Gold plating charges???

[jaytaylor]

Hi all, this morning I took 4 parker 51 clutch rings to an electroplater and was quoted..

 

$33US for 0.1 micron gold

$80US for 0.5 micron gold

 

Now bearing in mind that the items to be plated are 4 parker 51 clutch rings is this rather expensive????

 

I was very surprised at how high the quote was, also gold is currently $18.40US an ounce.

 

Help...

 

I went with the 0.1 micron option as I didnt expect 0.5 micron to be so pricey...

 

So $80 buys me 4.3 ounce's of sold gold yet plating to 0.5 miron thickness x surface area of 4 P51 clutch rings????? at a guess less than half an ounce....

[RLTodd]

Hi all, this morning I took 4 parker 51 clutch rings to an electroplater and was quoted..

 

$33US for 0.1 micron gold

$80US for 0.5 micron gold

 

Now bearing in mind that the items to be plated are 4 parker 51 clutch rings is this rather expensive????

 

I was very surprised at how high the quote was, also gold is currently $18.40US an ounce.

 

Help...

 

I went with the 0.1 micron option as I didnt expect 0.5 micron to be so pricey...

 

So $80 buys me 4.3 ounce's of sold gold yet plating to 0.5 miron thickness x surface area of 4 P51 clutch rings????? at a guess less than half an ounce....

Hmmm. Last quote I saw was $572.40USD/oz. for gold.

 

I am guessing either you have a miscommunication or a wonderful opportunity to get into the gold business. :ltcapd:

[jaytaylor]

Hi all, this morning I took 4 parker 51 clutch rings to an electroplater and was quoted..

 

$33US for 0.1 micron gold

$80US for 0.5 micron gold

 

Now bearing in mind that the items to be plated are 4 parker 51 clutch rings is this rather expensive????

 

I was very surprised at how high the quote was, also gold is currently $18.40US an ounce.

 

Help...

 

I went with the 0.1 micron option as I didnt expect 0.5 micron to be so pricey...

 

So $80 buys me 4.3 ounce's of sold gold yet plating to 0.5 miron thickness x surface area of 4 P51 clutch rings?????  at a guess less than half an ounce....

Hmmm. Last quote I saw was $572.40USD/oz. for gold.

 

I am guessing either you have a miscommunication or a wonderful opportunity to get into the gold business. :ltcapd:

Erm...whoops....i mean gram....

 

Ok, all i wrote earlier but substitute ounce for gram...

[antoniosz]

Is the $33 a surprise or just the $80?

[Ron Z]

Keep in mind that you're paying for more than the gold, not that the gold is cheap! You're paying for a lot of overhead like the equipment, the chemicals, and disposal of waste after plating; not to mention the skill of the guy doing the work. Have an amateur do the work, you pay amateur prices, but you usually get amateur results too.

[jaytaylor]

Is the $33 a surprise or just the $80?

Both.

 

I figured overheads etc but it still seems fairly steap.

 

Have I been over charged or is it a fair price?

[antoniosz]

I think that the $33 is OK. Consider the surface preparation, the cost of equipment, the overhead and ...(not illegal yet) profit.

But the mark up for the 0.5 micron is too much.

 

Check

http://www.goldplater.com/pricelist.htm

http://www.artisanplating.com/pricing/pricingrefinish.html (and notice the $35 minimum in http://www.artisanplating.com/pricing/index.html)

 

Also look at

 

http://home.comcast.net/~kirchh/Pen_Restoration/

[jaytaylor]

I think that the $33 is OK. Consider the surface preparation, the cost of equipment, the overhead and ...(not illegal yet) profit.

But the mark up for the 0.5 micron is too much.

 

Check

http://www.goldplater.com/pricelist.htm

http://www.artisanplating.com/pricing/pricingrefinish.html (and notice the $35 minimum in http://www.artisanplating.com/pricing/index.html)

 

Also look at

 

http://home.comcast.net/~kirchh/Pen_Restoration/

Many thanks, I have already prep'ed the rings so its a staight forward plate and no restoration.

