24K Gold Bulli A2-T!!

[igetcha]

hi all,

after seeing a thread on the ECF forum where a guy had sent his GGTS away to be gold plated, i was inspired enough to want to do the same with some of my vaping gear.

i looked at sending it away, but in the end i thought i might as well just buy my own gold plating machine as it would probably work out cheaper in the long run! lol

anyway, i received the kit today and after practising on a few coins and a spoon i decided to tackle my Bulli A2-T..........and here are the results!

not bad for a beginner i thought! lol


more bling to follow!

cheers

scott

 

[sfkid]

Hey, you can now provide gold plating service to cover your vaping costs considering the amount of hardware you have

Looks slick by the way....

 

[asdaq]

Looks great! Which kit did you get? I saw a link for 'starting at 169 pounds', that puts it in the really must want it category

 

[igetcha]

hi mate

i got the GS200 kit which was just shy of £200

cheers

scott

 

[asdaq]

Good to see you in these parts. Is it the 'dripping with profits' in ebay one? Glad to see it is A) portable and B) comes with gold already

 

[igetcha]

comes with chrome, copper and nickel too!

not so sure about the "dripping with profits" though, lol........i only got it for a bit of fun and because it seemed interesting

 

[asdaq]

That was a seller on ebay.uk at 199 He claims it comes with enough gold liquid to make 400 from potential clients.

I agree, it does look fun though.

 

[igetcha]

yeah, thats the one i got i think........it is a relatively simple process and the solution seems to go a long way so i guess it could be quite profitable

only downside is that aluminium cant be plated........well it can, but its a difficult process that is recommended only for someone with a lot of experience

 

[WiηgC¤mmαηdεя]

Very nice job Scott, makes the A2-T look very sharp.

Wing.

 

[nicotime]

yeah, thats the one i got i think........it is a relatively simple process and the solution seems to go a long way so i guess it could be quite profitable

only downside is that aluminium cant be plated........well it can, but its a difficult process that is recommended only for someone with a lot of experience

Very nice...has that been polished...it looks more like gold color anodizing on aluminum until its polished to have a reflective shine.

I think aluminum has to be etched with an acid...then nickle plated first...then gold plated doesnt it?

 

[AlmightyGod]

Nice job Mate!

Can I just have my new Bulli A2-T shipped directly to you for plating?

Seriously nice...I'm jealous!

 

[igetcha]

Very nice...has that been polished...it looks more like gold color anodizing on aluminum until its polished to have a reflective shine.

I think aluminum has to be etched with an acid...then nickle plated first...then gold plated doesnt it?

hi mate,

the only polishing i gave it was with this special compound stuff that you have to use straight after the plating process.......but it has come out a very rich and vibrant gold colour with a mirror like finish!

ive just finished plating my Provari, and although it has come out looking good its a very different gold effect to the Bulli........its not as vibrant looking and has more of a matt finish

i think that this is because the steel was a matt (satin) finish and im led to believe that the more polished the metal is prior to plating then the shinier / richer the gold will appear

this is a pic taken via my phone......so not quite as fancy as the Bulli pics, lol

it looks like its more of a copper in the pic, but the colour seems to change depending on the way light is reflected off it........as you can see, its a completely different colour to the Bulli! lol




and yeah, i think that is basically the process for aluminium.......but you also have to time the treatments quite specifically according to the colour changes during the treatments

i may try it out one day, but definitely need to do some more research on aluminium plating 1st! lol

cheers

scott

 

[asdaq]

The Provari looks almost like brass

 

[Hambone68]

Nice work, they both turned out looking great! How long did it take do do the plating?

 

[RippleInStillWater]

Looks cool, scott, but not as good as the GGs did, no offense or fanboying intended. A Gold SilverBullet would be cool, too.

I was going to make a Darwin joke but thought better of it!!!

 

[asdaq]

Hey Rip, gold bullets don't work the same, won't phase 'em a bit!

 

[nicotime]

Yeah...unlike painting that fills any irregularities in the surface this is basically just adding material equally to it duplicating the surface. Polishing just levels off the high spots. Still looks great....and your right...pictures can alter the looks completely.

I like matte finishes better anyway...try taking a wire brush to one before plating and give it a brushed finish...that would be cool.

It will only get better the more you get in to it...good luck!!

 

[RippleInStillWater]

Can you plate a Crapbox, Scott?

Not sure how a REO (or other metal box mod) would look, maybe cigarette case-y........

 

[igetcha]

Looks cool, scott, but not as good as the GGs did

totally agree......that GGTS looked amazing!!



@Hambone68

the actual plating of the Bulli took less than a minute.......but then with all the prep, pre treatments, after treatments and final polish i guess it took about 20 - 30 minutes? because the parts are small it was pretty difficult to do all the pre polishing and after polishing side of things, but the actual plating was simple as i just attached an electrode and then dunked each component straight into the gold solution


the Provari took a lot longer as i had to be more careful due to all the electronics inside and masking off the atomiser end cap so it stays a silver colour. the polishing side of things was easier, but the actual plating was pretty tough as it was not possible to soak it in the solution (one because of the electronics, and two because i dont have enough solution to cover it)
so instead i have to brush plate it which is where you attach swabbing to the electrode, dip that in the gold solution and then brush it on.........with all the prep etc etc i guess i spent a good hour doing the Provari

cheers

scott

 

[AlmightyGod]

I'm gonna have to get a plating machine.

I've been back to this thread a dozen times today.