nearly the same, shade as the electrolytic deposit and will itself be corroded less readily than the base metal alone.

The connection between soldering and electroplating of metals is evident from what has been stated. So, for instance, the difficulty of plating on aluminum and of soldering the metal go together, though, of course, the fact that this metal is readily oxidized, and that the oxide coating interferes with both processes, must not be lost sight of.

It is not so easy to solder iron with the usual half-and-half solder, as it is to solder zinc, though the latter metal is much more readily oxidized than iron. The explanation is clear: iron does not alloy as readily with the tin and lead solder as does zinc.

A careful, systematic study of the electrolytic deposition of the metals from the standpoint of the alloys formed will no doubt yield results of further practical value. Laboratory Of Physical Chemistry,

By Prof. Louis Kahlenbkkc, Ph.d.  relies

University of Wisconsin, Madison.

1903

For several years past the author has been using a certain well-known brand of steel writing pen with great satisfaction. The demand made upon the pens is not severe, they being used only for signatures, corrections and such occasional writing, though being moist with ink for several hours at a time. Under such light and easy service the life of the pens, was always at least a week, and frequently several weeks elapsed before they reached that scratchy stage demanding replacement.

This past winter, on attempting to purchase a fresh supply of this old, reliable brand, it was found that the local stationer did not have the plain steel ones in stock, but could furnish the same style and brand gold-plated. The cost of this plated pen was about one-half more than the plain steel ones.

Thinking that the manufacturer had improved the life of the pen by this plating, a box of the new style was purchased. In use under practically the same service that the plain steel ones had been subjected to, the plated variety lasted rarely more than two days. The corrosion of the points and between the nibs was excessive, one pen frequently not writing more than five hundred words before requiring replacement.

The life of the pens being so very short, I determined to make an investigation of the cause. The results of this investigation are here produced.

Microscopic and chemical tests showed that the pens were probably first copper-plated and then flashed with gold. The total thickness of the yellow metal coating was 0.006 mm., and the pens carried approximately 0.25 milligram of gold each. The plating was excellently done and was absolutely continuous as far as could be ascertained by chemical test.

The pens could be thrown into sulphuric acid from an electroplating kit and left there for some time without loss of weight. I therefore came to the conclusion that the corrosion was electrolytic in its nature, and formulated the following hypothesis to account for it: The friction of the pen point on paper rapidly wears off the plating on the point, thus exposing the steel. An electrolytic couple, Steel—Ink—Gold, is set up and corrosion of the steel takes place with great rapidity.

Some idea of the electrochemical nature of this couple may be gained from the following: A pen was stripped of its plating by an 18-hour immersion in strong potassium cyanide solution.

This stripped pen and a plated pen were then connected in series with a high resistance voltmeter and the two pens dipped into various kinds of ink, contained in a small cell about the size of a thimble. A potentiometer was not available at the time the experiments were made, so that I had to content myself with measurements made on closed circuits of 300 to 500 ohms’ resistance.

When the two pens were dipped into “Barnes’ National Jet Black Ink,” the voltmeter showed a reading of 0.045 at once, dropping in three minutes to 0.020 volt, and in five minutes to 0.015 volt, at which point it remained constant for some time. When taken out and redipped, the whole series repeated itself. Vibration of the pens, while immersed, gave a continuous reading of about 0.045 volt. The resistivity of the ink was approximately 112 ohms per cm. cube. Index of corrosion, 0.00040.

In “Stafford’s Universal Writing Fluid,” the series was 0.08, 0.02 and 0.008 volt; vibrating the pens maintained a constant

electromotive force of 0.022 volt. The resistivity of this ink was 68 ohms per cm. cube. Index of corrosion, 0.00033. In a rather old and faded brand of this ink, the reading under vibration of the pens was 0.016 volt. No measure of the resistivity of this faded ink was made.

In “Waterman’s Ideal Ink,” the series was 0.088 and 0.040 volt. A steady electromotive force of 0.120 volt could be maintained by vibrating the pens in the ink. The resistivity of this ink was 68 ohms per cm. cube. With a freshly stripped pen against a fresh gold-plated one, a similar result of 0.12 volt was measured. Index of corrosion, 0.00176.

These experiments seem to corroborate my original hypothesis as to the cause of the excessive corrosion of the pens. When in use, the continued dipping of them into ink and the vibration occasioned as they rub over the paper maintains a short-circuited couple with the maximum electromotive force noted, and causes consequent corrosion of the steel point as the anode of this couple.

The “index of corrosion” as given above for the various writing fluids is the product of the maximum electromotive force found for the vibrated pens multiplied by the conductivity of the various inks. This index assists in choosing the least corrosive ink in case the plated pens have to be used.

While the corrosion of the plated pens is not a matter of great commercial importance, yet there is to be gained from the experience a certain wholesome lesson on the application of electroplating to the protection of less noble metals: Do not plate with a nobler metal a material that is likely to be subjected to wear on one spot and which spot is to be moistened with liquids. For, as soon as the plating is worn through on that spot, accelerated corrosion will take place, and in the end the resulting corrosion will be far worse than without the plating.

