Hi, !
I'm not sure this is the correct place to ask this, but....Has anyone had any experience with the 'home"plating kits "? I'm thinking the "nickel plating" looks easier, cheaper,and "safer" that the chrome plating, but, my *thinking* often gets me into deeper water than I can wade :-[! I have a "bunch" of reels that show a LOT of "brass"....and , while most of the parts (posts, stands, etc.) are available as "new stock", it gets "price prohibitive" rather quickly. We do have a "plating shop" , fairly close, but, the fella is even older...and lazier ....than I am, and doesn't really care if he does too much, anymore...so, he quotes prices that ensure he doesn't get too busy ! He quoted me $45 to re plate a Penn 67 spool ! Anyway, I thought that a nickel plating "kit" might suffice for my needs....I'm just looking for "protection", not "beauty" ( I actually like the "brassing" on the "shelf items"...it tells a story!), but on the reels I like (or plan on liking !LOL !)to fish, it would , hopefully, help to keep the salt from eating them away. I've polished a few of the parts that had little..or no...plating left, and gave them a "clear coat" , but even a tiny scratch in the finish allows the salt to get under the finish...and then I really have a mess, so, for reels that will be used...this isn't a viable option. I saw some comments on "bluing", and intend on trying that on some posts, but, I doubt that will offer much protection. So, any comments or advice would be welcome ! Thanks !!........Crow
Check with Sid, he got a plating kit some time ago and experimented with it. sdlehr
I'd skip the bluing as you said, it doesn't offer much protection.
When I owned the gun shop I did a lot of salt bath bluing. A true salt bath is definitely more durable. Its fine for guns but not great for much else. As far as chemical bluing agents in a bottle or paste form, they are only OK for touching up scratches.
The platers will usually give you a break if you do all the polishing and you let them run it with a larger batch at their convenience.
Good luck with your project and let us know how you make out.
.....................Lou
I still use the Caswell brush-plating kit I got for Chromium, but not often. I was happy with the job it did on the spool I inherited from my dad's old Pflueger 400, but it's a shelf queen. I don't think the brush-plating puts on a thick enough coat to be useful in the real fishing world.... you can only put on a thin coat of Cr and then everything else you try to put on flakes right off.... and I think it likely to not be as tough as the clear coat, but I could be wrong. The best chrome jobs are chromium over nickel over brass. Also the most time-consuming and most expensive, but gorgeous....
Sid
Thanks, fellas !!