 

It's certainly more cost effective to plate my windsheild wipers, I could super glue 20 P51 clutch rings under a wiper blade

[Nihontochicken]

For about the same price as the 0.1 micron plating, you can get a home plating kit and try it yourself:

 

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/index.html

[antoniosz]

For about the same price as the 0.1 micron plating, you can get a home plating kit and try it yourself:

 

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/index.html

Which kit are you refering to?

The ones I see for gold are between 200 and 400 dollars (http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/goldpl8.htm)

Am I looking at the wrong thing?

Edited October 9, 2006 by antoniosz

[jaytaylor]

a home plating kit is definitely on the cards, thanks for the pointer.

[Oxonian]

Hi folks,

 

I would like to order several tonnes of gold at $18.50 an ounce.

 

The current market price of gold is $578.00 an ounce so it puts a slightly different light on the price of plating, although to plate 4 clutch rings even at 5 microns will probably not use $20 worth of gold if that, I haven't looked up the figures but allowing a bit of profit and quite a lot of power and some chemicals it doesn't look quite so bad.

 

Cheers John

[jaytaylor]

I would like to order several tonnes of gold at $18.50 an ounce.

No problem, you just need some magic beans, they will set you back one cow and I'm not sure what the going rate is for a cow - in gram's or ounce's

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

I recommend Daniel Kirchheimer:

 

http://home.comcast.net/~kirchh/Pen_Restoration/

 

He does a very good job.

 

Dillon

[Nihontochicken]

Which kit are you refering to?  The ones I see for gold are between 200 and 400 dollars

 

Click on the Plug'n'Plate kits on the right, or go to this link:

 

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/plugnplate.htm

 

These are "brush-type" plating kits for small parts. Instead of immersion in a plating tank, a swab is dipped in the active solution and is brushed over the piece.

 

The nickel kit is about $33, the silver about $41, and the gold about $47 (but the gold solution has a limited four month shelf life). If you already have the proper power supply, 1.7 or 4.5 volts, 300 ma, then you can save on that and just buy the solution and small pieces.

[antoniosz]

Which kit are you refering to?  The ones I see for gold are between 200 and 400 dollars

 

Click on the Plug'n'Plate kits on the right, or go to this link:

 

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/plugnplate.htm

 

These are "brush-type" plating kits for small parts. Instead of immersion in a plating tank, a swab is dipped in the active solution and is brushed over the piece.

 

The nickel kit is about $33, the silver about $41, and the gold about $47 (but the gold solution has a limited four month shelf life). If you already have the proper power supply, 1.7 or 4.5 volts, 300 ma, then you can save on that and just buy the solution and small pieces.

Cool - it would be fun to try!...

[Nihontochicken]

Note that you need either the 1.7 volt or 4.5 volt, 300 mA DC power supply, or both, depending on what you want to plate, at $18 a pop if bought on the linked site. At the local drug store, I just picked up a 120 VAC to 300 mA DC power supply that can be selected to provide 1.5 to 7.5 volts in 1.5 volt steps, also 9 and 12 volts. Cost was $10. I'm guessing (but don't know for sure) that 1.5 volts is close enough to 1.7 volts for the plating solutions that require that voltage. So I would recommend this power supply (GE Universal AC Adaptor/Battery Eliminator, part number AV23606) or equivalent, and then just buy the solution(s) and small parts from Caswell.

[kissing]

Now...what would happen if you used these kits to gold-plate nibs?

 

Would it work? Would it damage the nib?

[Nihontochicken]

Now...what would happen if you used these kits to gold-plate nibs?

 

Would it work? Would it damage the nib?

 

I doubt very much it would damage the nib, but depending what the nib is, it may not be straight forward to do. If the nib is stainless steel, it must be treated with an echant solution first. If it is chrome plated, the chrome must be stripped off first and then nickel plated if such a plating is not already under the stripped chrome. Click on the Pick-A-Kit Helper link at the upper left on this page:

 

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/plugnplate.htm#

[jaytaylor]

Would plating not seal the slit???