Home hard chroming?
- Thread starter Icefire
- Start date
I nickel plated a Springfeild Defender model 1911A1 with results I am very pleased with. The key to successful plating of any kind are:
-Surface prep. Plating will not fill in pits and scratches. Make sure you spend the time to get the surface treatment done right, 100% the way you want it before you start any actual plating.
-Degrease, degrease, degrease some more. And I don't mean brake cleaner. I boiled my pistol in soapy (detergent) water for an hour, rinsed in distilled water, then soaked it in a warm lye solution, rinsed again, then "pickled" it in a mild CLR solution to kill any rust, one final quick rinse then into the plating bath.
-Follow the directions to the letter - DO NOT use tap/well water. DO use a thermometer, and check temperatures frequently
-Dispose of used chemicals as instructed (Don't flush a half pound of Chromimum Nitrate down the toilet)
Here are my before and after pics...
-Surface prep. Plating will not fill in pits and scratches. Make sure you spend the time to get the surface treatment done right, 100% the way you want it before you start any actual plating.
-Degrease, degrease, degrease some more. And I don't mean brake cleaner. I boiled my pistol in soapy (detergent) water for an hour, rinsed in distilled water, then soaked it in a warm lye solution, rinsed again, then "pickled" it in a mild CLR solution to kill any rust, one final quick rinse then into the plating bath.
-Follow the directions to the letter - DO NOT use tap/well water. DO use a thermometer, and check temperatures frequently
-Dispose of used chemicals as instructed (Don't flush a half pound of Chromimum Nitrate down the toilet)
Here are my before and after pics...
