Caswell Gold Plating Solution

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The QCC
Posts: 397
Joined: Sat Oct 11, 2014 10:13 pm

Caswell Gold Plating Solution

#1 Post by The QCC » Mon May 11, 2015 7:51 pm

A few years ago I purchased a Caswell Plug N' Plate Gold Kit. After use there was a small portion remaining.
I forgot all about the kit until this Spring cleanup session. Upon shaking the bottle, I heard something rattling inside.
Using tweezers I extracted what looked like three small pieces of glass. On closer inpection they appear to be crystals that formed in the solution.
I poured some of the solution on a slide and evaporated it. The crystals were mounted on another slide using Expoxy 330.
I am now in the process of making what I hope will be a thin section of the crystals.
Murphy lives in our attic so I am documenting the stages in creating the thin section.

The linked slide presentation shows Stage 1, 180 grit flat lap grinding and Stage 2, 350grit flat lap polishing.
There are two more polishing stages, 600 grit and 1200 grit, and if the crystals survive I will show the results.

Thin section stage1 1 & 2

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JimT
Posts: 3247
Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2014 1:57 pm

Re: Caswell Gold Plating Solution

#2 Post by JimT » Mon May 11, 2015 10:59 pm

Neat but I am also curious. Any chance gold plating solutions could be a health hazard?

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