Chapter IV Electroplating and Allied Arts
This is an art which is usually deemed worthy of a treatise to itself, but for ordinary laboratory purposes it is a very simple matter — so simple, indeed, that the multiplicity of receipts as given in treatises are rather a source of embarrassment than otherwise.
The fundamental principles of the art are:-
(1) Dirty work cannot be electroplated.
(2) Electroplated surfaces may be rougher, but will not be smoother than the original unplated surface.
(3) The art of electroplating being in advance of the science, it is necessary to be careful as to carrying out instructions in detail. This particularly applies to the conditions which determine whether a metallic deposit shall come down in a reguline or in a crystalline manner.