One of the hottest ideas for platers in a long time has been the gold packages on new cars and motorcycles. The first cars to be seen with the gold trim were Cadillac's and Mercedes. Lincoln's soon followed and before long everyone wanted the emblems on their cars to be gold plated. What better way to show your success than to have the trim on your car finished in 24kt gold. Since most of the plating of emblems is done directly on the car, we must use either the brush  or pen method. The following instructions are for plating the emblems without removing them from the car. Items needed for plating auto trim:

	Rectifier
	Magic Wand
	Plating Pen
	Dalmar Chrome Stripper
	Nickel Activator
	Dalmar 24kt Gold Brush Plating Solution.

Before starting always remember to follow the settings on the label of the chemical that you are using. This will give you the proper voltage or amperage for the job that you are doing. If the label tells you to reverse the leads on the machine, then plug your red lead into the black plug and the black lead into the red plug. The Dalmar portable rectifiers have a reverse switch on them so that you don't have to move your plugs. Most mistakes are made by not putting the leads back in their proper plugs after stripping.

Tape a piece of plastic sheet under the part where you are plating. This will catch the run off and make it easier to clean up after you are done. Clean the emblem with acid tone. Slip a sleeve on the Magic Wand. Reverse the leads on your rectifier.  Attach the black lead to the emblem or hold it against it to get contact.  Just make sure that you use a different sleeve for each chemical. Turn on the rectified and turn the dial until you get a reading of 12 volts. This is the setup used for stripping, it is the reverse of the way the leads are used for plating.

 Dip the wand into the Chrome Stripper and rub it over the entire surface of the emblem thoroughly. Keep the wand moving. This will remove the top or chrome layer from the emblem. The yellow that you see on the sleeve is the chrome coming off. Rinse the sleeve and go over the surface again. This way you can see if you get all the chrome off. Rinse the emblem with a solution of distilled water with a few drops of dishwater detergent. The detergent acts like a wetting agent and keeps the piece from water spotting. Use a spray bottle for this purpose.
Put a new sleeve on the Magic Wand and plug the wand into the red plug (Positive) on the rectifier. Put the black lead back into the black plug. Attach the black lead to the emblem. Turn on your rectifier. Set it to 8 volts. Dip the wand into the nickel activator and rub over the entire emblem.
Replace the sleeve on the wand with a fresh one and set the rectifier at 5 volts. Now dip the wand in the 24kt gold plating solution and rub over the emblem. (Remember this is the reverse of the way we stripped off the chrome.) Keep the wand moving at all times. The setting on the rectifier will vary from 5 to 10 volts depending on the work piece. The longer that you rub the solution over the surface of the emblem the thicker the buildup of gold will be. If the gold plating is applying too dark, then you are either moving the wand too slow or your setting on the rectifier is too high. If the plating seems too light than increase the power of the rectifier and slow down the movement of the wand. But always keep the wand moving or you may burn a mark on the emblem. After you have applied the gold solution, rinse with the distilled water solution.

The kit that is used for gold plating on cars is our Auto Trim Plating Kit

In the instructions, a Dalmar Pen Plater can be used instead of the Magic Wand when working on small items or for getting into tight places. If using the pen plater first dip the tip in distilled water. Both the Magic Wand and the Pen Plater will work with your present rectifier. Some of the emblems and trim are made of plastic or alloys that do not plate. Make sure that the piece you are working on is metal or at least has a conductive surface. If you are not sure, then test the piece with an ohm meter or continuity tester. On a scale of 100 you should have a reading of at least 40. If you can not get a reading of 40, than the item will not plate. A thickening agent for the pen solution is available from Dalmar. It is used to thicken the solution if you are having trouble with the solution dripping too much. Pour a little solution in a container and add the thickener until you get the consistency that you want. If this is your first time plating on auto trim then practice on an old piece first. A chrome plated license frame also makes a good practice piece. You may find that on some uneven surfaces it is easier to get into the crevices by using cotton on the Magic Wand. Some emblems on older cars, especially in states where the sun is very strong will be hard to plate. This is because they become corroded by the weather. Always check them for continuity before starting.