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Old February 6th, 2013, 15:11   #1
apilar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Port Elgin, Ontario --&-- London, Ontario
Electroplating

So, im in the market for a metal kit for my gun. Found one. Was sold out before i got it!

On the market is the same kit, but in black not silver. I really wanted something shiny!

So i was thinking, what would happen if i took the black gun, got it stripped (sand blasted) and then had it electroplated silver??

Seems like an expensive thing to test, but if it worked it would be pretty awesome!

Anyone out there forsee any problems other than potentially increasing the thickness of the slide and frame. This could be a problem for inserting pins, blowback housing and the rest. But then again, the paint takes up space too. How much MORE could electroplating take up!?

Thoughts on this anyone??
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Old February 6th, 2013, 15:18   #2
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If you just want it shiny why not just sandblast it and buff to a shine the outer shell?

The color under it is already silver.

The down part to having it electroplated is 2 fold

1-the price tag
2-the interior mesurments will become tighter so you may have fitting issues afterwards

So there, that's my toughts.
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Old February 6th, 2013, 15:35   #3
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Polished pot metal is still just polished crap.
Get it zinc plated!
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Old February 6th, 2013, 15:38   #4
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I'm honestly not sure the pot metal receiver would survive the plating process
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Old February 6th, 2013, 15:42   #5
apilar
 
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Well pot metal yeah. It may not turn out so good!
I guess polished aluminum would be ok though!
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Old February 6th, 2013, 15:45   #6
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I know that anodizing destroys pot metal. It probably wouldn't survive the acid bath it has to go through before plating.
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Old February 6th, 2013, 15:55   #7
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Originally Posted by ThunderCactus View Post
Polished pot metal is still just polished crap.
Get it zinc plated!
I disagree. Ive polished up several pot metal guns with some very good success.

I sold this gun a while back. Took less than an hour to get a nice silver finish.

http://www.airsoftcanada.com/showthread.php?t=139282
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Old February 6th, 2013, 16:55   #8
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Ehh +1 on the acid killing it.
I did an LCT AK body a long ways back, just powdering black, but you could never get all the impurity out of it, seemed like it would soak up acid too.
Just don't leave it in the acid tanks (parco especially) too long and it should be fine. But you have to bake it to 400 for a while to make sure all the chemicals are out.
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Old February 7th, 2013, 03:43   #9
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It really depends on the material you're doing. There are about a thousand different varieties of "pot metal", and the exact elemental composition will depend how badly it will oxidize, if at all. In general, MOST airsoft pot metals will oxidize in to a dull and dark grey, but there are some will not, depending on the levels of lead, zinc, aluminum, and other impurities are present.

If you could point out specifically what kit you're referring to, somebody with more experience may be able to point out the success of what you're trying to attempt.

And for what it's worth, Zinc and lead will almost never hold up to ANY acid bath, so attempting any form of acid bath to a pot metal using such a composition will never survive the process of electro plating.

At most, you'll get a shiny lump of metal that doesn't resemble anything close to a gun.
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Old February 7th, 2013, 10:07   #10
apilar
 
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Lol thanx for the input guys!
I think that at the very least, after hearing what everyone is saying, I will just sand and polish until I get a shine!
I would hate to risk turning my gun into a shiny lump!

Just thot I'd throw the idea out to see if any1 had been able to do it!
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Old February 7th, 2013, 11:49   #11
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Originally Posted by apilar View Post
Lol thanx for the input guys!
I think that at the very least, after hearing what everyone is saying, I will just sand and polish until I get a shine!
I would hate to risk turning my gun into a shiny lump!

Just thot I'd throw the idea out to see if any1 had been able to do it!
Keep in mind what I just said, about MOST airsoft pot metals having the capacity to oxidize in to a very dull and dark grey. This happens even quicker if you plan on handling the gun with your bare hands, as the oils in your hands can have other effects on some pot metals - especially those with high zinc content (almost all pot metals have some level of zinc content to them for malleability).
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