I think I am the one that started the questions about metal plating.
Some guys do it at home with kits and some go to fine platers in their
own area.

I was afraid to ship anything across country having already had bad
luck with some Wurlitzer parts for a Solo Violin model piano.  I bought
some nickel anodes and pure nickel plating solution.  I then used
a power supply, a.k.a. "wall wart", from an old Skill power screwdriver
as a power source.

The parts have to be really clean.  I used muriatic acid to clean the
old parts and a Scotch-Brite wheel on the buffer.  The parts plated
beautifully.  They do not look new like a car bumper, but they look
better than a pile of rusty parts.

Most plating chemicals today are made to plate at temperatures above
100 degrees F.  The nickel sulfate solutions are the type of solutions
used in Watts plating.  These solutions work in 90 degree temperatures,
leaving a nice almost dull looking nickel plate.  The hotter the
solution the brighter the plating.  I plated at 2 volts.  The thickness
of the plating depends on how much time, how many amps and volts you
choose.  There are tons of different web sites with information on
nickel plating.

I bought my supplies from a jewelry supply company.  If you are
actually in the plating business the supplies are very cheap compared
to the supplies from the jewelry supply company.  For example, nickel
anodes from a plating supply company are around 94 cents per pound,
and $7.00 per ounce from the jewelry supply company.  Same with the
chemicals, but then buying from the supply company was not an option
as I do not have the necessary EPA papers.

Don Teach