Electrometallurgical Laboratory.
Lehigh University,
March 1, 1911.

MARVIN SPOTSWOOD of Los Gatos, California, claims he can use an electroplating kit to plate anything; and he has had ample opportunity to prove it.

He has covered so many diverse items with copper, brass and silver plate that the list is almost endless.

Bugs, spiders, flowers, bottles, ceramic objects, plaster statuettes, vases, shoes, crocheted bootees, deer antlers, telephones, toys, old lanterns, light fixtures, floor lamps, table lamps, pie tins, soft drink bottles, football helmets, and even false teeth are some of the many articles he has covered in the years since he has followed his hobby of electroplating.

When he first became interested in electroplating as a hobby, Spotswood was engaged in full time door-to-door selling, soliciting orders for copper-plated baby shoes. Learning how to electroplate after hours, he built a homemade set-up in his garage, and experimented by plating his daughter’s doll dishes and other metallic and non-metallic toys.

Polly, his wife, brought him items that she had picked up at rummage sales, such as old sugar bowls and creamers, and other objects which Spotswood either restored by plating or refashioned into planters or lamps. When friends saw the many things he had plated, they brought him articles, too, and he began to realize that there was a chance that his hobby would prove profitable.

As he visited his customers’ homes while soliciting orders for baby shoes, he would mention that he was interested in plating other objects to be used as planters, lamps, and so on, and received some orders in this manner.

One of his customers had many antique silver pieces and lamps which she wanted electrified and Spotswood offered to do this, and also to replate, buff, and restore them for her. This was his first large order, and from it Spotswood got the idea of visiting antique dealers and soliciting orders to repair and restore similar pieces.

He learned the non-metallic plating first, since that is the type of plating used for baby shoes, and it has a specific formula with little variation.

He learned from his employer and found that he liked the actual plating work much better than the door-to-door selling.

He carried on his hobby of plating and making lamps and planters after working hours; then when he became proficient enough in making these objects, he began to take orders for them along with the orders for baby shoe plating.

Eventually his orders for these items grew to a volume that took up most of his time, and he became a partner in business with his employer, finally buying his partner out entirely.

THE METHOD that Spotswood advises, since he began that way himself, is to learn the hobby first, specializing perhaps in planters, then selling them from door to door and taking orders locally.

A good way to advertise is to watch for hobby displays and hobby shows, and get your items in for display. Often a local businessman, such as a hardware dealer, or furniture store owner, will be glad to give display room in his show case to the articles of a group of hobbyists, and your work, included, will become known.

Advertising in the local papers, and running a picture of either a planter or a re-plated silver coffee pot is an effective method of getting orders, particularly during the holiday season, as planters make excellent Christmas gifts. A small ivy or similar plant, costing ten or fifteen cents at the dime store, will help sell a planter.

Spotswood feels that the home hobbyist can soon learn electroplating to his immense pleasure and profit. There are good electroplating beginners’ kits, and these will start anyone making beautiful and useful lamp bases and other ornamental objects which are much in demand and which sell for a good price.

If you remember your high school chemistry, you will recall that electroplating is the process whereby a thin coating of metal is formed on an object by immersing it in an acid solution into which an electrode carrying a low voltage of electricity is introduced.

The acid solution, through the action of electrolysis, carries atoms of the copper or silver to the object to be coated which is hanging by a wire in the tank.

This coats the object with a thin or thick layer of metal depending on the length of time it is left hanging in the solution. The vats or tanks used for depositing are usually wooden, lead lined vessels, but may also be enameled iron, slate, or even glazed earthenware or glass.

Before the beginner commences plating, it will be wise to refer to an elementary chemistry book and learn a little about the handling of acids since some of the acids and compounds used are dangerous to the uninitiated. The materials used may be purchased in drug stores, hardware or paint stores, or obtained through a chemical concern.

A SIMPLE homemade set-up may be built, using a large glass aquarium, a crock or any other large, non-metallic, acid proof container. Use copper or brass rods to suspend the anodes (metal being used to plate the article), also to suspend the article which is receiving the coating. Anodes may be any sheet or plate stock or scrap.

The total surface area of the anodes should be approximately the same as the largest article to be plated.

The hooks also should be of copper or brass.

The insulators may be fiber, plastic, Bakelite or any non-conductor.

The rheostat may be obtained from an old radio set or may be any rheostat that will drop the six-volt supply source from the batteries down to one and one-half volts.

It must carry approximately eight to ten amperes. A storage battery, instead of the four dry cells, is recommended for larger articles, and for large volume work a rectifier should be used.

A good planter for the beginner can be made from a small tinned milk pail about six inches high by four inches wide at the base, which Spotswood purchased in a local hardware store for 49 cents.

Copper plated, it makes a rustic planter of great charm, and because of its simple shape is easily handled by the beginning plater.

