Electroless Nickel Plating

You may want to e-mail metalbrite before you order any of the new product. It does not work like to original. Here is what they sent to me.

I am not sure if I answered this or not, I will do it again just in case. Medallion Is no longer in business so we switched to the Miracle Silver which we were told did the same. We did not find it to be as good either so we switched to Silver Brite. Nither product is as good as the medallion. Please send me a letter asking for a refund with as much infor such as your name, shipping address, and date of the order so I can find you in the computer and issue a refund. You do not have to send the item back, I just need more information to get the refund started.
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The new product works great on existing silver plate but does not do much for brass. I gives brass a very light silver hue that does not last.
 
That may be, but for $20, I'm happy with what I got. If I have to touch it up every time I clean...that's OK.
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You would have really like to old product then. It was a far, far superior product. Unfortunately my wife used up my old bottle:(
 
I reckon so.

I've considered nickelplating...my employer does plating and PVD (physical vapor deposition) finishes, I could probably get some 'skunkworks' jobs done. But that'd be rather more difficult to undo, if I decided I didn't like it.

This is, if nothing else, a quick and inexpensive way to decide if I like the look.
 
Electroless nickel plating is simple to do. Prepping the metal to be plated is not. Polishing and cleaning are very important to a decent plating job. Electrolytic plating is more trouble, but again, it's all in the prep.
Covering a brass frame with solder will look terrible in very short order!
 
Covering a brass frame with solder will look terrible in very short order!
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Solder does get a gray/black tarnish on it. Some of the originals had Tin coating. that would be different to try. I have not seen any DIY for tin.

Caswell has a forum for users that has a lot of good info from people actually using the product.

Bill, what would you recommend for a final cleaning solution? TSP? I have the frame sanded to 2k grit. I have not polished it because I'm concerned about embedding compound in the metal and not getting it completely clean.
 
3rd Dragoon:

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I think it looks very "classy" in the style of the original Colts, and even when it does start wearing off from not touching it up, it will still have a worn classic look to it like the original Colts.
Plain brass can turn such nasty colors sometimes that I can't help but to think that the silver coating makes for a very handsome improvement to the brass.
Sort of like when a person dresses up for a special occassion, and even if it's just for the sake of revolver display! :)
 
I finally got a tracking # from Caswell, so I should have my kit the middle of next week, barring floods or nuclear war.
I well take some photos and post up what I think of this 'kit'.
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Have you used this yet? I'm thinking of ordering soon and would appreciate any feedback.
 
Have you used this yet? I'm thinking of ordering soon and would appreciate any feedback.
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I've had it a few weeks now. It took a few reads of the manual before everything was clear. Mixing the solution and 're-charging' the solution, keeping a stable temp of 195*. You need to calculate the number of square inches so you mix the proper amount and for proper recharge time intervals.

My in-home, part time biz is double time and a half right now, well stay busy for the next five or six weeks I'm afraid. I may get a slow day after the middle of June.

Cadwell had the kits on sale, you should check, if they still are I would get one. I have been reading their on-line forum and there is a lot of positive feedback on this process.
 
Figure I will take this opportunity

to ask if anyone thinks they have a way to measure or at least estimate the sq. in./area of parts?-pistol frame for instance- to use with the Casewell unit?

I doubt I would do but 4 guns ever and sure they might have to be touched up over time -
But in that thought if one could get a frame silver plated would that last longer than this process or would it amount to the same darn thing?

It seems it would matter most how thick you managed to get it regardless of whether it be silver plated or nickel-I think nickel is harder though.

Mark
 
to ask if anyone thinks they have a way to measure or at least estimate the sq. in./area of parts?-pistol frame for instance- to use with the Casewell unit?
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One way to estimate the number of square inches of 3 dimensional parts is to make a piece of paper that has a grid of 1 inch squares drawn on it, or use target paper with 1 inch squares already printed on it.
Then see how many of the 1 inch squares can fold around the surface of the part or parts. You may need to cut the grid paper into rectangular shapes roughly matching the outline of the grid to the approximate outline of the frame or parts, or lay them out on top of the grid paper and start to fold up some of the connected squares of paper around the largest parts to begin to compile the aggregrate of square inches. It will be safer to err on the side of a few extra square inches than to err on too few. :)
 
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to ask if anyone thinks they have a way to measure or at least estimate the sq. in./area of parts?-pistol frame for instance- to use with the Casewell unit?
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Cadwell gives you a math formula to figure it. I eyeball the outside of the frame then double it for the inside .

I doubt I would do but 4 guns ever and sure they might have to be touched up over time -
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You can not use this for touch up. You could strip and re-plate.

But in that thought if one could get a frame silver plated would that last longer than this process or would it amount to the same darn thing?
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As Bill said silver is softer and well tarnish, looks great. I have a electroless nickle 1860 3rd gen, that's what got me started on this Cadwell kit.

It seems it would matter most how thick you managed to get it regardless of whether it be silver plated or nickel-I think nickel is harder though.
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Assuming you have the solution mixed correct the nickle builds up at the rate of .001 per hour. You must leave it in the solution until you are have the thickness you want. If you pull it, then decide to add more it well cause it to flake.



Electroless nickel (any nickel plating) is much harder than silver.
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Bill, you do a lot of plating, have you used a Cadwell product?
 
Would it be possible to use the Caswell kit to plate a cylinder? Or would the plating make it impossible to install the nipples?
 
Would it be possible to use the Caswell kit to plate a cylinder? Or would the plating make it impossible to install the nipples?
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Sure, the plate builds at the rate of .001 per hour. .001 is a adequate thickness for most applications. That would reduce your nipple thread diameter by .002, that would not be a problem. If your only going to do one item you should PM Bill, he is set up for doing that type of custom work. The kit is kind of spendy for just one small job.
 
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