I’m brand spankin’ new to elecroplating. I make leather bags and breifcases that require solid brass and nickeled brass hardware. I’m in a situation where I need small, precision, force-fit nickeled solid brass rivets that are impossible to find. I have these rivets in solid brass and have now decided to attempt to electroplate them to get the nickel finish I want. I need to plate just the heads of these rivets and underneath the heads. Some plating on the female
post will be ok, but too much plating on the male post may result in an improper force fit.

The head diameter of these small rivets is 3.89mm and the post length is 5mm, though the posts don’t need to be plated.

I’ve just received my Nickel/Copper PnP kit, which I figured is more than enough for this initial task: I have to do about 16 rivet heads. However, I can see myself in the near future needing to nickel plate slightly larger items: 3/4" to 1" solid brass dees, 2" long trigger snaps, etc.

To eliminate as many mistakes as possible, I’ve been reading up on forum posts and will continue to do so. However, I still have some lingering questions so thought I’d list them here. Thanks for the help.

1. I realize that cleaning, degreasing, and activating prior to plating are very important. Before I shell out for Caswell’s SP Cleaner/Degreaser and Pickle #4 and shipping, might there be more readily available alternatives? I have on hand Acetone, Deglazer, Pure Gum Spirits Turpentine, and Denatured Solvent Alcohol.

2. I would like to try the PnP kit as a bath set up for dunking just the heads of these small rivets. I realize that bad results can come from the object being placed too close to the anode. What would be the smallest recommended bath container for dipping the heads of these rivets? Becasue I have them on hand, I would like to use baby food size 4 oz plastic and or glass jars with an opening of about 50 mm in diameter.

3. Because I can see myself wanting to plate more and larger objects in the future, I’d like to buy additional Nickel solution with brighteners. What would be the most economical way to do this? What is the shelf life of dry supplies? What is the shelf life of mixed solution?

4. I rarely throw out an electronic wall adapter when the electronic device it was for is no longer around for one reason or another. Now I can see my thriftiness paying off. I have on hand adapters of the following output specs( for baths of as little as 4oz for one or two 4mm dia. rivet heads and no more than 32 oz for electroplating a maximum of four solid brass trigger snaps at once): 6v/800ma, 5v/2.5A, 9v/210ma, 12.5v/800ma, variable
3,4.5,6v/800ma. Am I on the right track in considering that these might be useful power sources, or is there a specification of which I am unaware? I also have one of those plug in chargeable car battery jump starters that I almost gave away.

5. I started this list a few days ago. Now that I’ve experimented with the PnP nickel a bit, I think I need to get supplies for the PnP copy chrome for a brighter nickel plate. I need to get another ss wand and CC solution. The most economical method seems to be to buy the dry crystals and mix with distilled water. What would the results be like if I bought the CC crystals only and not the brightener crystals, due to the latter’s high price? The same question for copper.

6. What is the ideal temperature range for nickel, CC, and copper? I have an electic hot plate for the purpose of heating the electrolyte.

Thanks for the help.

Ed