The AK-47 (or Avtomat Kalashnikova) was designed and developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the Soviet Union and is the world’s most popular assault rifle. The gas operated 7.62mm assault rifle was first developed in the early 1940s and AK-47 stands for Kalashnikov automatic rifle, model of 1947.

Mikhail Kalashnikov began his career as an arms designer while in a hospital after he was shot in the shoulder during the Battle of Bryansk. After experimenting with a sub-machine gun design, he entered a competition for a new weapon that would chamber the 7.62×41mm round developed in 1943 (the 7.62×41mm round predated the current 7.62×39mm). A particular requirement of the competition was reliability of the firearm in muddy, wet, and frozen conditions of the Soviet frontline. Kalashnikov designed a carbine. At the same time, the Soviet Army was keen in developing a true assault rifle employing a shortened M1943 round. The first such weapon was presented by Aleksey Sudayev in 1944 but in trials was found to be just too heavy. A new design competition was held two years later where Kalashnikov and his design team submitted an entry. It was a gas-operated rifle which had a breech-block mechanism similar to his 1944 carbine with a curved 30-round magazine.

An earlier development of the original design was the AKS-47 (S—Skladnoy or ‘folding’). This was fitted with an underfolding metal shoulder stock, as can be seen here in the first picture below. This was deemed to be very useful in confined spaces.

The AK-47 is very well known for its reliability and, being gas operated, uses the gas from the barrel to push the piston attached to the bolt carrier to operate the action. The gas tube is quite large and can be seen in the first picture below just above the barrel, the rear of it being encased in wood. If you look closely the vents in the gas tube are there to allow the excess gas to escape without affecting the action. The AK47 is built with generous clearances, allowing it to function easily in dirty environments needing virtually no maintenance. It is very simple to disassemble and clean, and very easy to keep in working order.

The whole weapon needed stripping, degreasing and polishing. This took many hours to be able to achieve the finish that we required – including the 5 hours of polishing that was essential before the electroplating process could even be started.

As can be seen in the picture below, the end product is an absolutely stunning 24 carat gold, high gloss finish, AK47 Assault Rifle and will make a superb display and/or collector’s piece.

The video below is an excellent informative example explaining the workings of the AK-47 with an excellent comparison between the AK-47 and the American M16 rifle.

The AK-47 was one of the first true assault rifles, it is in fact more of a machine gun than a rifle. Even after more than sixty years, due to its bomb-proof durability, ultra low production cost and remarkable ease of use in the field, it’s still the most widely used and popular assault rifle in the world today. It has seen action with armed forces as well as terrorist groups worldwide.

For more pictures relating to this article please see our gallery at Pure Gold Plating.

If you are interested in purchasing this item then please see it in our store here AK-47 at Pure Gold Plating.

Gold plating of jewellery is common because it gives the look of gold, but does not have the associated cost of gold. In jewellery applications, gold plating is most commonly applied to silver. The jewellery then actually includes two precious metals, rather than just one.
While many people associate gold plating with jewellery, it is not the only application. Gold plating is also used in electronic applications. This allows better conductivity helping to make things resistant to abrasion and wear.

Gold plating can be accomplished in a number of different ways, including electroplating. This is done by putting the object being plated, the cathode, into a solution, called the electrolyte. It is then connected to the negative side of a charge, such as a power rectifier. Then, the donor for the plating, the anode, is also placed in the solution connected to the positive side of the charge. Ionization occurs and the anode slowly dissolves, with the positively charged ions in the metal going to the negatively charged product and bonding to form the plated finish.

However, gold plating, like most types of metal finishing, can be done in a number of other ways. The gold metal can be suspended in a solution. A swab wrapped around the end of the anode is then dipped into this solution which is then wiped over the object being plated. The goal is to maximize the effect but to minimize the amount of gold needed to do the job which in turn reduces waste and cuts costs. Another advantage of this is that the gold plating jobs can be done mobile, meaning the electroplating plant can be taken to the job rather than the job come to the electroplating plant. This is by no means a low-tech solution and the overall results equal that of conventional tank plating.

Due to the fact that gold is such a soft metal and the layer over jewellery products is so thin, there will likely be a time when the gold plating does become worn. Jewellery, especially pieces worn daily, tends to suffer more wear and abuse. Sending such items to Pure Gold Plating for repair is the best way to restore them to their original condition. Gold plating is usually very cost effective and we even guarantee our work.

