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Stationary type TANK Gold
Plating Systems
The Custom Designed "Stationary type
TANK Plating System will give you the ability to gold plate Automotive OEM Chrome items
such as Wheels, and the ability to do a very uniform gold plating application on smaller
chrome pieces.
The best start is to make a
simple comparison between TANK PLATING and BRUSH PLATING.
BRUSH PLATING is like taking a
shower. You get a fresh stream of water from the shower head. As you take the shower, the
soap and whatever else is flushed off of you and down the drain. So, each time you take a
shower, you are always using fresh water, and reusing some soap.
TANK PLATING is like your taking
a bath in a tub and leaving the water, and whatever else, in the tub for the next person,
who takes a bath in the same water. Then, the third person gets a bath in water that has
the soap and assorted residue from the two preceding people. And so on.
Commonly, a TANK PLATER will
wash the pieces they are going to Gold Plate to remove common dirt.
Although it is not exactly the
same conditions, this simple illustration gives you an idea of why TANK PLATING requires
filtration systems and so on.
Because TANK PLATING reuses the
chemicals in the tanks, the process of sending the TANK CHEMICALS for LABORATORY ANALYSIS
is a common occurrence.
In BRUSH PLATING, you get
basically FRESH CHEMICALS for each application.
However, the description of TANK PLATING
means different things to different people.
- To some a 16 ounce container is a TANK TYPE
PLATING SYSTEM to gold plate over existing gold on small jewelry items.
- From our point of view, TANK PLATING means a
MINIMUM of a 33 gallon tank designed to do AUTOMOTIVE WHEELS.
To some people, TANK PLATING means gold
plating in a tank that is at least a 33 gallon tank (for Automotive wheels) as well as
substantially larger tanks for other items or groups of other items. To others, a 2 cup
container, which is only 16 ounces is what they refer to as a TANK in TANK PLATING. This
page refers to at least a 33 gallon tank.
The price ranges for the Gold Plating
equipment and associated supplies to get a GOLD Tank Plating System do not include added
equipment necessary to meet any, Local, State and or Federal EPA requirements. The price
ranges do not include any necessary electrical connections or other necessary service
connections or any additional required/necessary heating and or ventilation systems. The
price ranges do not include any business licensing fees, if any, to meet Local, State and
or Federal EPA requirements.
PLEASE NOTE: ALL PRICES SHOWN HERE ARE
SIMPLE ESTIMATES AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. WE WILL BE HAPPY TO QUOTE YOU PRICES FOR YOUR
SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.
SMC offers several Tank Plating systems or
steps depending on your need for volume and speed. You can start with the basic Tank
Plating system and add on additional items if that is necessary for you.
The first part you have to provide is an
area within your existing facility about the size of a one car garage to do the work in.
This may be a space problem for you, plus the space needs heat and ventilation, along with
chemical spill containment system. We can help you set up the chemical spill system. The
space to do the work in, is your first item to figure out. After you have the space
figured out we go to the equipment and associated supplies portion.
Saying you have the space and actually
creating the one car garage space may be a real challenge.
If your existing facility does not have the
space, a separate place takes a space of approximately a 2 car garage area. This is
exclusive of the space required for appropriate facility requirements to meet any Local,
State and or Federal EPA requirements.
The TYPES OF CUSTOM DESIGNED Tank Systems
are what we will call BASIC to ADVANCED. The price range is subject to a variety of
equipment and supplies needed to meet the job you are working to do. We will be happy to
work with you and give you prices appropriate to your needs.
In a BASIC system and the ADVANCED system,
you would get 6 tanks.
A Chrome Stripper tank and a chrome
stripper rinse tank.
A Nickel Activator tank and a nickel
activator rinse tank.
A Gold Plating Tank and a gold plating
rinse tank.
You do not want to mix the chemicals and
you do not want to rinse in the same tank either. Each tank is basically the same in any
system. Your cost, about $500+ per tank.
You will need to add a containment system
in case there is a spill. There are several methods which we will discuss with you in
greater detail as we go forward. The containment system IS NOT figured into the above
mentioned cost.
You would also need FILTERS and AGITATORS
to keep the chemicals mixed.
In the BASIC system you would get a special
filtration and agitation system for the Gold Plating Solution Tank.
You can use a paddle, sort of like a big
kitchen spatula, for the Chrome Stripper Tank and a separate paddle for the Nickel
Activator tank.
In the ADVANCED system, we would add the
special filtration and agitation system for you in all chemical tanks.
As a part of TANK GOLD PLATING, the issue
of CHEMICAL CONTAMINATION comes up. This is partly why we include filters.
For Brush Plater, chemical contamination is
not an issue or a concern to because in brush plating, the chemicals are either consumed
or run off into the drain pan.
