[Smackre]

Is there any plating like chrome I can put on Alum parts to make them look like Gold chrome and stay as nice as chrome and last as long.

[Ken_Shea]

These guys would be a good contact for you.

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

[under-dog]

I am not sure if aluminum can be plated.

Typically anodising is the method of choice for aluminum finishing.

[Smackre]

Can you anodising alum and make it look gold in color?

[under-dog]

I would look it up on line but I believe you may be able to get something close. It will be matt obviosly as it iis an etching as opposed to a build up of a specific material such as gold which has its own properties.

A friend of mine is a knife maker and the liners of his knives are titanium anodised. I believe different colors are achieved by different voltages..


I am not an expert but if I were you I would do some more research to rule out plating and what colors a professional anodiser can achieve

[High Seas]

Powdercoat! Variety of colors and finish available. Did our spinaker pole and it looked great in gunmetal high gloss. Gold would have been too over the top. But I bet you could find gold - did find and have high gloss brass finish done too.
:cheers: Jim

[Ken_Shea]

(Q) .. Why is aluminum so difficult to plate?
(A) .. Aluminum is a very reactive metal. After being polished or cleaned the surface oxidizes within seconds of coming into contact with the air. The resulting thin layer of aluminum oxide is very inert, coherent, and protective and cannot be reduced (returned to the pre-oxidized state) electrolytically. The oxide layer cannot be plated onto. One typical method used to plate onto aluminum involves removing the oxide layer using a strong alkaline solution which simultaneously replaces the oxide film with a layer of zinc (known as zincating). The zincated part can then be plated with an electroless nickel or alkaline copper solution. The part can then be plated normally. The use of the extremely caustic zincate solution and hot dip electroless nickel solution makes plating onto aluminum impractical for most portable platers using standard electroplating kits. Many larger chrome shops can economically plate a heavy coat of hot-dip decorative nickel onto aluminum. This will produce a very hard mirror bright surface that then easily be gold plated. While it is possible to plate onto aluminum using a portable system, the process is not cost effective and the durability of the resulting finish is generally not sufficient for long term service. When we have a customer that wants an aluminum part gold plated we always recommend a procedure that involves a hot-dip nickel layer.


http://www.goldplating.com/#Different%20Metals