Gold plating without removing the covers - is it possible?

[Actual Bigfoot]

Hello everybody! This is such a basic question, but I know practically nothing about electronics, and I would be sincerely grateful to anybody here who is able to help me!

My question is this - is it possible to have the covers of a pair of humbuckers gold-plated without removing the covers from the pickups? Would the plating process damage the workings of the pickup? It would be simple enough to remove the covers, have them plated and then attach them again - but I just wondered whether it was possible to do it without removing and re-attaching the covers.

Many thanks to anyone who can help answer my "complete novice" question!

[CheopisIV]

You'd be getting a lot of liquid on/in/around the pickup if electroplating. Best bet would be to remove the cover and do it separately. Here's a cool vid on a very basic setup that might do just what you want.

[Actual Bigfoot]

Thank you very much, CheopisIV - that is exactly the type of information which I was looking for!
Perfect, thank you - I appreciate it sincerely!

[Jazz P Bass]

Your best bet is to simply buy new covers.

[David King]

This type of electroplating is extremely thin and won't hold up very well on a cover. Also the plating will mimic the surface so you really need to buff the surface first. These chemical kits are great until you need to get rid of them. You really can't pour them down the drain with a clean conscience. I'd send it out to a plating place that specializes in gold.

[J M Fahey]

Those chemicals and solutions are mentioned by brand but do not mention what's in them

They contain such niceties as:
* Sodium Hydroxide, a.k.a. "caustic soda" (note the caustic word which means heavily corrosive) which will happily eat through most organic products, including flesh and skin, and aluminum.
* Hydrocloric acid, a strong mineral acid which , among other things, will eat through *tiles* , marble , bone and flesh, if you do it in a workshop, get ready to have all tools within a few feet mysteriously rusting at an accelerated rate.
Here it's used to dissolve strong *nickel* and *chrome* .
* Oxalic acid: kills your kidneys in a very painful way. For a chilling report from a serious source: Acute renal failure following oxalic acid poisoning: a case report
* Gold Cloride (the gold salt which is dissolved in the bath; metallic gold is not soluble); it's toxic to kidneys and liver.
* Cyanide ... this one needs no introduction.
Both above form a two pronged attack on Humans:

Soluble compounds (gold salts) such as gold chloride are toxic to the liver and kidneys. Common cyanide salts of gold such as potassium gold cyanide, used in gold electroplating, are toxic by virtue of both their cyanide and gold content.

And so on and on.

FWIW I'm known for trying to do everything at my shop/minifactory including PCBs, panels, soeakers, transformers, stamping corner protectors, injecting knobs, horns, rubber parts, etc.

So no surprise I once bought everything (tanks, salts, acids, hooks, agitators, etc.) to make my own zinc plating bath (mainly for speaker frames and corner protectors) .
I installed it , processed one batch, dismantled and sold it at a loss.

No way I would breath those fumes regularly.
I have seen chest XRays of Industry workers: fist sized caverns in their lungs.

So plating/galvanizing is one area where I happily have jobs made outside.
So much so, that I do not even get inside plating shops; I ring the bell, have them carry the speaker frames or bags of stamped parts inside in some kind of cart, then have it delivered outside to be loaded on my van.
As simple as that.

To boot, last year my old time Tech partner passed away after fighting mystery Lung Cancer for 3 years ... he never ever smoked but was more of a daredevil kind than me, would get inside of foul chemical smelling shops, tack fiberglass sheets to Studio walls, sand cabinets without a proper mask, etc.
Oh well.

In a nutshell: pull those covers and send them to a Pro shop, which will also mirror polish them first, erase scratches and dings, etc.

Platers always say that "90% of a good job is done before actual plating" .

[Audiotexan]

Just a "like" on Juan's post isn't good enough...

He's *dead on*. These types of chemicals (and the processes that require them) ARE NO JOKE. Pay heed to the wisdom above!

[Actual Bigfoot]

Thank you to everybody who has contributed to this thread, and thanks in particular to Juan Fahey.
Juan, I am so sorry to hear about your old friend. The chemicals which we work with - and even things like mother of pearl, and some varieties of wood - are no joke indeed. Like yourself, I am always cautious about working with anything toxic. I always wear a mask when sanding mother of pearl, even in the smallest quantities, and I will definitely be sending this job out to a professional. Thank you once again for your concern and your words of advice - I will take them to heart. And I am truly sorry for the loss of your friend. God bless you.

[J M Fahey]

Thank you all

[Steve A.]

In view of the potential hazards involved I think I'd just bite the bullet and order the gold covers that fit the pickup. Warning: screw spacing seems to be all over the map these days so I would order the covers from the pickup mfg.

Steve A.

P.S. Sorry to hear about your friend.