Should I plate cast iron with copper first before nickel plating?

Question

I have some antique handplane lever caps I would like to retore back to their former glory. They are made of nickel plated cast iron. The plating pin holed and flaked in areas, creating rust spots.

I am planning on stripping the nickel using hydrochloric acid and electrolysis. I've heard that nickel has a much better affinity for copper than iron. Would it be a good idea to first plate the lever caps with copper and then plate them with nickel for a more durable finish? Any other suggestions for improving the quality if the finish?

Answer 1

Will you be doing the electroplating yourself? If so please take note that copper plating on iron/cast iron will require a special type of copper plating solution because the normal CuSO4 solution will not work, that is because Copper is more noble than Iron and it will form a flash coat of copper on iron/steel, but that coat is spongy and comes off real easy!