If you would like a quote, please visit us at Pure Gold Plating or contact us through the forum username: PureGold.

While there are now many options for size, colour, and functionality, permanently altering the iPod has ultimately been left up to Apple. There are many temporary options for personalizing one’s iPod with the use of skins and cases. Skins are decal-like stickers that can be applied by the customer. Offering quite a few options, the skins and cases allow customization without commitment. However, they often peel off and result in a less than attractive look. This is not exactly ideal for such an expensive piece of equipment. A better option without damaging the device and while still allowing the user to impart their mark on their iPod, is gold plating.

Although any iPod can successfully undergo the gold plating process, there are a few things to take into consideration when attempting to do so. Some iPods are simpler than others to gold plate. For example, iPods with a stainless steel back can be electroplated easily. Electroplating can be done with various precious metals, such as silver, white gold, rose gold, platinum, and, in this case, yellow gold. Despite the many options of precious metals to use, the object to be electroplated must have conductive properties for the result to be successful. Therefore, while easy to gold plate an iPod with a stainless steel backing, iPods with an aluminium case need to be stripped of any anodizing before being zincated, copper plated, nickel plated and finally gold plated.

The hard hitting mp3 player put out by Apple, the iPod, has become the “gold standard” in the industry. It has undergone many facelifts over the past few years. Some small, some major, everything from colour, to finish, to size have been tweaked on a regular basis. These new models are put out so often that, as a consumer, one is hard-pressed to keep up. So instead of trying to keep up with the masses, it makes sense to take the look of your iPod into your own hands and upgrade to gold status!

If you would like a quote, please visit us at Pure Gold Plating or contact us through the forum username: PureGold.

Because of its appearance and chemical properties white bronze is an ideal substitute for nickel and silver. Also, because white bronze is highly resistant to corrosion and breakdown, being solderable, non-magnetic, smooth, and virtually non-porous, it also has one advantage over silver, it will not tarnish.

There are certain situations when white bronze cannot be used as a substitute for silver, it is not used to replace silver in jewellery made only of silver because then it would not be silver. It is used as a barrier between a base metal and gold plating in gold plated jewellery. A perfect example would be gold plating a copper ring. White bronze would first be electroplated onto the copper before the gold to act as this barrier. Without this white bronze layer the copper atoms would diffuse into the gold layer and eventually affect the gold colour. This process can take anywhere from months to several years.

White bronze is actually very attractive, despite its low cost, meaning that in some jewellery it can be used as the final layer. White bronze usually has a thickness of about 1 to 2.5 microns when used internally as a barrier layer. One micron is only 1 – 1/1000th of 1mm.

Certain companies, from the late 1800s, were using white bronze for grave markers. Though, this type was mostly zinc (sold as “White Bronze”) giving the impression of a more luxurious and expensive metal, rather than the mainly tin alloy it was. Grave markers made of this material usually had a pale blue appearance due to the metal finishing process they underwent called “steam bluing”.

If you would like a quote, please visit us at Pure Gold Plating or contact us through the forum username: PureGold.

One way to restore silver antiques is by re-plating the old surface with a new one. Commonly employing silver plating to do so, antique restorers will cover the old, damaged surface with a new coating of silver. Easy in theory but in practice a lot more work is usually involved. In the example photo below you can see how an item often comes in to us for restoration. This antique flatware required a large amount of prep work including four polishing stages before the electroplating took place.

Finally, the application of silver was done through a process known as electroplating. Electroplating involves coating a conductive surface with an electrolyte containing the actual silver. This is an excellent method to brighten up and restore new life to antique silver pieces such as silverware, bowls, teapots and like items. In preserving the original shape of the object, its function is preserved while its look is greatly enhanced as you can see in the image of the finished item below.

Oftentimes a repair will first be necessary in order to finish a restoration. And in some cases, the restoration actually is the repair itself. No matter if a functional repair is performed beforehand or not, great care must be taken in order to preserve as much of the original piece as possible. Additionally, one must take great care to keep the restoration in line with the traditional look and age of the piece being worked on. For example, polishing and buffing antique silverware enhances any item when done correctly. However, if brought to a shine that is not in line with the age of the cherished item, they no longer retain their antique appeal and thus, can actually decrease in value. We are often asked to restore antique silverware but retain its history. Surprisingly, customers do not always want all of the scratches polished out.

