To plate an item you will need a power supply that can generate about 5 amps.
(more if you want to plate something large). You need about 150 milliamps per
square inch
of item to be plated. An adjustable power supply is best suited for this.
First sand, wire brush, (and perhaps polish) your item and get it to a bright
finish.
You may wish to clean it with TSP or other degreaser. Small items can be
tumbled in a
tumbler overnight to clean.
Twist tie a 5 inch length of copper wire to the item to be plated. The wire
gauge should be
sufficient to handle 10 amps. If unsure, refer to a wire guage current
capacity table like
this one: http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm
You can also wire multiple items together and plate them at once (bolts and
hose clamps)
Before plating, submerge the item into a solution of 1/3 Muratic acid and 2/3
distilled water.
When you prepare this solution, slowly add the acid to the water and not vise
versa.
This is called "the pickle" and it removes any additional rust crud or previous
zinc plating.
You only need to let the item sit in the pickle for about a minute or two.
Water must not bead on the object, but instead must "sheet off". Beading
indicates
oil, wax or oxide barrier is still present on the item.
If your plating small items then you only need a small container to hold them.
In Walmart's kitchen section, there are some drawer organizers that are perfect
for this.
Cont'd...
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