Hello All
I have never plated anything in my life. But I have a few pistols and revolvers that I would like to hard chrome. This includes the bore are well as the other parts. I could use a couple of car batteries, with a charger, for the power supply. The first question is: I have a number of switching powers supplies that came from computers. These are high output power supplies and should have no problem outputing 5 to 10 amps. Of course they need a load on the 12 and 5 volt rails so they don’t self destruct but a floppy drive will handle that part. The switching power supplies and two good size car batteries should be enough for pistols. What do you guys think?

Also I would like to hard chrome the bore of these pistols. I have seen a lot of guys on the web that must think they are experts but I doubt it, that’s why I’m asking here. The situation is how do I control the amount of chrome deposited on the bore? A deposit of say .005" is no problem and will have little to no effect on the pressure of the round. Having shot 357 bullets, sized .358, out of my 38 super, normally shoots bullets sized .355, and had no pressure signs at all. ( My pistol is custom 38 super race gun and will not run unless the pressure is high, well above SAAMI specs. Don’t worry to much it’s made for that) But with all that said I don’t want to put down so much chrome that I turn it from a 38 into a 32. How do I control that? I’m sure time is a factor but how do I determine how much chrome is being laid down for a certain amount of time in the bath?

And to make it even more interesting what about rifle barrels? They are a lot longer then pistol barrels. Do I need some sort on anode that runs the length of the bore? Or should I setup some sort of device that flows solution down the bore or both? Also what about bores that have pits? Is it possible that I could lay down some chrome. Then polish the bore with something like 600 grit polish and a lead jag. This would remove the chrome that is on the surface but leave the chrome that is in the pits. Then chrome it all again until I have a smooth surface. I know that this is done on machine tools, like cams and chranks, but I have never heard of it being done on a rifle bore. Any thoughts about this?

And don’t worry about any BATF involvement. I have no interest at all of working on other peoples guns. ( WHAT A PITA ). But I have enough guns of my own that will keep me busy for a very long time.

Oh one last thing. I have an aluminum frame 1911 that I bought from a pawn shop cheap. The person or persons that owned it before me didn’t seem to have a good grasp on the term lubrication. So the steel slide has worn the aluminum frame to the point that the slide is a very sloppy fit. Now I could try and squeeze the slide down to fit the frame but I have never seen this done with any kind of good results, and I’ve seen guys try a lot. Also I have never heard of aluminum being plated. Anodized yes but not plated. So does aluminum take chrome plate? Or any other type of plate for that matter, the harder the better?

Also if I have a section of what I want to plate that I don’t want plate on, like a threaded section, how do I prevent the plate from attaching to that point? Does one use a wax coating? Or should I make a threaded part, something like a nut over a bolt, to go on the part that I want clean and use something like rtv?

Any advice you have will be appreciated.

I think it’s very cool to do your own work no matter what it is. I have paid people before for custom work and wasn’t very pleased with what I got. So I am of the opinion that if I have to pay to get a crappy job I would rather do it myself and get a crappy job. And if I am real lucky it won’t be a crappy job because I will have spent the time it takes in prep to get a good job.

TIA