The trick with antique restoration is to take away or cover just enough of the damage in order to allow the natural age, and the beauty that comes with that age, to shine through. One must keep in mind that they are restoring rather than remaking. If the owner of the antique wanted a brand new sugar bowl for their table, they would simply go to the store and purchase a new one. Instead, they choose to retain their antique piece and, with a little gentle antique restoration, bring out its unique and original charm.

For more information, or if you would like your antique silverware restoring, please visit us at Pure Gold Plating or contact us through the forum username: PureGold.

Personalizing one’s PS3 presents quite a challenge. As most people know, users are very loyal to their preferred gaming system and like to add on as many gadgets as possible. Whether that is a new, unique, controller, or obtaining one of the many new PS3 games, the options for personalization of the unit itself are still fairly limited. For a professional looking, yet still one-of-a-kind option, why not consider gold plating your PS3. Not commonly found in the marketplace today, a gold PS3 definitely stands out from the crowd. The gold plating adds a professional and luxurious look without having to take apart or damage the system itself.

Gold plating plastic presents a unique challenge. The majority of the console does not undergo the plating process as only the conductive chrome plastic parts are suitable for gold electroplating. Attempting to gold plate the black plastic panels leads to a sub-par finish and results in poor durability. Because of this, the gold plated PlayStation3 was only gold plated on the previously chromed plastic parts of the device. The chrome must first be stripped using a safe and non-damaging electro-chemical process to reveal the underlying nickel. This nickel provides a good conductive base for the gold plating to be applied. The process of selectively gold plating certain parts and not others, results in a stunning and unique PS3.

A gold PS3 is the ultimate luxury for the serious gamer and the design of the console lends itself very well to the elegant look that gold plating imparts. Showing off not only style and class, a gold plated PlayStation 3 enhances the gaming experience in a whole new way. No longer needing to settle for inexpensive looking decals to cover the unit, gold plating is a way to permanently and professionally personalize one’s PS3. Gold PlayStations will most likely never be offered on a mass scale, so why not get your current PS3 console electroplated? The result is well worth it and the outcome is that you will own a truly unique PlayStation 3.

For more information, or if you would like your games console gold plating, please visit us at Pure Gold Plating or contact us through the forum username: PureGold.

Gold plated paintball guns are just that: gold plated. Solid gold paintball guns, although interesting in theory, do not make sense for several reasons. One of those reasons is cost. The cost to make a solid gold gun would make them virtually impossible to produce and thus would not be able to be purchased by the average consumer. The second reason is weight. As any paintballer knows, the guns need to be light. For ease of movement and speed, as well as the endurance of the paintballer, a solid gold gun simply would not make practical sense.

One major UK paintball equipment supplier that has taken the plunge in gold plating a paintball gun is Fat Bob’s Paintball. The store and website is run by Andy Sables, whom also owns the adrenaline filled Yorkshire Paintball Centre. The paintball gun that was chosen to be plated was an aluminium bodied DM9. This was done through a process called electroplating. Electroplating aluminium, unlike other metals, is a more specialized and timely process to enable the original aluminium surface to be coated with gold. The results are well worth it and speak for themselves, as you can see in the photograph below.

Personalizing seems to be a way of life these days. Whether it is a phone, an iPod, or a car, it is a way to show off our individuality. Being the ultimate symbol of luxury, gold gives off a sense of extravagance and exclusivity. Having made a comeback in terms of popularity, it is truly the “gold standard” of metals. For the paintball enthusiast, gold plating their paintball gun allows them to show their dedication to the sport while imparting an heir of elegance, and all without compromising performance. Adding that little something extra will make sure that fellow competitors take notice. After all, every paintballer wants to be the man with the Midas touch!

Whether you want to buy a new marker or simply customize your current marker, for the best in gold plated paintball guns, including the new DM10, please visit FatBobsPaintball or email Andy Sables, the man with the Midas touch!

Silver plating was introduced in the 19th century and the oldest known silver plate is known as the Old Sheffield Plate. This type of plating was a combination of copper and silver plating. Although it was discovered by accident by a worker at Sheffield, silver electroplating later became famous because it was not only cost effective but the resulting product proved to be quite strong as well. In this type of silver electroplating, heavy copper plating is done first before applying a thin plate of silver. Nowadays, the Old Sheffield Plate method is no longer widely used since easier and faster ways of doing silver electroplating have become available.

