Chrome is an alloy made from copper and nickel. It makes a shiny coating, and is a popular plating material for auto parts. When you send out aluminum parts to be chrome plated it is very expensive because chrome plating involves caustic and highly toxic chemicals, making the costs worth the investment. Therefore, while it is usually a better option to send out a single piece to be chrome plated, if you are interested in starting your own chrome plating business or if you are working on a large project, you can set up your own chrome plating stations at home.
Instructions
1. Clean and polish the aluminum part. This will prepare its surface for the following steps.
2. Use a vapor de-greaser to remove grease and other impurities from the aluminum part.
3. Dip the aluminum in a caustic cleaner, like sodium hydroxide to slightly corrode the surface of the aluminum. This will prepare the surface for plating by creating a porous and slightly rough surface structure. Finish this process by submerging the aluminum in a dioxide solution, which is an acid bath.
4. Continue to roughen up the surface of your aluminum by using an etching solution. Rinse in water.
5. Expose your aluminum to a bath of charged sulfuric acid. This process is sometimes referred to as electrolysis. You can charge your acid bath by placing charging plates attached to a 12V charger into the sulfuric acid bath. While charged, raise the temperature of the solution to about 115 degrees F and continue to run an AC current through the solution for about 10 minutes. When the process is over, rinse the part in water.
6. Plate your aluminum part by dipping your part first in a copper strike bath made up of liquid copper, then in a nickel strike solution which contains liquid nickel. Rinse the part in water. Then use an actuator, or mechanical device, to move your part to the hex chromate solution to complete the process. Remove the part from the final solution and you will have a chrome plated part. The entire process takes several hours.
Related posts
Many epoxy glues work well when securing loosened chrome trim.Chrome, a chromium alloy, is used to make the bright polished surfaces and trims of products such as automobiles, jukeboxes and model...
Clean your vinyl records for optimal sound.Cleaning old 45 RPM records is necessary to maintain the quality of the record and the sound. When kept free of dirt, dust and oils from your fingers the...
About Ice Cream ParlorsChocolate malt? Check. Waffle cone? Check. More chocolate sauce than any one person can cope with? Check! It's an ice cream parlor, an integral part of American nostalgia an...
Computers don't have model years like cars do.Finding out the exact age of your computer is complicated by the fact that computers aren't so much built in a single step as they are assembled part...
Retro kitchenBlack appliances can sometimes be hard to work with in kitchens. Because of their dark appearance, some interior design ideas may not be ideal. If you've inherited some black applianc...