Any other metallic object would do as well for the first attempt. The process of plating a metal object can be covered in six steps and is variable according to the metal used for the finished coating.

Plating Metal Objects

First step: The stripping process. If the article is covered with a coat of tin or galvanized metal, as the milk pail is, the material must be removed down to the base metal by what is called a stripping. Soak the pail in a crock or glass container holding muriatic acid. The time varies according to the thickness of the coating, but it can usually be considered finished when the acid stops bubbling. This is also the first step in cleaning rust off steel. Rubber gloves should be worn when handling acids at all times.

Second step: Grinding. If the article is old and has scratches on the base metal, it must be ground and polished on a buffing wheel until it is smooth and flawless. Since the pail is new, it will not have to be ground, but should be polished, in order to assure a perfect coating.

Third step: Tri-sodium bath. Now the pail is dipped into a hot tri-sodium bath, which is prepared in a tank or container placed over a gas jet and heated to 160 degrees F. Add the tri-sodium powder to the water when it is hot, and the amount may be ascertained by feeling the water after adding. When it feels slick to the touch, enough has been used; however, no harm is done by adding too much. Rinse your hand in cold water after dipping it into the tri-sodium. Immerse the pail and when it is as hot as the solution, remove, using rubber gloves or tongs, and brush the article with a stiff brush. Do not handle with bare hands after this step.

Fourth step: The sour dip. A tank or crock containing a ten per cent solution of sulphuric acid and water is prepared. Dip pail, quickly remove, and rinse with clear, fresh water.

Fifth step: Plating. Hang the pail into the plating tank by a wire, being careful to cover all portions of the pail with the solution, and see that the wire makes a good electrical contact with the plating rod. In following either the metallic or non-metallic plating processes, care must be taken to keep the contact rods clean, in order to avoid making bad contacts. Clean the rods with steel wool and rinse well with clear water if any signs of corrosion appear.

The formula for the cyanide copper solution used for plating this planter follows, and should be mixed in the plating tank.

Copper Cyanide—three ounces to the gallon of water.

Sodium Cyanide—four and five-tenths ounces to the gallon of water.

Sodium Carbonate—two ounces to the gallon of water.

This solution is operated at a temperature of 75 to 100 degrees F. and a voltage of one and five-tenths to two volts. The anodes are of rolled annealed copper and the surface per square inch of the anodes should equal the surface per square inch of the article, to be plated.

The pail should be covered well after one or one and a half hours in this copper tank.

Sixth step: Finishing. Rinse pail in clear water, still using rubber gloves to avoid handling of cyanides. Polish article with a medium soft wire brush. This removes any oxidation which may have begun in the tank, and which looks like a pinkish coating on the plating. Keep article wet with clear water while scratch brushing. Rinse again with clear water, then dry thoroughly. Finish polishing with a loose cotton buffing wheel coated with black emery abrasive compound (black tripoli). This often completes the polish, but if the article is not as bright as you wish it, jewelers’ rouge may be applied in order to gain a very high polish. Wipe off with clean, soft cloth to remove compounds, and spray or paint with clear lacquer to preserve the high polish, for copper oxidizes swiftly.

If an antique or statuary bronze effect (dark oxidation) is desired, this may be applied before lacquering. Wipe off excess polish compounds, then dip into a solution of liver of sulphur and water, dipping in and out until the desired high-lighted effect is obtained. Do not make this solution too strong. An ounce or two ounces to a gallon of water if the liver of sulphur is in the liquid form, or a chunk the size of a dollar to a gallon of water, if you used the powder. When the desired effect is reached, rinse off with clear water to halt the color changing. Many beautiful and colorful effects, running the gamut from coppery reds to blacks, may be obtained by using this liver of sulphur dip. After thoroughly drying, buff up in spots to bring out the high lights and polish again with jewelers’ rouge, then lacquer.

METAL OBJECTS may be plated with silver, nickel, brass and even gold, by employing this same process, using a six-volt flash coating of copper first, rinsing with clear water, then a nickel solution for fifteen minutes, rinse, then a silver cyanide solution at six volts for a quick silver strike. Then the silver or finish coat tank at a half volt dip for two to four hours. The silver strike, not rinsed off before giving the article the finished solution dip, hurries the process.

The repairing of silver can bring money jingling into the hobbyist’s pocket, Spotswood has found. Plated in the above manner, with the exception that you use a silver cyanide solution instead of the copper or brass, and the anodes are of pure plating silver, these pieces are replated in natural or oxidized silver, and many beautiful antique pieces of real value may be restored. Mending the hinges, soldering leaky spouts and repairing handles, if done before plating the piece, will restore it to look like new. Sending these out to a silversmith for repair would be costly and would cut down on the profit to the electroplater. Flatware can be restored to look like new when the silver plate has been worn off by much use, as in restaurants. Large orders for silver plating jobs may often be obtained from local restaurants.

