DIY Electroplating of Guitar Hardware | Gold, Nickel, Copper, Chrome etc.

CAUTION: The chemicals used for electroplating are hazardous. Always check the hazard label and follow the PPE guidelines (wearing gloves, goggles, facemask, be in a well ventilated room etc.) of the products you're using. Never dump these chemicals down your household drain, including the water that was used for rinsing the work pieces (use a dedicated container and not your sink) - check your local chemical recycling laws.

[@ninkichan7209]

Hi, I am trying to order exactly the same brand and products from the Manufacturer's site but since I am not German and do not understand the language, can you please tell me how many ml does each Electrolyte, Chrome, Remover, and Degreaser was used on this video? Also, did you order the whole kit or just the separate bottles? Thanks in advance.

@@ninkichan7209 I've ordered separate bottles. All 250ml, except for the gold and black chrome I only got 100ml.

[@ninkichan7209]

@ Wow, that was a quick response. Thank you very much! Regarding Chrome stripping, do you have a separate video on that? You mentioned that it is reversed polarity and to be honest, I know nothing about these electronic gadgets that you are using as I want to try it in a minimalist way like using commercial batteries. I might consider buying that machine though if it is the only way.

@@ninkichan7209 It can be done with batteries, but to easily adjust the voltage for each application it's best to buy a "variable power supply" (DC) It might cost 50 - 60$ Digital ones from china work just fine.

[@ninkichan7209]

@ You've been very helpful. I hope you make more content like this, especially how to operate these things propely. Thanks!

[@Tooshabby]

The quality of your videos is so high it puts so many guitar channels to shame.

thank you so much, my friend

[@_mysilentblue2227]

Very cool episode. As a machinist in the Navy we did quite a bit of this for repair parts. With the brush method you can get a little (tiny) pump to keep your brush soaked with fresh plating solution, it also helps in the bath generally to keep it circulation. Again great job & great outcome! BTW watch out for silver, most pro solutions are cyanide based.

that's very interesting that electroplating was used on a vessel :) I better stay away from silver then. I think, in that case it's easier to buy guitar guitar hardware in chrome, it'll look similar to silver. Also, on the page that I got the chemicals from it says: Real Gold´s chrome stripper does NOT contain caustic soda - sodium hydroxide - which is corrosive and dangerous. It does not attack or stain paint. So I guess it's a safer version than the usual chrome stripper.

[@_mysilentblue2227]

@ a pump shaft bering spun, damaging the shaft instead of making a complete new one we would build up with nickel then machine it back into spec. Silver we used for steam valve seats.

@@_mysilentblue2227 that's really cool, to be able to build up a substantial amount of nickel

Perfect video: well explained going straight to the point, and lots of takes with clear examples. I've been searching for this subject long time ago. Thank you!

[@Jaundice__]

Get to the copper!!! 😂 Cool video, it turned out great.

[@thenameless3271]

Fantastic, your channel is by far one of the most interesting guitar channels around. My favorite is the copper, even if it tarnishes, it still might look neat that way!

it might end up looking "vintage" after a few months :)

[@dionisiovulture4889]

One technique is to put banana oil on the copper so it doesn't rust, pretty cool video (full of information), thanks

Good tip, thank you

[@whatisanamelol]

What a super well made video that was. Awesome man, thank you for sharing

[@DavideSchachterJazz]

That's fantastic piece of information...I used to make colloidal silver and gold many years ago but I totally forgot how to use the dc supply and I no longer own one. Can you please now make us a little tutorial a bit more in depth about the settings on the DC PS and the time line of the different stages? I need to re-gold plate a bridge, because it's no longer being produced and impossible to find a NOS (Although I was lucky enough to find a set of NOS saddles. I believe I must strip down all the residues of the old plating before doing the process. Do you think I can do it using just chemicals or should I have to manually remove the old plating some how? Please a more in depth tutorial THANKS!

I'm not experienced in restoring old parts, but if some of the gold came off, then there's usually nickel underneath. You can try doing using an electric cleaner and then "activator" (oxide remover) to then brush on new gold. The voltages that I've used are written on screen during the video. But it's best to start low. A too high voltage can cause the surface to look rough (that's what happened to some of my copper plating test pieces). Regarding the time: I put the parts in each bath for just 30 seconds or 1 minute tops. Except for the gold and black chrome. These took much longer. Gold plating can be sped up with more expensive electrodes though. I'm a beginner with all of this, I took my Infos from the descriptions the German online shop had that I was buying the electrolytes from. So maybe there is a good online shop in your area with information regarding the ideal voltages etc.

