The Aussie Pinball Arcade
Aussie Pinball Forums => Restorations => Topic started by: beaky on September 19, 2010, 11:56:28 PM
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I have started Nickle plating all the corroded parts on my next gen.
I am doing this my self at home
I have put a brand new factory zinc plated part with the 1st part i have nickle plated.
you judge which looks better
there is a bit of dust on the parts
also the before photo
the resto of the pin these parts came from is here http://aussiepinball.com/index.php?topic=4853.0 (http://aussiepinball.com/index.php?topic=4853.0)
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Looks great,
How are you nickle plating at home?
What do we need so we can do this ourselves too?
Thanks,
Red
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Wow! Looks brilliant Beaky.
Hard to believe its the same part. Looks better than brand new!
Very professional result.
You are a legend! ^^^
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Looks great,
How are you nickle plating at home?
What do we need so we can do this ourselves too?
Thanks,
Red
I use diluted Hydrochloric acid to remove the old plaiting for a start.
Then I used a bench ginder with a wire brush on it to remove as many scratches as i could.
here is the link where i buy my stuff from http://www.janekits.com.au/mainframe.php (http://www.janekits.com.au/mainframe.php)
there is quite a bit to it of course.
I will be doing more today.
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Wow! Looks brilliant Beaky.
Hard to believe its the same part. Looks better than brand new!
Very professional result.
You are a legend! ^^^
thanks Steevsee
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Maybe merge the two ST TNG threads into one thread and you could author a guide as to the Nickel process as a "tips" thread ?
This is really interesting and deserves its own thread.
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Maybe merge the two ST TNG threads into one thread and you could author a guide as to the Nickel process as a "tips" thread ?
This is really interesting and deserves its own thread.
You are the second person that has mentioned this so i think i will.
I have changed the title were i can, please change the rest of the headings if you can / want & move this thread to the correct place.
And to the first person who mentioned it ^.^ you know who you are, you were right THIS TIME. !@)
LOL
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B.T.W.
I will be happy to Plate other members parts for a reasonable fee of course.
I haven't worked out prices yet.
I decided against taking the parts to commercial place as there was a chance they could have lost some parts.
At the momement i am not set up for long pieces like legs and lockdown bar mechs but eventually I will be.
I intend doing the lockdown bar mech for this pin so it shouldn't be to long.
The part i have done in the above picture took a lot of prep work due to the shape of it.
paint was out of the question for 2 reasons.
1: it will wear off were the ball runs across it in no time and 2: Nickle plating will get into places were paint can't.
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Thats awesome Beaky, @@*
Is nickel plating the same as chrome?
if you were to start plating as a service, I would be keen to get some parts done down the track.
Cheers
Dave
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Maybe merge the two ST TNG threads into one thread and you could author a guide as to the Nickel process as a "tips" thread ?
This is really interesting and deserves its own thread.
You are the second person that has mentioned this so i think i will.
I have changed the title were i can, please change the rest of the headings if you can / want & move this thread to the correct place.
And to the first person who mentioned it ^.^ you know who you are, you were right THIS TIME. !@)
LOL
Ha Ha. I told ya to keep it on the STNG thread, and to do a seperate nickle plating thread ! Ya must hate it when the Caveman is right again ! lol lol *%* %.% %.% %.%
P.S - the plating looks good. I will be loading up my boot with parts to plate ! lol
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Nothing worse than taking ten item to get plated but only receiving eight when you pick them up.
Looks very nice and i will be ordering a kit, as this will solve my problems of lost parts.
Well done Beaky ^^^
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Thats awesome Beaky, @@*
Is nickel plating the same as chrome?
if you were to start plating as a service, I would be keen to get some parts done down the track.
Cheers
Dave
nickle is the closest to chrome you will get (other than chrome itself)
I have done some more parts and have come up just as good.
but just like any plating if there are any dints or scratches or pits in the metal it will show.
and yes i do intend starting a plating service.
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Those nickle plated parts look awesome, i cant believe how good they look, the kit would be a very good investment for a pinball restorer.
Ian
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Those nickle plated parts look awesome, i cant believe how good they look, the kit would be a very good investment for a pinball restorer.
Ian
it is worth it.
but some people don't like the messing around with chemicals or some people just need one or two pieces done so the rest of us who buy them can help the others out.
also the problem with my pin is every piece had corrosion so even though i polished / tumbled the parts it's only a matter of time before the corrode again.
plus when it comes to a lot of the metal posts on top of the playfield they arn't cheap to replace ( when you need to replace 10 or 15 at more than $5 a piece it adds up)
I even stripped all the zinc plating off the parts that came in the flipper kit i bought and nickle coated them. it looked funny with 2 different coloured parts
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Got any more pictures.
ian
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The $100 for the plating kit seems like a bargain. At that price, it makes no sense taking the parts anywhere to get them professionally done when u can do it yourself over a 40 minute period at home with that kit.