There is a small potential for some residue
from an emblem getting back into the WORK SITE CONTAINER. However, this is very seldom.
In TANK PLATING, particularly in the GOLD
PLATING TANK, it is advisable to use TITANIUM electrodes (cathodes and anodes) to reduce
chemical contamination. Titanium electrodes are an EXTRA COST item, and well worth it.
In the BASIC system, you would get ONE
adjustable 100 amp POWER SUPPLY, specifically designed to work in the gold plating tank
industry. This will give you what you need to strip the chrome and deposit the gold onto
the wheels. In the ADVANCED system, you would get TWO of the 100 amp POWER SUPPLIES. Each
of the 100 amp power supplies runs approximately $1,250.
With two power supplies, you would have one
to strip the chrome and one to Gold Plate. Two POWER SUPPLIES is a smart move. You would
also have a BACK UP unit!
Having two POWER SUPPLIES gives you a back
up POWER SUPPLY. What this means is simple. Picture one of your POWER SUPPLIES breaks
down. You would still have the other one so you could still Gold Plate Wheels, although
slower because you only have one power supply to do two separate jobs, while you wait for
service or replacement on the broken down power supply.
There is the option to start at BASIC and
then add other items as necessary.
If your actual needs are low or unknown
now, it is smarter to start at the BASIC level and add other items as you grow. The add on
items are easy to add later and are 100% compatible. So, if you get started now, you can
add the add on items to gain speed, and so on, later.
We suggest special immersion HEATERS in the
CHROME STRIPPER TANK and in the GOLD PLATING TANK. These immersion heaters are an extra
cost item, which we believe offer a plus. We suggest you add the immersion heaters. You
can not heat MOBILE solutions. Mobile solutions are different in their use than the tank
chemicals.
Gold is another EXPENSIVE part of the
entire operation. The GOLD used in the MOBILE "BRUSH PLATING" systems is not the
same as the gold in TANK plating.
I would suggest starting with as much as 8
ounces in the 33 gallon tank. 8 ounces will enhance your operation. Plus, you will
continually need to add gold as you take it out of the tanks. However, if you want to
start on a minimum amount and grow as you need it (BASIC level), I see 4 ounces as a bare
minimum. Plus, you will need to add gold as you plate the wheels.
A 33 gallon tank with 4 ounces will gold
plate wheels.
A 33 gallon tank with 8 ounces gold plates
wheels better overall and faster too.
You do not have to go to the ADVANCED
system to have 8 ounces, just purchase 4 more ounces and use it with the BASIC system.
An ounce of TANK GOLD will run you
approximately $500+. The price changes with the gold market. Use $500+ as a
rough estimate. What you would pay is what it costs, when you buy, based on the worldwide
manufactured gold price plus a small mixing or fabrication charge.
The 4 ounces of gold will run you in the
area of $2,000. Gold prices change all the time. The figure of $2,000 is just a guide.
BASIC + $2,000 is almost $10,000. It adds up quickly.
How much gold you add, and how often you
add it hinges on how many wheels you are doing and how you set up how you do them. There
is a basic formula to give you on that.
The SMART way to do the gold plating on
wheels is to just plate gold on the surface of the wheel that shows. What shows to the
inside of the tire is unimportant. Many other people feel the same about the barrel of the
wheel. What you can save in GOLD by not plating these areas can plate another wheel. So,
it can cut your gold consumption by ½. Or, make your gold do twice as many wheels!
You will need a space approximately equal
to a ONE CAR GARAGE to do the work within your existing facility. Or about a 2 car garage
in a separate location. You want to set the tanks side by side so they look sort of like
these marks, II II II. You will set up your own processing line.
The first two II are the chrome stripper
and chrome stripper rinse tank.
The next two II are the nickel activator
tank and nickel activator rinse tank.
The last two II are the Gold Plating Tank
and the Gold Plating Rinse Tank
You can set it up so you start your
processing line starting from the left working to the right or starting from the right
working to the left. Your site will dictate the direction of work flow.
The end of the line needs to have a simple
way to get the wheel back into your warehouse or shop. You will need a system to catch any
spills as well as a good ventilation system.
Wheels are heavy. Safety says you should
not be lifting heavy materials and or suspending them over tanks of HAZARDOUS MATERIALS.
If a wheel slips and falls into a tank and there is a SPLASHING, the chemicals may
accidentally MIX. Or, a wheel could fall almost into one tank, and then wedge itself at
another tank. This is not good!
The simple solution is to install a simple
and inexpensive OVERHEAD TRACK system. The overhead track system, attaches to the ceiling
and has what you can call a CAR, that rolls on the track. You can install a simple block
and tackle system to lower the wheel into the tanks, and to lift them out of the tanks as
each step is finished. It is easy to secure the wheel to the overhead track car.
