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GOLD PLATING ON
PLASTIC
The idea of depositing gold on a plastic part
has increased some since the introduction of the body color, or contrasting
colored, plain plastic script parts on some vehicles.
The process to do gold plating on plain
plastic is simple enough. It requires a process to make the plastic conductive.
The conductive coating can be as simple as a special conductive spray paint.
There are also similar types of conductive coatings that can be applied to the
plastic part.
The difficulty here is to achieve a smooth
finish so that the end result is a smooth and highly reflective surface, similar
to the highly reflective nickel finish on an OEM chrome script before the chrome
is applied.
On the other hand, a person can do the same,
as the OEM manufacturers require.
However, this process requires a high quality
level not typically found in the field doing gold plating of assorted scripts on
vehicles.
Because most of the scripts on vehicles today
are made of plastic, they have several coatings and eventually have a final
finish of chrome. Below that top layer of chrome is a layer of nickel. It is not
logical to expect to achieve that level of quality and overall durability while
working in the field.
One of the problems of gold plating on plastic
using non-OEM processing is the expansion and contraction characteristic between
the plastic part and the conductive coating. The differences of temperature does
create problems. Basically, cracks develop and the plating is damaged beyond
repair.
Another of the problems is achieving a high
quality reflective finish to deposit the gold onto.
This makes the idea of taking a plain plastic
automotive script or emblem and eventually coating it with gold a really
challenging project. I know that you can go to the electronics supplier and get
some conductive paint. However, your end result is not going to give the
long-term durability necessary in the automotive aftermarket.
It is smarter to stay away from this part of
the automotive business.
However, if you want to gold plate things like
baby shoes where the finish of dull gold is acceptable, they you can go to the
electronics supply house and purchase some conductive paint.
From a practical standpoint, I know gold
platers are making $200 to $250 per retail gold plating jobs on the average car.
Plus, I know I have customers who make $300 to $350 doing a retail gold plating
job on a large SUV. I do not know of anyone who is paying $200 to $350 for the
gold plating of Baby Shoes.
There is talk of a company who has a new
process to put a conductive coating on plastic. It is quite expensive and no
independent testing laboratory has announced a durability factor.
Basically, there is an extremely limited
market for gold plating on plain plastic.
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