Soliciting antique dealers in your vicinity will often bring business in silver to be restored. One dealer of Spotswood’s acquaintance makes a practice of buying metal spittoons of the old saloon variety and having them brass or copper plated for planters. The lids of old metal meat platters of the covered dish type are also cut in two, fitted with a metal back, plated, and hooks are inserted to enable them to be hung upside down on the wall for planters. These unique decorative objects sell for $40 in the antique shops; Spotswood gets approximately $25 a pair for plating them. Suggestions to the dealers that their antique copper, brass and silver items will sell faster and for more money if they are polished and repaired and perhaps lacquered to prevent tarnish, will often bring orders for plating and buffing jobs.

THE PLATING of both metallic and non-metallic objects is such an absorbing hobby, Spotswood avers, that one never grows tired of it, for the objects are so different in structure and texture that working with them is intensely interesting, and almost always results in really artistic effects. He is always ready and willing to plate anything that people suggest, and he believes that the hobbyist should be willing to help his customers to develop new and unique items, if he wants to sell. One teen-ager’s mother hit upon the idea of having lamps using bases of brass coated Coca-Cola bottles for her son’s rumpus room. For these bases, electrified, Spotswood charges according to the plating material used. One housewife brought Spotswood her assortment of ordinary dime store molds to be coppered and lacquered, furnishing her with a stunning collection for a wall display over her kitchen range.

A group of telephone employees brought Spotswood an old-fashioned phone to copper plate and make into a lamp base. An ingenious switch turns the light on when the receiver is lifted from the hook, and turns it off when the receiver is replaced. This made a wonderful farewell gift to a retiring company employee, and has brought in several repeat orders, at Spotswood’s.

Consider also the lady whose pilot husband, resting in Japan from Korean combat duty, sent her by air a corsage of lovely yellow Oriental roses. A salesman who sends Spotswood jobs on commission suggested that she send the flowers in and have them fashioned into a set of pins and clips. Far from stumping Spotswood, he lived up to his motto of “I’ll plate anything” and made the flowers into a set of lovely copper jewels. Now the airman’s wife has them for cherished mementoes of her husband’s thoughtfulness.

Plating Non Metallic Objects

THE METHOD of plating fresh flowers, and incidentally any non-metallic object, is not complicated and the hobbyist may do it in his own home with the same set-up as the metal object plating tanks.

If you wish to try plating flower blossoms, the first step is to sand-dry your flowers by burying them in clean, white, dry sand and leaving them in it at room temperature for six weeks. When ready to begin plating them, shake all the sand grains carefully out of the petals, then dip the flower into a solution of four-pound shellac cut fifty per cent with alcohol. This, when dried, has stiffened and sealed the petals.

When well dried, spray with a four hundred-grit copper liner which is made by mixing two tablespoons of copper powder to twelve ounces of lacquer thinner, two tablespoons of clear lacquer and one tablespoon of acetone; shake well and use in any ordinary paint spray gun. Before spraying, place a contact wire through the flower in order to effect good contact on the flower.

Allow the spray to dry approximately twenty minutes, then hang into your plating tank which is filled with a solution of acid copper, the formula for which comes with every Organic Plating Kit , or may be found in any plater’s guide.

Leave the article in the plating tank for twelve hours at one-half volt, after which the article should be well plated. Take it out, wash in clear, running water, then dip into a solution of baking soda and water which acts as an acid neutralizer.

Wash off again with clear water, then allow to dry. This finishes the plating process, and you may either buff it to give a shiny finish, or buff and dip in liver of sulphur. If you wish to polish the article to a high finish, Spotswood recommends using a light flex-shaft for a small, fragile article such as a flower.

This process, with the exception of the preliminary drying for flowers, is used for almost all non-metallic objects. Spotswood advises the hobbyist learning electroplating to keep the article chemically clean and untouched by the hands. If this is done, the object should cover completely after twenty minutes in the tank. If it doesn’t cover within one hour, it can be finished correctly by doing the following: Remove from tank, wash well with clear water, and dry with a soft cloth. With a small camel’s hair brush, touch up the spots not plated, with a solution of the copper spray. Replace in tank and watch for a short time to make sure that the spots are covering. If they don’t cover after a few minutes, repeat the process until they do.

WHEN SPOTSWOOD’S hobby outgrew his homemade set-up in the garage, he entered into partnership with his employer in a shop in downtown Los Gatos, and subsequently took over the copper plated baby shoe business completely. He felt that he could handle the plating end of the business himself, and advertised for salesmen who would solicit orders for the baby shoe items and other plating jobs on a straight commission basis. Thus, he did not pay salaries, and the salesmen’s remuneration depended upon how many orders they turned in. Now, as a result of the increase in orders from some twenty salespersons, both men and women, from as many different California localities, Spotswood’s Copper-Plated Art Shop is becoming profitable enough to confirm his decision to turn his electroplating hobby into a full time career. The profit on baby shoes alone runs between thirty to forty per cent, and in his case, constitutes the largest volume of business, upon which he depends to pay his overhead expenses.