[@DavideSchachterJazz]

@ Thanks!

[@ryanobra1492]

thanks for the video man! I was wondering if chrome plating will also remove the rust of an old hardware?

You'd first need to remove all the rust and polish it

[@ChrisBealsProductions]

Isn’t it illegal to de-chrome parts at home? Maybe I’m mistaken. But I was told by a local company that the chemical vapors to do this are very toxic and need license to do so.

@@ChrisBealsProductions yes, de-chroming produces toxic vapours. It might be illegal in some countries or states and it's for sure strictly regulated what kind of electrolytes can be sold for home use and/or what quantities. To do this as a business, where the parts are sold afterwards, instead of it just being a science experiment, probably requires a license.

[@rattlehead9656]

Nice video mate ,do you have a links to equipment you are using here?

I've got the liquids and electrodes from real-gold.de The glass containers are from IKEA. The laboratory power supply is a cheap one from Amazon (60$ or something, there are many options)

[@rattlehead9656]

Thanks a lot,but it looks like the link is not working at least for me@

@@rattlehead9656 oh sorry I had a type It's real-gold.de That shop is from Germany, but there are surely similar shops in other areas of the world. They can usually be found when searching for electroplating supplies

[@rattlehead9656]

Danke Schon@

[@akinatronic8946]

very cool video ! for one guitar, how much gold electrolyte do you think is needed as quantity or volume ?

When buying the gold electrolyte, it usually says how many grams of gold are in e.g. a liter. But electroplating only needs a super tiny amount of the precious metal. So the 100ml gold electrolyte might be enough to gold plate the HW of several guitars

[@ApertusOrg]

Lovely work, I would be interested in chrome plating our anodized aluminum metal camera parts, but I am concerned a too shiny surface will be counter productive in a camera, did you also experiment with aluminium and matte chrome finishes?

Usually you would electroplate a part instead of anodising it. But maybe the anodised surface can be removed, similar to how the chrome stripper works. A matte chrome finish can be achieved if the part had a matte surface to begin with. E.g. by sanding off the anodised coating and then chrome plating it (well, probably a nickel plating will be needed as a first layer).

[@ApertusOrg]

@ anodizing is basically just replacing the aluminium oxide layer with one that is color pigment infused so the oxide remover step could already do the trick - in particular the parts I have in mind have no color pigments anodizing as I hoped for a silver/natural finish but the result had a slight olive tint. Sounds good, the part already has a sandblasted matte finish.

@@ApertusOrg the olive tint is to give it a stealth/outdoor camera vibe ;)

[@Betterburg]

Wow, didn't know it's possible at home

[@phileeepaye1641]

Can you use this method to colour the metal blue/purple/red/green etc?

no, these kind of colours can be done by anodizing aluminium.

[@JoviChan]

arh this one is interesting, can I electroplate Black hardware into gold colors? cuz i always thought black colors are different material or just paint?🧐

I think black hardware is powder coated (more durable than paint), which you can't electroplate over. Except "Cosmo black" might be an electro plating that can be removed with the chrome stripper to then gold plate it

[@JoviChan]

@ thanks for the reply, so i needa strip the coat off first😏😏

@@JoviChan yes, but usually it's powder coated and it'll be very difficult to remove. Powder coatings are durable

[@qhodave]

Nice. Wirklich sehr cool. 👍🏻

[@henrykrusak8593]

Whats the name of that bigsby system ? is it german ??? where can i buy it?

It's a Duesenberg Les Trem II, but I'm not sure where it's made, it might be made in Germany.

[@henrykrusak8593]

@ thanks a lot !!!!

[@sungjin1262]

Hello sir can I ask you for help?

Sure :)

[@sungjin1262]

I messaged you on Instagram

[@sungjin1262]

Thank you so muchh

[@BriarBeats]

God Bless you In Jesus Name, thank you for your video brother! ❤

[@thegrimreaper7]

Geat video as alway Georg!