A side benefit to the overhead track is the
idea of QUALITY CONTROL. You can check the wheel after the chrome stripping process quite
easy if it is hanging in the air. Or, no one has to hold it while they look to see if they
got all of the chrome off of the wheel. Stripping all of the chrome off is more critical
on a wheel than it is on a script. The wheel is simply a bigger surface.
YOU CAN NOT OVER STRIP THE
CHROME.
The same is true for checking the quality
of the Gold Plating Job. It is easy to do with the wheel suspended.
There are wheels you will not want to try
to Gold Plate. Dayton wires with STAINLESS STEEL SPOKES is one. The spokes are highly
polished, quality, Stainless Steel. Gold will not stick to stainless steel. A brush
plating nickel strike will not last. Fortunately, most chrome wheels do not have stainless
steel spokes.
You WILL NOT be able to Gold Plate ALUMINUM
wheels.
Exactly what you need, is the type of
system we will develop for you. The systems are basically standard or common to the extent
you strip the chrome, activate the nickel and plate the gold.
The FOLLOW UP Service is important too. The
point of follow up service may not mean as much to you today if you are doing what is
commonly called "BRUSH PLATING." In Brush Plating, whatever chemicals are
consumed in the process are consumed and little residue, if any, is diluted by the rinse
water from your spray bottle and flows into your drain pan. When you finish a vehicle, the
chemicals are gone too. In tank plating, you keep reusing the same chemicals. It is
important to have frequent LABORATORY analysis of the chemicals in your tanks.
In tank plating, the aspect of CHEMICAL
CONTAMINATION becomes more important. Plus the aspect of CHEMICAL STRENGTH or WEAKNESS is
important too. This is particularly important in the Gold Plating Solution. If you do not
have your Gold Plating Solution at proper levels, your gold plating jobs will suffer. SMC
offers a laboratory analysis of your tanks so you will be able to keep on top of the
conditions of the tanks BEFORE you have a problem. Plus, as I said earlier, I have a basic
formula on when to add more gold. The OTHER CHEMICALS is what the laboratory analysis
helps on.
We are able to give you several simple ways
to determine the conditions of your tank and how to maintain the chemical levels and so on
for your tanks. However, the laboratory analysis is still a separate and important follow
up service.
You need to determine if adding a Tank
System to Gold Plate Wheels is the right direction for you. And, can you make enough money
from Gold Plating the chrome wheels of your own that you sell to pay for the cost of the
system. Other restylers usually do not go to a competitor to have Gold Plating work done.
They see that as making money for their competitor.
Speaking of costs, once you are all set up,
with either system, you can expect to see an approximate cost of doing a wheel. The reason
for the difference hinges on the size of the wheel. A larger wheel takes more gold. Plus,
you can mask off or coat part of the wheel to cut down on the gold consumption.
It is almost impossible to give you an
EXACT COST per wheel because of all of the different wheel sizes, how you mask it off, and
so on.
We are sure you will have more questions,
and want to give you more detailed information. You need to know if this is the direction
you want to go.
It is appropriate to point out you can
select from an assortment of options and run into real money fairly quickly too.
To calculate what to do and when to do it,
you have to figure out TIMING. Specifically, when do you sell the most GOLD PLATED WHEELS.
If this is the BUSY SEASON, it may not be the time to switch from what you already know
and is making you money to an unknown without time to set it up properly because you are
in a rush to get production. Further, if your sales of Gold Plated Wheels is going to drop
off in a month or so, you may want to hold off and do this over the Winter or early Spring
so you are up and running before your season starts.
If you are not selling Gold Plated Wheels
today, we suggest you do serious market research BEFORE you spend any money. Seeing
"Gold Plated Wheels" and going into business selling them are two different
items.
If you business is selling WHEELS, and you
already have an outside vendor doing the gold plating on the wheels you sell, you can look
at going into the business of serving your own customers based on an your existing
clientele and the extra business you may enjoy.
To be profitable in doing your own Gold
Plating on wheels means you already have HIGH DEMAND. Without the HIGH DEMAND, frequently
people find the actual cost of starting the business does not offer a good return on
investment (ROI).
We look forward to hearing from you about
your plans for a system to Gold Plate wheels.
To get
information on Gold Plating Chemicals for TANK TYPE SYSTEMS CLICK HERE.
To go to Mobile Gold Plating Systems CLICK HERE
To go to our 24 AMP Gold Plating System Page CLICK HERE
To go to our 35 AMP Gold Plating System Page CLICK HERE
To go to our GOLD PLATING INFORMATION PAGE,
CLICK HERE.
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