If ya only have one machine, it seems like the way to go. Or if have a dozen machines, its a even better kit to buy. ^^^
Not everyone will want to play with the chemical, but for a few bits n pieces here n there, get Beaky to do them if ya dont want to buy the kit.
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Looks great - Was thinking of getting some Re-chrome ing done, but looking at this has changed my mind - might have a go myself.
PS, A guy came into work last week looking for some MOLASSIS, I asked him what he wanted it for,apparently he restores old cars, adds the molassis with a pint of water and soaks his rusty parts in it to remove the rust -reckons it works. Anybody heard of this ?
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Yeah millay molasses is great for rust removal I berthed guy read the last street fodder magazine there was an article in that I'll see if I can find it an get you a copy
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The nickel kit is $255 - includes everything you need to setup ;
http://www.janekits.com.au/prices.php
Is that the setup you have, Beaky ?
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I'm very tempted to get a set how good would everything look nickel plated.
Reminds me of the movie 2000 miles to graceland.
The man with the nickel plating makes the rules lol
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I'm very tempted to get a set how good would everything look nickel plated.
Reminds me of the movie 2000 miles to graceland.
The man with the nickel plating makes the rules lol
I'm considering it. If it does cost $255, I don't think it is that much - you can do your own zinc / nickel plating and learn another skill.. $#$
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The nickel kit is $255 - includes everything you need to setup ;
http://www.janekits.com.au/prices.php
Is that the setup you have, Beaky ?
Is the ELECTROLESS NICKEL just as good ? $100
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I'm very tempted to get a set how good would everything look nickel plated.
Reminds me of the movie 2000 miles to graceland.
The man with the nickel plating makes the rules lol
I'm considering it. If it does cost $255, I don't think it is that much - you can do your own zinc / nickel plating and learn another skill.. $#$
The Cobalt one sounds like the go? (Said somewhere it's the closest finish to "true" chroming?)
- Dual Kit Nickel/Cobalt/Zinc (4 Lt) $ 330.00 (Still not that much IMO)
Hmmm - shiny ball guides again.... Sexy! *%* *%* *%*
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Is nickel plating the same as chrome?
I'll throw in what I think I know.
First, this may or may not be totally true, but I'm sure at least some of it is correct. I looked into having things chromed a few years back for some parts I machined that needed chrome plating.
Also, used to repair/restore wind instruments and had several things plated with various platings back in the day.
Regarding chrome, what I understand is:
The chemicals required are apparently very toxic or regulated or whatever, so many local shops that used to do it couldn't keep up with the government requirements (here in the USA anyway) and there are many fewer shops doing it now than there used to be a few decades ago. If that is true, home-done chrome may take more to do than the average guy may want to get into. However, there is usually a local auto bumper shop which will take in small chroming jobs for a pretty reasonable cost. You'd just want to do your own prep (polish to a mirror finish) so you don't have to pay them to do it. That's the time-consuming part anyway.
Chrome plating is two steps. It gets nickel plated first, then chrome over that. Maybe pinball parts can be nickel plated at home, then just pay the outside shop to apply chrome only. Two advantages here might be that you can see exactly how well you did your polishing and re-do missed pits and such, plate again and have it chromed only once you're completely satisfied. The other is that you may save some money since the shop wouldn't need to nickel plate first.
Another factoid is that the shape of the part can affect how well it will chrome plate. Nickel doesn't seem to have this problem, but apparently due to current flow in the process, inside corners cause some kind of electro-magnetic interference and it won't take the plating. Thus the inside corners will show the nickel plating underneath and blend out to the chrome about an inch or so away from the corner. The nickel looks yellow-ish right next to the chrome so it's fairly obvious at the blend if you're looking. Luckily for pinball parts, the inside corners tend to be the hidden part and will still look fine. However, this does likely preclude the worthiness of chrome plating parts such as what was pictured earlier - many areas of a part with all those right angles would be only partially chromed (of course the nickel would be fully plated underneath though). There may or may not be techniques and ways around this, but the average bumper shop will probably not want to deal with it. Besides, nickel looks pretty darn good too, so personally I'd just stick with that for parts that don't get seen and/or handled. Legs, lock bars, side rails and various external hardware (bolts, etc.) are good candidates for chroming.
