First attempt at gold plating

[zinduna]

Wow, that looks really good! Congrats.

 

[swany100]

I have a vintage gen I want replated and I was considering sending into goldplating.com - trying to estimate the surface area is a huge pain though.

Wow, that looks really good! Congrats.

Here’s some more in daylight as requested not that we have great day light here in blighty

 

[zinduna]

Top gen bottom your plating?

 

[swany100]

Top gen bottom your plating?

Yes gen top

 

[davelister]

I'd say it's the surface finish of the part before plating that is making it very slightly darker. On the wrist? You'll never know. Excellent results!

 

[swany100]

I'd say it's the surface finish of the part before plating that is making it very slightly darker. On the wrist? You'll never know. Excellent results!

Yes surface finish could be better I didn’t think this would matter just for colour matching purposes but I think you could be right

 

[davelister]

Yes surface finish could be better I didn’t think this would matter just for colour matching purposes but I think you could be right

The reason being is that the scratches reflect the light back at you, so they're what you see first. Black polishing works by being so perfectly flat that every photon is reflected at 90o AWAY from your eye. A scratch will reflect it back towards you and make it look darker.

With a bit more surface prep that's going to be NWBIG. Heck, I'd be happy sending you my gen to plate with that result.

 

[swany100]

The reason being is that the scratches reflect the light back at you, so they're what you see first. Black polishing works by being so perfectly flat that every photon is reflected at 90o AWAY from your eye. A scratch will reflect it back towards you and make it look darker.

With a bit more surface prep that's going to be NWBIG. Heck, I'd be happy sending you my gen to plate with that result.

Thats really interesting and just like they say its all in the preperation so now i think I've got colour down i think i need some practice at the polishing wheel

 

[McDuck888]

Loving these posts!

 

[zinduna]

@davelister is correct about the polishing -- surface prep is essential. I found the white and green compounds gave the best finish on stainless steel when using a polishing wheel. Experiment on some scrap bits first while you work out this part. When you've got a nice mirror finish, clean thoroughly in an ultrasonic and then again in the electro bath before plating. Finally apply some polish like Island Glow to give it luster and prevent water stains and fingerprints.

 

[davelister]

@davelister is correct about the polishing -- surface prep is essential. I found the white and green compounds gave the best finish on stainless steel when using a polishing wheel. Experiment on some scrap bits first while you work out this part. When you've got a nice mirror finish, clean thoroughly in an ultrasonic and then again in the electro bath before plating. Finally apply some polish like Island Glow to give it luster and prevent water stains and fingerprints.

Green Dialux is for Stainless I believe. Saw a video on polishing on Chronoglide.