UBB.threads Forums Edged Weapons Miscellaneous Dagger Forum Water Customs Parts

Well, I'm only running a very small operation where I finish one dagger at a time. I want to keep this as a fun hobby and not turn it into a job with all the sweat and toil that goes with it.
But if I had any bubbling of dthe plating I would strip it down to bare matal and start over.

BTW: The East German dagger hanger fittings and brocade belt buckles were finished with a ceramic silver or gold paint which was baked on. You can tell by using an Ohm meter and check for surface conductivity which is zero.

Oh, and my first name is Manfred.

Oh, I am sorry Manfred, I wasn't sure! But anyway, That is probably what I will end up doing! 3FL

Louie, I probably didn’t explain it well, but I agree with Manfred that you have to go down to bare metal to permanently stop corrosion. Either mechanically or chemically - and go from there. That is what makes it so difficult to deal with on period items where corrosion has taken hold.

Where it might get a little interesting with sword or dagger scabbards for instance is with any pitting that might be present. Specifically with pitting under a finish, which could give away the fact that an item has been redone on the blue/brown oxide finished ones and to a lesser extent with the painted ones. But I imagine that if an item wasn’t too bad and was repolished it might not be as obvious. However - with pitted fittings I think it’s going to be more of a problem especially if it's deep.

Manfred, Cyanide is used in some of the commercial/industrial processes which with current EPA regulations does make life more interesting. When they cleaned up the old “Skunkworks” in Burbank it took a while and the site did create some well water problems locally. In Germany in the 1930’s industrial waste was a non-issue. Dumping effluent now will not only will get you into some major hassles but is going to cost you.

Nickel (or chrome over nickel) on top of zinc is probably the most common form of electroplating seen. In the home, automobiles, etc. If you don’t nickel plate using Texas Platers - is it because it doesn't work or you don’t like the results? Also, I’ve never seen the results from brush plating. Is it as smooth/even as commercial plating?
Regards to All, FP

Fred: I know that industrial cyanide plating has been pretty much phased out by now. But brushplating with cyanide solutions on a very small scale is still being done. The 'effluent' in this case consists of a small amount of residue remaining on the applicator brush. The solutions are made into a gel using microballoon. This way it can be shipped without a chance of leaking out of the container.
I don't nickelplate zinc or aluminum because nickel is the only solution that is not cyanide based. The base solution is another chemical that attcks the diecast and aluminum during electroplating. So I use silver instead which in a short while will look like nickel.
The smoothness of the plating is determined by the quality of the surface. This is why the parts to be plated have to be cleaned and polished.