The main thing to know has already been mentioned. Your part will look pretty much exactly the same coming out as it does going in other than the surface color. So it needs to be as mirror-smooth as you want it and can make it before plating. Buffing is a little dirty, but it's kind of fun & easy and a very handy skill to have. For steel, you'll want just the more aggressive buffing compounds (emory & tripoly for example). The finer compounds (rouges) like you'd use on brass or aluminum won't touch steel so they are just a waste of time. And of course the buffing is a waste of time unless you smooth out any pits, deep scratches, etc. first with a belt sander or whatever, using progressively finer grades as you go. Just like finishing wood, except (here's a tip) alternate directons between grades so you can more easily see that you've smoothed out the lines created by the previous (courser) grade. After proper sanding, you'll be amazed by how easy it is to buff steel so it shines like a saxophone.
Pretty neat Beaky. That looks great and takes things perfectly just a little-too-far. Good on you for pushing the envelope.
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The nickel kit is $255 - includes everything you need to setup ;
http://www.janekits.com.au/prices.php
Is that the setup you have, Beaky ?
Nino and milsy
I bought the electroless Nickel Plating
I have been busy plating all day.
I stopped and had a break, and then i decided to polish a couple of Items on the buffer. BIG MISTAKE (well not really) the parts came up so shiny I am now going to have to buff all of the parts.
Its a pitty that pinball parts are so pitted, I could linish them first but i would have to remove so much metal that the parts would become to thin
here is another before pic followed by a few after pics.
the first photo shows the parts with the zinc plating and rust removed (raw metal)
the others show them after plating and buffing.
any one need a new mirror? &&
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Is nickel plating the same as chrome?
Pretty neat Beaky. That looks great and takes things perfectly just a little-too-far. Good on you for pushing the envelope.
Thanks Vinito
but as far as the too far goes, I was stuck with a pin that had every part corroded, so i had 2 choices, paint all the parts and within a few months of playing have the paint wear off were the ball runs across the parts of plate it.
at first i was going to take all my parts to a factory, pay a huge amount of cash and have them done with the chance that a may not get all the parts back due to some getting lost.
or do the job myself.
at first i was going to zinc plate them then i came across the cheaper process of electoless nickle plating.
But yes it is a little too far.
If all the parts didn't need doing then i would have done what i usually do, just clean them and then tumble them.
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Of all the plating you have done so far Beaky, how do you think these parts would come up. The rechromed early coin doors available now seem too shiny compared to the early chroming (60's) origional doors, Would the nickel plating give it the original look. Most of these parts are off a 66 Bally Bazaar.
Millsy
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Beaky - parts look AWESOME!! Thanks for posting the info on such a setup - i generally send all parts out for plating, but spend the week/weeks stressing assys are going to go missing etc.
Small price to pay for peace of mind, and an AMAZING end result!
Well done man,
Timbo
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Milsy
It should come up ok except for were the rust / corrosion is.
any pitting or dints will show up in the final finish.
as vinito said "Your part will look pretty much exactly the same coming out as it does going in other than the surface color."
Vinitos post explains it all
Also, thanks el_timbo
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An even cheaper option. Beaky - the results speak for themselves.
Did you purchase the "JANECLEAN" product as well ? It cleans and removes the old plating - or did you just remove the old plating with a wire brush etc ?
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An even cheaper option. Beaky - the results speak for themselves.
Did you purchase the "JANECLEAN" product as well ? It cleans and removes the old plating - or did you just remove the old plating with a wire brush etc ?
I found soaking in ranex removed 99% of the old plating. I had a couple of litres of new hydrochloric acid which i made a pickle solution with the acid & rain water. (the directions for this come with the nickle plating solution) and used dishwashing liquid in rain water to remove any oils off the metal.
you do not have to use the janewash soulution if you dont want to. all of the alternative ways to prep your metal is in the book that comes with the solution.
I did buy the thermometer that he sells on his web site, its small but of good quality.
Also the bloke who runs the buisness is always happy to provide any help via phone or email.
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Re CHROMED PARTS VERSUS NICKLE PLATING
A professionally CHROMED finish is nothing like nickle plating, CHROME is 5 times shiny'er and has many more processes than just nickle plating.
I have had many parts professionally chromed and the process is very indepth, and something I do not believe anyone could do at home.
If u have watched a professional chroming things (and the long dozen step process with all the DIFFERENT chemicals) and the process is tedious.
Nickle plating is nothing like CHROME, but nickel plating polished does look nicer than any zinc plating.
Also, polishing anything to a mirror finish, then giving it to a chrome shop is a waste of time. Watch them stick it in a nasty toxic soloution and watch the metal change colour and u will know what i mean.
Also, after the final chroming finish has been applied to the metal piece u are doing, the professional puts the item on a buffing wheel, with all different attachments to make it mirror shine. Chroming is a very very labour intensive/chemical process which I feel can only be done by a professional who knows what he is doing.