The hobbyist can place his items in jewelry stores, department stores, and baby and gift shops which will sell them, usually, for a commission ranging from ten per cent up. It is best to make personal contact with the sales manager of these stores, and since Spotswood prefers to do the personal contact work himself, he has taken another hobbyist couple into his shop to work with him. They are Gertrude and Fred Paul. Mr. Paul has executed some locally well-known wood carvings, among which are shrines and carved figurines. He formerly worked for Gumps in San Francisco, a store famous for exclusive furniture designs, doing both art carving and furniture designing.

Light fixtures for patios, play rooms and dens that Paul and Spotswood design themselves and then plate, are very inexpensive to make, since they combine used metal with dime store purchases, in some instances, and sell readily. A case in point is a patio light designed by Paul, utilizing a ten-cent pie tin and a new lamp chimney, both from the dime store, an old lantern glass, and a wrought iron bracket and used lamp burner. The metal parts, when assembled, were plated a rich oxidized copper and the glass parts when put into place, completed a stunning patio light. Since so much used metal material can be plated and reused in this way, the profits are understandably high. The plating of lamp bases and other articles brought in by customers pays well in profits, Spotswood says, since the customer furnishes his own item in practically all cases, and the home hobbyist with no overhead expenses can make as much as fifty to sixty percent or better on every article plated.

SOME OF the inns and clubs around Los Gatos are becoming interested in ceramic two-ounce glasses and mugs which Spotswood casts himself with plaster molds, into which have been carved the inn’s or club’s name or trademark. The mug is put into bisque with one baking, and glazed on the inside only. The outside is then plated, bringing the design out in copper. Homemakers like the larger six- to eight-ounce sizes with their own initials or family names indestructibly plated upon them, to use as beverage sets.

Spotswood feels that there is much to be desired in the guides for electroplating, and he is now working on an improved book of instruction for the hobbyist who wishes to plate both metallic and non-metallic objects. Over the time that he has been plating he has developed several formulas which are more effective than the copper liners, using, instead, silver nitrates and silver sprays. The serious plater will eventually develop solutions and processes of his own, which he will feel are more effective than the ones with which he learned.

The hobbyist who will take up the electroplating of non-metallic and metallic objects may very well find that he has branched into a full time business, with so many orders coming in he has to have help to fill them, all. And, if like Marvin Spotswood, he will “plate anything,” he’ll have an interesting as well as a lucrative hobby-business.

BY GIVING his hobby of electroplating an unusual application, Robert E. Parker has gratified a long time desire to reside on a quiet and beautiful island, in an equally beautiful home overlooking Florida waters. Ever since Parker visited Florida, courtesy of the U.S. Navy, during World War II, he had wanted to live there.

However, the pressing demands of making a living and the good job he had as factory manager for Argus Camera Co. in Ann Arbor, Michigan, kept him from his promised land.The dream of living in Florida grew fainter as Parker continued to advance at Argus, and he whiled away his evening hours by electroplating every and anything Mrs. Parker would let him lay his hands on. This hobby was relaxing to him, and his friends got so used to seeing gold and silver plated objects in the Parkers’ home, that they nicknamed Bob, “King Midas” (of the golden touch).

The electroplating process is one by which a thin coating of metal is imparted to an object by immersing it in an acid solution into which an electrode carrying a low voltage of electricity is introduced. Through the process of electrolysis the acid solution carries atoms of copper or silver, or whatever the plating material happens to be, to the object to be coated, which is usually suspended by a wire in a tank containing the solution.

One day a friend gave Parker a sea shell as a memento of his sea shore vacation. To Parker, the only natural thing was to electroplate the shell. He frankly acknowledges that the first results weren’t satisfactory, so he sent away for more sea shells just to prove to himself that he could do a good job.

Some three dozen sea shells later, Bob produced a shiny and smart looking product from the raw shell. Mrs. Parker decided this silvered sea shell would be the perfect adornment for a new dress, so Bob attached a pin back to the shell, and the germ of an idea that was to prove so successful took hold.

ALTHOUGH Parker didn’t realize it at the time, this one plated sea shell was the start of the formula that made his dream come true. Mrs. Parker’s friends not only admired her sea shell pin, but requested Bob to make similar pins for them.

After he had made and given away more and more of these sea shell pins, the women, who had a feminine desire to be different, asked for variously designed pins. To comply, Parker made silver and gold plated sea shell pins of clusters of shells, unusually shaped shells, and dangling shells.

Not six months had passed, from the time he plated his first shell, until Bob’s friends were urging him to make his electroplating hobby a full time business. At first Parker scoffed at the idea, yet little by little as one good friend after another talked to him seriously about it, he began to yield to the thought. Soon Bob began to day dream of manufacturing his jewelry in Florida, but being a sensible man he decided to get professional opinions before making so drastic a change in his life.

