# Nickel plating bluebird ornament DIY



## then8j (Oct 26, 2019)

I have watched a few YouTube videos on nickel plating and I decided to give it a try.
the closest plating company to me is about an hour away and the quotes are kinda pricey.
so I started off getting all of the supplies together.
It turned out that I had everything I needed except the pure nickel. Amazon prime got them to my house in a few hours.
check list:
-container
-vinegar
-salt
-power source
-nickel
ok ready to go

I followed the videos and in no time I had it up and running. Now I pulled out a repopped bluebird fender ornament and started filing, and sanding and buffing until I was tired of working on it. It’s a lot of work to get the brass smooth and shiny.
Then I wiped it all down with degreaser and cleaned it all up, ready to be dipped.
I clipped the negative side onto the part and put it into the solution.
One amp and 5 volts ran for about half an hour.

lessons I learned: 
- do it outside
- spend more time on sanding and buffing to get it as good as you can
- the plating only makes the bad spots stand out.
- drink more beer to make it looks better
- don’t expect it to look like the professionals on the first go.....

I am happy with the first results, I’m going to sand it all down again and start over again. I want to fix more of the bad spots.

If you have done this before and have some pointers let me know, this thread is all about sharing and helping

-nathan


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## GTs58 (Oct 26, 2019)

Fun stuff!


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## mike j (Oct 27, 2019)

Really cool, this has all been a mystery to me. Great stuff.


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