In a bid to make it easier for people to make their objects silver plated, you will see that there have been a lot of products that claim to perform silver plating on jewelry and other objects in the comfort of your own home. This process, which is more popularly known as immersion plating, is quite simple because you just immerse a silver or silver plated object in a solution. There are also some products that require you to wipe on some kind of solution or product to an object instead of immersing them. This process is still called immersion plating even if it does not require dipping of the object because the term was coined not to describe the act of submerging but to refer to a certain chemical reaction that happens when the solution comes in contact with the metal.

The main difference between immersion silvering or plating with silver plating is that the latter makes use of a rectifier or an outside source of direct current so that the electroplating ensues regardless of the kind of material of the object being plated. Besides, this type of silver plating produces longer lasting shine and luster than the one done using simple immersion plating.

Typically, platinum plating is done on other metals like niobium, titanium, and even stainless steel.  There are actually several types of platinum metals. Apart from platinum itself, you can also count palladium, iridium, osmium, rhodium, and ruthenium as part of the platinum group of metals. All these materials share the same properties. Thus, they are often used interchangeably. Platinum is recognized as a metal that will not melt under ordinary heating conditions. It is also known for having high resistance against corrosion. Its hardness is also legendary. On top of all these features is the fact that this metal is also rare. That is why platinum is actually more expensive than gold. No wonder, many high-heeled individuals also want this metal to be added to their jewelries or home decorations.

But despite the high costs associated with platinum, they are still used for countless mechanical and engineering purposes. Many platinum plated materials are used in common electronic components and semiconductors because this metal is very versatile. It can be applied thinly onto objects without necessarily compromising its hardness. Two methods are used to electroplate platinum onto other base metals. One is by neutral plating which can enhance the anti-corrosive properties of platinum. This is mainly used in airplanes and spacecrafts and home decorations. The other process is called acidic plating which harnesses the efficient conductivity of the metal. This way of doing platinum plating is used on electrical components.

In jewelry, the unmistakable luster of platinum makes it look more elegant than gold or silver. Not only is this metal very hard, but it can also complement the appearance of most gemstones and other precious metals used in jewelry. But despite all its uses, the actual procedure used in platinum electroplating is actually very simple. The base metal or material is simply submerged in an electrolyte solution that contains a good amount of platinum. The solution is responsible for causing the platinum to attach to the base metal.

Gold plating is the process of coating base metals like brass and steel or even copper and silver with a thin overlay of gold. Typically, the whole process involves electrochemical or even chemical procedures. Strictly speaking, when creating a gold plate, the base metal is submerged into an electroplating solution where a piece of solid gold is added, also referred to as an anode. Then, by applying electric current, gold is overlaid onto the base metal. It must be pointed out that gold plating only adds a thin layer of this precious metal, so it is highly possible that the distinct yellow metallic color of gold can wear off in time.

Another form of gold plating is known as gold filling. The difference between the conventional way of plating and filling lies in the gold plating thickness and process of adding the gold layer. In gold filling, the base metal is covered with not just one, but several sheets of gold layer. This means that the gold coating added is thicker than ordinary gold plating. Also, the gold filling is attached through mechanical means. It must be emphasized that the base metal is not literally filled with gold. Rather, just like in plating, gold is added on the surface of the base metal. Gold filling is typically used in jewelry making, while gold plating has found its use in electronics.

Indeed, the process of adding a layer of gold onto base metals has been practiced for centuries now. It has been a focal segment of the jewelry business and is now playing an important role in the electronics industry. In practice, gold plating is done using different degrees of gold fineness that can go anywhere from 10 to 18 karats. Also, gold plating thickness depends a lot on the usage of the particular object or jewelry. For instance, gold plated cigarette cases can have gold that is 75 to 400 microns thick, that’s about 7.5% to 40% of a millimeter; 1000 microns are the equivalent of just 1 millimeter.

The thickness or the karat of gold deposited onto the surface of an object can be controlled during the process of gold electroplating. The really hard wearing gold plated objects have at least 5% gold in their total weight, and usually 14 karats of the precious metal has been added. Always remember that no matter how much gold was used to plate your jewelry, or any other object for that matter, only with proper care will you be able to ensure that your gold plated objects will last a lifetime.