Nickle plating ABS or PLA

**shields1.as** · 2014-09-25 23:51:46

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Topic: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

Well I attempted to plate some ABS parts unsuccessfully. I don't want to spend thousands of dollars but I'd like to do it. So I bought a nickle playing kit and went to an electroplating shop to learn how to plate. There I worked for them for a few days learning the process. (Thus why I haven't been on)

1.) metal is pretty easy to do
2.) I cleaned the parts then did a hydrochloride acid dip then tried plating, no luck
3.) tried sulfuric acid then plating no luck
4.) they told me you basically have to do it electro lessly which I'll have to go back for and buy new stuff.

Has anyone tried tin or copper plating it first? Just being curious so I can try this before a new complex process

**wardjr** · 2014-09-26 02:46:30

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Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

Way beyond my area of expertise but I thought plastic parts where sprayed with a metallic/conductive primer/paint and then dipped and processed the same as a metal?
Seems to me I have actually seen it done this way on some program like "How it's made".
I am very interested to see what you come up with.

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**grob** · 2014-09-26 07:16:59

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Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

Looking forward to this... I've done a bit of chloride etching a while back, which was fun...

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**grob** · 2014-09-26 07:18:48

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Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

Ooooh, it is possible... Mind = blown.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroless_nickel_plating

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**IronMan** · 2014-09-26 09:56:40

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Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

Takes some time, but WOW!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czTjYls … QOlZuiI9PL

I wonder if the "conductive ink" step can be skipped if you use conductive filament?

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**shields1.as** · 2014-09-26 11:21:28

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Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

They make conductive filament?

IronMan wrote:

Takes some time, but WOW!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czTjYls … QOlZuiI9PL
I wonder if the "conductive ink" step can be skipped if you use conductive filament?

**wire10ga** · 2014-09-26 11:45:42

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Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

Yep, here is just one brand (I have not used this before so I have no idea how good it is)
http://www.amazon.com/Zen-ToolworksTM-C … B00AF2L0W0

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**shields1.as** · 2014-09-29 01:51:08

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Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

Ok so it's possible to do. I'll post pictures at work tomorrow. I had to tin plate it first. Tin is kinda funny it's not like other metals when electroplating. It actually grows with little hairs on the piece instead of ironically plating it.

Next I copper plated it. That took out all the rough places. Copper is a smoothing agent. That's the reason most old Smith and Wesson revolvers were nickle plated after being copper plated for a nice perfectly smooth finish.

Then I hit it with the nickle. I also got some 24k gold to do custom jewelry now. I will say it's quite the process with all the acid dipping between plating but I did it. Not sure if any one has done this without going with the special filament.

**makerbotspace** · 2015-08-06 06:19:12

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Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

I'm not an expert, however car companies plated plastic in the 50's and 60's and I assume many of you have built model kits with plated parts. The trick is the process. Yes there are different plating techniques. The methods I learned are expensive because it requires more than one plate. ABS can be Aluminum plated. In this process the part is placed in a vacuum chamber, a crucible of Aluminum is dropped into to the chamber. The Aluminum is sucked to the surface of the part. From there it is then Nickel plated or Copper then Nickel and then Chrome. This makes a good hard durable chrome finish. I remember the chrome knobs on old car radios. This is how and injection molded part looked as if it were made of solid steel.

**carl_m1968** · 2015-08-06 06:23:14

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Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

wire10ga wrote:

Yep, here is just one brand (I have not used this before so I have no idea how good it is)
http://www.amazon.com/Zen-ToolworksTM-C … B00AF2L0W0

Actually you might want to checkout Protopasta.com. They have conductive, semi conductive, bronze, stainless steel, steel, magnetic and many others.

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**Gordym** · 2015-08-06 14:11:39

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Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

I used conductive filament and my powder coating equipment to coat some parts. The biggest thing I had to watch was the heat. It caused the part to curl slightly. If I had taken it out from under the heat source a little quicker I think it would have been flat. The image shows two of the same print. The black one is conductive filament without a powder coat, the silver one is with a chrome-like finish powder coat.

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**Superdave** · 2015-08-09 12:49:32

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Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

Check out sprayonchrome.com

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**Claghorn** · 2015-08-09 15:47:10

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Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

I'm pretty sure there was a thread about this a few months ago (but maybe I saw it somewhere else). There were several different coatings used to prep the item then a final electroplating done "by hand" with a brush and electric current run through the brush.

**11b30b4** · 2015-09-01 17:28:53

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Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

I found this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D63yOLJdcN8

**pirvan** · 2015-09-01 20:04:15

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Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

Here is a place that sells Spray-On Chrome kits that are compatible with plastics.
http://customcreationpaints.co.uk/spray-on-chrome

The quality looks really impressive:

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Nickle plating ABS or PLA

Posts: 15

1 Topic by shields1.as 2014-09-25 23:51:46

Topic: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

2 Reply by wardjr 2014-09-26 02:46:30

Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

3 Reply by grob 2014-09-26 07:16:59

Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

4 Reply by grob 2014-09-26 07:18:48

Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

5 Reply by IronMan 2014-09-26 09:56:40

Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

6 Reply by shields1.as 2014-09-26 11:21:28

Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

7 Reply by wire10ga 2014-09-26 11:45:42

Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

8 Reply by shields1.as 2014-09-29 01:51:08

Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

9 Reply by makerbotspace 2015-08-06 06:19:12

Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

10 Reply by carl_m1968 2015-08-06 06:23:14

Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

11 Reply by Gordym 2015-08-06 14:11:39

Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

12 Reply by Superdave 2015-08-09 12:49:32

Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

13 Reply by Claghorn 2015-08-09 15:47:10

Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

14 Reply by 11b30b4 2015-09-01 17:28:53

Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

15 Reply by pirvan 2015-09-01 20:04:15

Re: Nickle plating ABS or PLA

Posts: 15