The $100 nickle plating kit Andy has bought is great, but do not think it will make a part look anything like a chrome product, cause it wont come close. Its a different kettle of fish altogether. The larger the object, the more of a visual difference u will see between polished nickle plating n chrome.
P.S - I reccommend Gold Coast Electroplating Services, cnr Brisbane Roads and Captain Cook Drive, ARUNDEL - GOLD COAST. for all professional Chrome work.The gent who runs the place, owns the place and has been there for over 30 years. He is a top bloke and his pricing is very very good.
example - set 4 legs $100. Lockdown bar $50 large side rails apx $40 each and so on. Question - is it really worth paying the money mentioned to have something professionally chromed, if you want the bling of bling, the answer is absolutely. I have a Freddy - A Nightmare on Elm Street Pinball machine that has been done here, and it is amzing. Nothing even comes close to the wow factor of chrome done properly. ^^^
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Ranex - I've been through MANY bottles - I love the stuff !
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Hate to be picky Beaky(and others), but the correct spelling of "Nickle" is NICKEL. #@# *%*
Don't worry though, I still reckon you're a legend!
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A picture of an American coin (nickle ?) will be uploaded shortly.
Actually, I have some American Quarters here, I will see if "Beaky the Plater" can make them look like new when he arrives shortly cause we are going down to Bunnings to get some "plating supplies".
If you see a man walking around the Gold Coast, wearing nothing but silver, it will be "Beaky the Nickel Plater Man". lol $#$ %.% %.% %.%
Ssssshhhhhhhh, Beakys at the door, I better get off the computer before he reads this and decides to can the Bunnings trip for more silver paint. lol
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...If you see a man walking around the Gold Coast, wearing nothing but silver, it will be "Beaky the Nickel Plater Man". lol $#$ %.% %.% %.%
:lol :lol :lol
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here is a picture of Andrew getting into the silver nickel plating.
this is how he turned up to go to Bunnings. %.% %.%
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Hate to be picky Beaky(and others), but the correct spelling of "Nickle" is NICKEL. #@# *%*
Don't worry though, I still reckon you're a legend!
We like saying nick - ley :lol
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Thanks for posting that Beaky, never thought it would be possible to do that at home (at that price).
I'm keen to give it a go. ^^^
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Wow, what a great idea.
The new nickel plated bits look great!
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't a lot of pinnie parts already nickel plated instead of chrome?
I thought that my Diner lockdown bar was nickel plated.
I was told Williams did this as a cost cutting measure but I can't remember who told me.
Is this right?
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Wow, what a great idea.
The new nickel plated bits look great!
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't a lot of pinnie parts already nickel plated instead of chrome?
I thought that my Diner lockdown bar was nickel plated.
I was told Williams did this as a cost cutting measure but I can't remember who told me.
Is this right?
I have not got any proof of it but I would agree that they are not chrome plated (the lock down bar, side rails & legs)
I have seen a pin with proper chrome plated parts and its a totally different look
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Shiny Chrome - Save it for youre Harley.
Im my opinion shiny chrome stands out like dogs ba..s, looks out of place on early pins (60's & 70's) *.*
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Anything DMD that has a factory silver lockdown bar, a set of silver legs and a set of silver rails, looks 1 million percent better when the silver all gets chromed professionally.
It really makes the pin look like a million bux. I have a Freddy Nightmare Elm Street pinny I did, and the "WOW" factor is huge.
After seeing one done like this, you wouldnt leave anything near it undone and boring silver. Different tastes, different looks. ^^^
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Anything DMD that has a factory silver lockdown bar, a set of silver legs and a set of silver rails, looks 1 million percent better when the silver all gets chromed professionally.
It really makes the pin look like a million bux. I have a Freddy Nightmare Elm Street pinny I did, and the "WOW" factor is huge.
After seeing one done like this, you wouldnt leave anything near it undone and boring silver. Different tastes, different looks. ^^^
I've done a couple pins in chrome
Doesn't work for me. I went back to stainless.
Couple reasons
1) fingerprints
2) stands out too much
Nothing like a row of a dozen pins with 1 chrome pin that doesn't match the others :)
To each his own :)
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I've done a couple pins in chrome
Doesn't work for me. I went back to stainless.
Couple reasons
1) fingerprints
2) stands out too much
Nothing like a row of a dozen pins with 1 chrome pin that doesn't match the others :)
To each his own :)
Methinks Brett is a very fussy boy - he would be like a pig in shit, running around the Treasure-Cave with a glitz cloth... <.>
I'm not getting into the chrome vs nickel thing, but for $2-300 investment - I think the results are very tasty! ^^^
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Looks like its worth given it a go,
Thanks for sharing,
Red