Can solder be nickel-plated?

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rock soderstrom

rock soderstrom

Tour de France
Joined
Oct 14, 2009
Messages
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Location
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I would like to nickel-plate a DIY microphone made of copper tubes. The single parts are to be soldered together. Will the nickel stick to the solder? Which solder should I use for this?
 
Rock, just about any solder alloy will accept nickel plating. Nickel is almost universally used as a substrate for platings that do not adhere directly to a particular base metal very well, in much the way that shellac is used as a universal sealer under a wide variety of wood finishes.
 
Rusan said:
Rock, just about any solder alloy will accept nickel plating. Nickel is almost universally used as a substrate for platings that do not adhere directly to a particular base metal very well, in much the way that shellac is used as a universal sealer under a wide variety of wood finishes.
Click to expand...
Sounds good Rusan, thanks for your information! (y)
 
How are you going to prep the surface? I think the surface prep is what determines the sheen.
Although I don't mind the look of brass railing soldered together, I'd like to try to get a matte nickel plate in a mic build in the future
 
dmp said:
How are you going to prep the surface? I think the surface prep is what determines the sheen.
Although I don't mind the look of brass railing soldered together, I'd like to try to get a matte nickel plate in a mic build in the future
Click to expand...
I plan to grind the surface and polish it a bit, then degrease with hydrochloric acid and water mixture, rinse with distilled water and put it into the galvanic bath.

That's the plan, I'm new to this "business", sounds exciting and I'm looking forward to it.
 
Last edited:
rock soderstrom said:
I would like to nickel-plate a DIY microphone made of copper tubes. The single parts are to be soldered together. Will the nickel stick to the solder? Which solder should I use for this?
Click to expand...
The classic "Triple Plateing" is copper/nickel/chrome. Copper first, as you can polish to a mirror shine more easily, nickel for durability. I'd then stop there, but buffing the nickel and topping with chrome was the way for many objects..
 
Yes, I'd forgot about that! It would definitely be best to copper plate the soldered area first. Very easy to do; I've done it a few times using copper sulfate I bought at a local pharmacy.

Rock, if you're wanting a matte nickel finish, try to find a local shop that has a sandblasting cabinet with fine glass beads or ceramic bead media. If you were in the U.S., you could just send it to me and I'd glass-bead it for you at my workplace.
 
I should note that you can plate multiple layers of copper to build up the surface. Also, I would think that you could glass bead the copper, then nickel plate that (nickel is a very hard material). You could then buff the nickel if you wanted a bit more flash.
 
Thanks guys for the good input!

Based on this I have read a little more, the topic is becoming clearer to me.

Now it's time to get some practical experience. I will order/ buy the nickel plates and the rest today. 🥳
metalockpick said:
The classic "Triple Plateing" is copper/nickel/chrome. Copper first, as you can polish to a mirror shine more easily, nickel for durability. I'd then stop there, but buffing the nickel and topping with chrome was the way for many objects..
Click to expand...
I happened to meet someone last night while drinking beer who does this for a living. He described this process essentially exactly the same for different end results. They always build their coatings from different layers to get maximum stability, uniformity and the best look.
Rusan said:
Rock, if you're wanting a matte nickel finish, try to find a local shop that has a sandblasting cabinet with fine glass beads or ceramic bead media. If you were in the U.S., you could just send it to me and I'd glass-bead it for you at my workplace.
Click to expand...
I would also like to have such a machine but for the beginning handwork and my small polishing wheel will have to do. Let's see how far you can get with it.

The pro guy last night also said that the material preparation in addition to the actual process is the keyfactor for a good end result.
FIX said:
Use lead free solder, the silver will love the nickel.
Click to expand...
Interesting, I will try some solders. I am also curious how well the copper tubes can be soldered. This is also new territory for me.
Normally I do not solder with an open flame!😅
 
Silver solder is ideal here. Smooth it as best you can, copper plate. Buff & repeat as necessary. Copper tubing is such a a great idea for a mic body! I'm going to search for the head/mesh in a size that fits copper tubing, then get one of those Flat 47 capsules from the wt mrkt...
 

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