Design Nomenclature / Physical Model Making
Plating
Also called electroplating, chrome plating, electroless nickel
This entry has not been translated yet and is shown in English.
Depositing metal onto a conductive part from solution, electrically or by autocatalytic reaction. The deposit follows the substrate exactly and amplifies it — plating is a mirror of whatever was underneath, which is why a chromed part is polished before it is plated, never after.
In practice
Model shops rarely plate; they spray a chrome-look lacquer over gloss black and call it plating. It reads at two metres and nowhere closer.