I have seen gold plating pens when I worked for a company that made military electronics years ago. I was about the size of a paint pen. All that was required was a DC power supply with leads attached to the end of the pen and the item to be plated. It was just as easy as coloring with a marker. I have no idea of the cost, but it is definitely something small enough to be used at home.
That is a good point. The safety aspects, too, are worth thinking about - they are nasty chemicals if you do the plated the traditional way.
Regardless, its clear to me that this is not something to be taken up lightly. The real cost and hassle and time involving in preparing the loco for gold plating. Disassembly, stripping every last bit of paint off, applying copper, tin, or whatever base over the cast metal first as noted is required to provide a "primer" coat and fill imperfections, polished that smooth where needed ---- all of that would be expensive, not without nasty chemicals and involved tasks themselves. When I see my so or the technicians at his dealership with their small electroplating tool, they are applying gold to metal to which all of that pre-plating work has been done: new, shiny chrome fittings on cars.
All this gives me a new appreciation for flat and satin black paint!
Originally Posted by Lee Willis:
...All this gives me a new appreciation for flat and satin black paint!
...with pinstirpping like they do for 1:1 cars?...Hmmm....
