Geno's work with the bronze got me thinking.I know thats scary. I have about 4 lbs. of gold plated electrical pins and connectors.Is there any way to remove the gold then reapply it to a blade,guard or whatever.Dave

I believe that most of the removal of gold from electronic hardware, pins, etc....., is done by a chemical process. May be difficult to reproduce (inexpensively and safely) in a personal workshop. That gold plating is not very thick so you may not have as much gold as you hope you do.

Gold plating is easy with the right stuff.
I don't think you will be able to use the old stuff, strip it off, then re-use it.
Kohler Co. makes the solutions in any color(karat) you want.
They have red, yellow, and green tints for electroplating.
No fancy variacs and stuff, just a 6 volt battery and a jar.
It covers over copper and nickel quite well.

Gene is right about the platting being easy. I recall playing with electro platting with my dad and my brothers as teen. If I recall correctly, gold doesn't plate well over steel. To get the best results we had to nicel plate the item and then gold plate it. We also tried copper plating first. That had the advantage of not showing a silver color when the gold is worn through.

Scott B. Jaqua

Thanks,I knew that there wouldn't much to use as 99% of the weight is the pins.I had hoped there might be a way to use a little on a knife though.Oh well,makes a good conversation piece.Dave

Hi Dave,
the gold on those pins is not worth to even think about saving.If you want to do goldplating by yourself be really carefull not to eat(especially no fruits) nor drink or smoke. You may find yourself dead on the floor. I am a goldsmith and handled that stuff always with respect. The poison in those baths is cyancali which in conection with any acid will devellop prussic acid fumes that you can not see. If you smell them it is usually to late. So be really carefull!!!! Cyrus.

Cyrus, Thanks for the warning.
I didn't know it was that dangerous.
ALL SHOPS should be vetilated for this kind of work, or welding, grinding, forging, ect...
Sometimes I forget not everyone has a full blown shop.

Cyrus,thanks for the warning.I am sure that all of us appreciate your concern for our safety,so thank you again.I think most would agree that makers are a funny sort of people that go into their shop every day knowing that virtually every tool, piece of wood,metal or chemical has the potential of serious injury.Thank God most of us are lucky SOB's as well.I for one know of some of the experiments that I have tried that went sour and was lucky not to have been hurt.So take care guys and have a Happy Holiday.Dave

You could send the pins to a refiner- for a fee of course...

I use Hoover & Strong 800 759 9997

You can also send things out to be plated.

Watch them fumes and don't forget the electric shock potential... I'd do some serious reading if you want to electroplate yourself. Cyanide, Hydroflouric acid and electricity... oh my!

A lot of the gold Electro-plating solutions have arsenic in them

Look here for non-arsenic ones,
www.caswellplating.com/ (http://www.caswellplating.com/)

They have all kinds of plating and buffing supplies and they will answer questions even if you haven?t bought anything yet.

PaulD