If you want to, Google "gold plating wand" and ignore the Harry Potter hits.
Rio Grande used to sell the kits, but I couldn't navigate their web site.
Check out http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/plugnplate.htm if you really
want to build a goldplater.

According to Caswell, for aluminum, you first "zincate," then nickel plate,
and then put on the gold.

Note this is not at all the same thing as anodizing.

Roger

http://home.earthlink.net/~derbyrm

"Terry Spragg" wrote in message
...
wrote:

snip
We used to have a similar kit for doing gold plating on electrical
terminals in military connectors. It used a deadly poisonous gold cyanide
plating paste, and an electrical "Q" tip. The gold was a "B" class
consumable! Could never figure out how to actually order the gold,
though;-)

Thanks,
Terry K