Bob visited jewelry stores, wholesalers, and jewelry distributors, asking for opinions on his shell jewelry. When well over half the opinions were favorable, Parker had all the excuse he needed to switch from managing a camera factory to manufacturing shell jewelry. Exactly six months and two days from the date the first sea shell had been plated, the Parkers moved to Florida and organized the Parker Jewelry Co.

WITH THE aid of his wife, Parker spent the next six months building a production line, constructing storage bins, and making up stock for sale.

The sales plan first adopted by the enterprising Parker Jewelry Co. was to make stock one week, and personally sell it the next week. The novelty and jewelry stores in the Palm Beach area readily, accepted Bob’s product, but sales lagged badly at the retail end.

The Parkers still felt that they had a good idea, and realized that they had to produce different items to stimulate people to buy their product. That is why Parker started plating real sea horses (a sea horse is a semi-tropical fish), small ones for earrings, and large ones for matching brooches. The plated sea horses caught on and the Parker Jewelry Co. was well on the road to success.

Reorders began to pile in so fast that Bob hired a salesman so he could spend all his time manufacturing. Within two years, he asked his father to move to Florida to help him produce toe jewelry.

From their new friends, and their old friends in Ann Arbor, Bob and Helen Parker got ideas. They expanded their line to include not only sea horse and shell jewelry, but pins and earrings of beautifully plated star fish, horseshoe crabs, sand dollars, acorns, sea fans, as well as real four leaf clovers and hickory leaves.

This new product expansion plus the sales expansion created as far north as the New England states by Parker’s salesmen made additional manufacturing space necessary. Because of the constant personal attention required by his business, he and Helen decided to buy a home in which they could incorporate their new factory. Less than a year ago, the Parkers bought the home they always dreamed of at Merritt Island, Florida.

The house is a half mile from the road on palm shaded grounds, where Bob grows the hickory leaves he uses for plating. The porch extends right over the water, and one is able to drop a fishing line straight down. Two large back rooms comprise the factory.

Today, Robert Parker states emphatically that he has all the business he can handle. Expanding, to Bob, is out of the question, because this business of his will always be like a hobby to him. Another reason for not expanding is that his products require much hand work and are not adapted to mass production.

THE PROCEDURE used to plate Parker jewelry is basically similar to that used in the Baby Shoe Bronzing Mini Kit. There are certain variations and additional steps which require infinite patience and experience gained through much practice.

With the exception of plant life, which must be processed while green, all the tiny creatures from the sea are bought in dried form from wholesale suppliers. Each animal must be closely examined for breaks in the skin, which are sealed with glue.

The hollow snoot of the sea horse must also be filled with glue so that the plating solutions will not enter the body. The popular sea horses require one other extra step because their tails are normally straight. Bob moistens the straight tail, curls it, and then dips the sea horse into a rapid drying lacquer bath which keeps the tail permanently curled.

In order that electric current will be carried to the sea horse, Parker inserts a short length of copper wire into the body. The other end of the copper wire is attached to a bus bar (seventeen sea horses at a time are attached to the bar). Parker then dips the sea horses into a liquid plastic solution which forms an air tight seal and thus keeps the body from decomposing.

After drying, the animals are given a bronze coating. This coating makes the entire body electro-conductive, so that an even covering of real metal will adhere to the whole body.

To apply the coating, Parker mixes finely ground bronze powder with a thinner in a pressure spray gun. The purpose of the thinner is to soften the plastic sealer just enough so that the bronze powder will adhere to the body of the sea horse. The nozzle of the spray gun is held six to eight inches from the sea horses, and the gun is moved constantly during the spraying to prevent too much powder from forming in one spot and perhaps obliterating the fine detail of the sea horse.

The thinner dries in about ten minutes and the sea horses are ready for their first electroplating kit bath. The plating bath solution contains a salt of the metal to be deposited. For example, if copper is to be deposited, the solution is usually copper sulfate.

PARKER HAS developed additional agents which he mixes in the plating solution, causing the deposited metal to be bright, rather than the normally dull appearance of plated metals. The importance of these additional agents can readily be understood when one considers the intricate design of such delicate creatures as sea horses. It would be almost impossible to buff the deposited metal to a high luster due to the undercuts and shape of the sea animals.

The bronzed sea horses are immersed in the copper solution, the current turned on, and almost immediately a real copper covering forms on the body. The horses are not removed from the electroplating kit bath until a substantial layer of copper has formed over their entire area.

When removed from the copper bath the sea horse has the properties of copper and Bob is able to solder the jewelry findings right on the sea horse.

Parker then gives the sea horses a dip in a nickel plating bath, forming a protective layer of nickel over the copper, thus keeping the underlayer of copper from oxidizing.

The final coating is either pure silver or twenty-four-karat gold. This final coat is flash plated. In other words, Bob dips the sea horses in either the gold or silver solution just long enough to give the completed article the appearance of an expensively made gold or silver jewelry piece.

A lacquer dip keeps the plated article from tarnishing. Mrs. Parker completes the production process by matching the sea horses for pairs of earrings, storing them, and filling orders.

