Blade Runner Blaster Electroplating Costs

[propsjonnyb]

As many forum members may know I've been experimenting with electroplating the parts to the Blade Runner Blaster as has Rich and I'm pleased say that I can now successfully offer the service to obviously UK forum members , but also to anyone else anywhere in the world customs restrictions permitting, a way round this is to ship it in part consignments.

The service works along these lines, you polish and finish any part or combination of parts or a complete blaster to your own satisfaction - the point to remember here is the better the polish and finish the better your electroplating will be ! and then send it to me , I will electroplate your part , combination of parts or full blaster , and 'Blue' the part if required , just for the cost of the chemicals needed - I will hand polish pack and ship it back to you FOC -you ONLY pay for the chemicals used , as costs are based on surface area per fluid oz used.

As pewter is not an easy material to plate ,each part will be plated with a base of Copper first and then Nickel , as Nickel will 'Blue' successfully - I will 'Parkerize' (which is a permanent finish many professional gunsmiths use), any piece, pieces or complete set, FREE OF CHARGE on request.
for example : -

an upper receiver will cost £58UKP or $85USD and is the single most expensive part as it's the largest surface area

a barrel will cost £10 UKD or $ 15USD

a full set of electroplated & Blued parts will cost £160 UKP or $235USD

The turn around on average will be approximately a week

A full breakdown of all parts and costs , in a variety of plate finishes including precious metals - real silver and 24kt gold is available on request PM me for details

More shots of finished parts and other items eg badges will be posted on the forum pages and I will produce a photo album of all individual parts and complete finished blasters in a variety of plate finishes in due course.

[racprops]

Darn that has me beat all to heck, all I can get is nickle and chrome plating.

Now I may have to ship parts to you.

Rich
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I never have enough time to do all I want to do!

[propsjonnyb]

Some photos in the Blaster Build Progress thread ,showing plated upper receiver and plated barrels, others to follow!

[eltee]

Would you be willing, for a fee, to clean up and prep (polish) an upper receiver inc. bolt handle prior to having it blued? My goal is to have an "as issued" looking blaster. It is currently an RAC all-metal Worldcon.

Also, has anyone ever removed the painted finish on the pre-Worldcon versions? I have an earlier version RAC all-metal blaster with the painted receiver which I'd also love to have polished and blued.

Are you using a hot blue? Are you using a park dip tank?

Incredible work you've done, and thank you for offering to help us out.

[propsjonnyb]

Hi Eltee, to answer your questions - yes I would at the quoted prices as I am only concerned about having to buy in the chemicals, the work/labour go free , I can also chemically strip the paint back to bare metal so no problems !. No it's not a hot blue process ( nasty stuff!) , it's a unique cold park dip tank method , it's a four step process , clean ( 5 min) , condition ( 3 min), Parkerize/black ( 15 to 20 depending on depth of colour) and seal ( 2 mins + 30 minutes rack drying time - and takes about 45 mins to an hour to complete end to end .

Here's a work in progress shot of a plated Sidkit 2006 Worldcon build , the gunframe, inner and outer handles, trigger guard, barrel and upper reciever are all electroplated pewter , parkerized . The Weaver slotted Screw and WW2 post are also parkerized .

[propsjonnyb]

For those that have asked , can I 'parkerize' pewter directly the answers is " Yes you can" however , what you get is dependant on the alloy mix used in the casting process, so almost all colours from deep chocolate brown ( high copper content ) to purple- black ( high tin content) are possible , it all depends how long the piece gets in the tank - and again for those that asked , I will parkerize for a set fee of £40 UKD that's $60 USD a single shipment of fully polished blaster pieces or single parts - what I will not guarantee is that you'll get them all back exactly the same colour ( even pieces cast at the same time colour up -differently !) , the deal goes you ship -I Parkerize pay Fee = I ship back ! , what I will try to achieve is the best possible colour match between pieces dependant on what you specify. I can ony guarantee the colour match on any piece or pieces I plate first then parkerize those charges are listed in another post here.

[racprops]

I only used a clear coat to stop the black from rubbing off.

So it was a treaded metal with just a clear coat over it.

A good lacquer thinner or acetone will strip it right off.

Rich
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I never have enough time to do all I want to do!