Congratulations on your successful attempt at nickel plating! I will make a note of it for myself. Greetings.
@presscall the imperfections of the plating probably do a better match with the patina of the stove… so probably you couldn’t do better than this. Congratulations. Nicola
Thanks fellas. Small parts, small quantities, manageable. Larger items could prove more of a challenge, though if it were something like a chrome stove tank with plating loss in patches it shouldn’t be too difficult.
Good evening John, congratulations on your brilliant work, the stove looks perfect now as if the pump knob and cap was fitted by the manufacturer
‘evening Brian. I’m pleased with the result certainly and can vouch for the fact that there’s no great expense or complexity in the process. It has left me however looking for stove/lantern components to nickel plate and when I see a possible subject contemplating how I’m going to arange the component in the electrolyte bath in relation to the nickel anode! I know what my next subject will be actually, the reflector of THIS carbide lamp, ideally just the reflecting surface. The light it projects at present is understandably yellow and I fancy a whiter light more in keeping with the acetylene source.
Hi John. A familiar lamp. Interesting design. I can't quite figure out how you are going to nickel only the inner side ( I think I understood correctly?). Is there any way to protect the unwanted nickel plating? In any case, I will be watching with curiosity. Greetings
Very good idea John for your next project, would the reflector originally have been plated, even if not i agree with you wanting a white light in keeping with acetylene lamp
@Knee Yes Stan, you educated me on the origins of that type of lamp - a recognition gift on retirement of a Polish miner I think you said. The inside, reflecting surface, that’s right. I visualise laying the reflector reflecting face upwards in a bowl of similar diameter, and submerging it in the electrolyte. A wire to the negative terminal of the power pack will be connected to the mounting clasp on the back of the reflector. The nickel anode will be suspended above the centre of it. I think that set-up should starve the back surface of nickel deposition, but I’ll probably take the precaution of masking the back surface beforehand with paint or lacquer I can remove afterwards. In fact, I’m pretty sure the reflector and rest of the lantern have been coated in a clear lacquer and I have the reflecting surface of the reflector coated with paint stripper as I type. @mr optimus No, Brian, the lamp was mint when I got it, so the reflector’s never been plated. I’m not too fussed about keeping it original in this detail, since the lamp’s one I use.
I cant wait to see the finished result on this John, i know your going to do a brilliant job of it, i am sure it's going to look fantastic
No pressure Brian! It’s an ideal project to try plating a larger surface area but picking a component that’s of shallow draught, so requiring less electrolyte. I may have to make a bit more electrolyte than I presently have but at least I won’t have to sacrifice much nickel, as I would have to to make a litre or more of electrolyte to submerge something like a stove tank.
I made a bit more electrolyte by adding more vinegar (and a bit of salt) and repeating the process with the two nickel electrodes at 12 volts. A shallow bowl, electrolyte as far up to the rim as I could, negative lead connected to the back of the reflector. I miscalculated, because I wanted to totally submerge the reflector. I decided though that it was no bad thing to have just a rim unplated, since most of the light would be reflected from the nickel plated area. So I went with it. 30 minutes at 6 volts, agitating the electrolyte as best as I could and rotating the anode through 90 degrees to even out the coverage. Washed and dried, ready for polishing. As I expected, the back of the reflector was unaffected, due to its clear lacquer coating. Polished. You’ll see that the demarcation line between plated and not plated is irregular. It taught me that placement of the anode is critical and where there is ‘line of sight’ and where it’s nearest to the object’s surface the plated layer is thicker. Nearer the rim of the item the layer must have been quite thin and the buffing and polishing removed it. No matter, the reflector should still be capable of putting out white light. Carbide chamber charged, water reservoir part-filled, ready for testing. Definitely white light. Result! Snow on the lawn proved a good test. Before the nickel plating it would have had a yellow tint. John