The Parker Jewelry Co. is now making pins, earrings, necklaces, and charm bracelets, all from former living organisms. Each product is an exact duplicate of the original animal or leaf, and since no two things in nature are ever exactly alike, anyone who buys Parker jewelry can honestly say they have an original, and none else is like it.

Affable Bob Parker is always open to suggestions and willing to plate anything. I’m just wondering whether my speed graphic camera would have become copper or silver if I had mistakenly left it at his home after my most informative visit.

By George B. Hogaboom.
(Secretary of the National Electroplaters’ Association.)
Transactions of the American Electrochemical Society
1911

There has existed for such a long time a separation of the practical plater using electroplating kits and the electrochemist that it is a pleasure to present this paper, as suggested by your secretary, and it is hoped that the practical end of electroplating, as represented by the National Electroplaters’ Association, and the scientific end as represented by this Society, will be brought into a closer relation. As is well known, electroplating was the beginning of the science of electrochemistry, but it has lingered by the wayside and been neglected as a science, and today the unsolved problems are many.

Electroplating has been looked upon more as a trade than a science, and it is only during recent years that much study has been given to it by scientists, and that attention has been directed more to the electrolytic refining of metals than to the deposition of metal for decorative purposes. The solutions published by Roseleur in 1854 have been improved upon but little, and those who have published treatises upon the subject often give only a repetition of his formulas. Nickelplating, as invented by Dr. I. Adams, is probably the only exception.

The field is broad, but its development has been left to the practical man, guided only by “rule of the thumb.” An electrochemist in the plating room of a factory is so rare that it probably can be said without fear of contradiction that they can be counted on the fingers of one’s hands. The need today is mutual assistance in solving these problems and developing of new ideas. To a great extent they are “useless each without the other”— the plater producing results which he cannot duplicate—the electrochemist creating solutions that are not a commercial success.

So many phenomena have been encountered that to include the perplexing problems would necessitate a history of nearly every known solution and finish. The varying of the temperature and the electric current often prove a stumbling-block, and these conditions cannot always be controlled. There is a vast difference between producing a homogeneous deposit at a minimum cost from a solution where the amount of cathode surface is being changed every twenty minutes, and a solution in which the amount of cathode surface is always the same and the rapid deposit of the metal is more desired than a deposit that can be easily burnished. Such would be the difference, for instance, between the surface of a sheet of electrolytic copper and that of a cast lead and antimony electrolier with its deep reliefs and where a coarse crystalline structure would destroy its beauty. In the discussion of electroplating problems, it must be borne in mind that a mere deposit of a metal is not all, but that the deposit must be soft and smooth and lend itself to a decorative process; the anodes should be capable of being reduced easily; the electrolyte must offer little resistance to the electric current, and, last, but not least to the plater, who hears it so often that it becomes a part of him, the cost must be nominal.

The automobile industry has brought about, more than anything else, the need of a heavy deposit of brass. At present this is done in solution of cyanide of Cu and Zn. The deposit is not only slow, but unsatisfactory, because of what is known as “spotting out”—a discoloration in spots which appears on the work after it has been polished and lacquered. Deposits on cast metal give the most trouble. It is probably caused by the acids or alkaline solutions being absorbed in the pores of the metal, or in the small blow-holes, and the deposit covering these holes partially, leaving minute holes through which the solution oozes out. Several remedies have been suggested and tried, such as boiling out in some neutralizing chemical solution, placing in a drying oven for several days, but a satisfactory remedy has not been found.

An acid brass solution would be a great advantage. There is an acid copper and an acid zinc solution, but no acid brass electrolyte. The difference between the deposit from a cyanide and a sulphate of copper solution well illustrates the advantage of having an acid brass solution.

Tin.—The formula for a tin solution published by Roseleur is the most generally used today, as little, if any, improvement has been made upon it, although a good solution which would give a heavy deposit is much desired. In Roseleur’s solution the electrolyte is not replenished by the anode, but by the constant addition of a concentrated solution. This should be overcome, and would be appreciated by manufacturers of tinware.

Aluminum.—While several solutions have appeared from time to time for plating upon this metal, none of them are in general use, and a good electrolyte that would deposit gold, silver, brass or copper so that it would stand burnishing and not peel off in time could be used.

Nickel.—The successful removal of a deposit of nickel from another metal without affecting the latter has not been accomplished.

To give all the unsolved problems in detail would make a lengthy paper, and a simple statement of those most desired will be given:

An electrolyte that will remove the fire-scale from brass; also one that will produce a bright or a matte surface in place of using the present acid dips.

An electric cleaner that will saponify the grease and take it into solution instead of driving it to the top, where it has to be constantly removed to prevent it adhering again to the work as the latter is removed from the solution.

A heavy deposit of lead on the inside of iron pipes, to prevent rapid corrosion.

A method to coat electrogalvanized iron or steel with decorative metals without destroying the rust-resisting properties of the zinc.

An alkaline nickel-silver solution that can be worked with a low voltage.

A method of etching steel without destroying a resistance film of gelatin.

Some alkaline substance that would replace cyanide of potassium. This would be universally welcomed.

For the above suggestions, the writer is indebted to 100 different platers, who were kind enough to answer a request for unsolved problems. It may be interesting to note that 80 percent of them requested an acid brass solution.

Do you love your car, truck, or motorcycle?  Does seeing people turn their heads to look at your car, truck, or motorcycle put a smile on your face?  Would you like to attract more attention to your car, truck or motorcycle?  If you answered yes to any of the above, then you need to know how gold plating can really draw attention to your car or motorcycle.

What is gold plating?

Gold plating is a process that bonds real gold to other metals.  The most common types of metals used for gold plating include the following: copper, silver, and chrome.  The process involved in gold plating can be quite complex and should be left up to a professional. Many people have chosen to have parts of their car or motorcycle gold plated, to give it an even more striking appearance.

If you decide to have parts of your vehicle gold plated, there are several things you need to evaluate, before the process can be done.  Before anything on your vehicle can be gold plated, it should meet the following criteria:

• No damage
• No rust
• No dents
• No deep scratches
• Not broken

As long as all the parts on your car, truck, or motorcycle are in good shape, you can have them gold plated.  A lot of people have gold plated emblems and trim on their cars or trucks.

Some people have their rims and grilles gold plated.  On trucks you could gold plate your running boards or side pipes.  When it comes to motorcycles, you have many more options.  Because most motorcycles have more chrome and exposed metal engine parts, you can be extremely creative with your gold plating desires.

How long does gold plating last?

As long as you take your vehicle to a reputable professional, the gold plating job should last the lifetime of the vehicle.  Because of its properties gold does not oxidize (rust.)  Gold also doesn’t corrode.

In reality, any vehicle parts you have gold plated will probably last longer than if they hadn’t been gold plated.  The gold plating will only last if you adhere strictly to the care instructions that you are given by the professional once the job is done.  If you don’t heed the care instructions, then there is no guarantee on how long the plating will last.

In order to keep your gold plated vehicle pieces in optimal condition, you should follow these guidelines.

• Avoid abrasive cleaners of any kind.  The abrasive substances will scratch the gold.
• Avoid high speed buffers.
• Never use steel wool on your gold plated parts
• Never wax your car with wax which contains abrasives.  Also, avoid using hard paste wax.
• If you take your vehicle to a car wash, only use brushless car washes.  The brushes at car washes are very powerful.  They hit your vehicle with a great amount of force and speed and in turn can wear down the gold.
• Never use jewelry cleaner on the gold on your vehicle.

In addition to these tips, you should always adhere to the care instructions given to you after the gold plating is done. If you get some looks now as you drive or ride by, imagine how many more looks you’ll get as people catch a glimpse of fancy gold on your vehicle.  Gold plating vehicle parts can be a fun way to express yourself and turn more heads as you drive or ride by.

Are you a jewelry maker?  Do you work only with silver or other metals because gold is a prohibitive cost to you?  Have you had customers ask if you have any gold jewelry, but couldn’t provide it to them?  Would you like to be able to charge more money and raise the perceived value of your jewelry?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you need to read on.

Gold is the best type of selling jewelry there is out there.  In fact, the majority of gold that is mined and processed today is used for jewelry.  Even if you have loyal customers who don’t care that your pieces aren’t made from gold, you’re severely limiting yourself and putting a handicap on your earnings potential.

Don’t you think your loyal customers would snatch up a piece or two of your gold jewelry?  By not providing gold jewelry you’re missing out on a whole target market and potentially a ton of new and loyal customers.

If the cost of gold is prohibitive, but you want to reap the benefits of offering gold jewelry, then using a gold plating service may be right for you.  By outsourcing your gold plating, you’re getting the best of both worlds.

You can offer your customers gold jewelry, charge more for it, raise the perceived value of your jewelry, yet, you won’t have the major expenses that go along with working with solid gold.

sending your jewelry pieces to be gold plated by an gold plating service, you won’t have to invest in any expensive equipment.  Depending on how the gold plating is done, there are dangerous, hazardous chemicals used in the process.

By handing over the gold plating to someone else , you can stick to what you’re good at, making jewelry, and let the professional do what they’re good at, adding gold to your jewelry. If you have a popular piece or two, just to test the waters you may want to have one or two pieces of your best selling work gold plated and try to sell them.

Because it’s gold plated, you’ll be able to charge more money for it.  If you find this to be a success, then you can start having more pieces gold plated.  If you start having pieces gold plated regularly, you should be able to ask for a bulk discount from the person or company you are using to gold plate your jewelry.

If you would like to attract more customers or be able to sell the same pieces of jewelry you currently sell, for a higher price; but don’t want to the hassles or expense of working with solid gold, then you should definitely look into having a professional gold plate your jewelry.