Short answer
A complete brush plating setup starts at $400, and solution costs roughly $0.22 to $1.03 per square inch depending on the metal, based on each pen covering about 300 square inches. Re-plating a square inch of worn contact with degreaser, nickel and 24K gold uses under $1 of solution. Job shops and tank lines win on large areas, thick deposits and high volume, not on spot repair.
What brush plating costs to start
There is no tank, rectifier, bath chemistry or ventilation to buy. The power supply is the only piece of equipment, and it is reused for every metal.
| Item | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Contact Repair Kit (PL-1000C) | $400 | Power supply, cables, degreaser, nickel and 24K gold pens |
| Deluxe Kit (PL-1000K) | $540 | Power supply, cables and six pens for mixed-metal work |
| Power supply (PL-1000) | $220 | Runs every pen; optional if you own a variable DC supply up to 12V at 0.1A |
| Connector cables (PL-1001) | $20 | Connects the pen and part to the supply |
| Individual pens | $65 to $310 | One metal per pen, 10 ml of concentrated solution each |
Solution cost per square inch
Each standard pen holds 10 ml of concentrated solution and plates approximately 300 square inches, per the Micro-Metallizer catalog. Dividing the list price by that coverage gives a working cost per square inch.
| Pen | List price | Per square inch |
|---|---|---|
| Absorbent / Degreaser | $65 | about $0.22 |
| Copper, zinc, chrome color | $65 | about $0.22 |
| Nickel, black nickel, tin | $70 | about $0.23 |
| Silver | $85 | about $0.28 |
| Palladium | $140 | about $0.47 |
| Gold 24K, 18K, 14K | $145 | about $0.48 |
| Rhodium | $310 | about $1.03 |
Actual coverage depends on how thick you build the deposit. Precious metal pen prices can change with metal markets.
Worked example: one square inch of worn gold contact
Say the worn area across a connector adds up to one square inch of copper that needs nickel and 24K gold. Degreasing uses about $0.22 of solution, the nickel layer about $0.23 and the gold about $0.48: under $1 in total.
Time is a few minutes per metal. On a 1 in² area, a standard nickel pen deposits about 0.4 µm in 2 minutes and a standard gold pen about 0.5 µm in 2 minutes. The part never leaves the bench, and in most cases it never leaves the assembly.
Where the other methods spend money
Prices for outside plating and in-house lines vary too much by region, metal and volume to quote fairly. What does not vary is where the costs come from.
| Cost driver | Brush plating pen | Plating job shop | In-house tank line | Replace the part |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equipment | Power supply only | None for you | Tanks, rectifiers, ventilation | None |
| Chemistry | Sealed pens, bought as needed | Included in the job price | Baths to buy, analyze and replenish | None |
| Minimums | None | Lot or minimum charges are common | None once set up | Full part price |
| Masking | None, plates only where the tip touches | Labor to mask everything else | Labor to mask everything else | None |
| Removal and reinstall | Usually plate in place | Required | Required | Required |
| Shipping and turnaround | None | Both ways, plus queue time | None | Order lead time |
| Waste | A used pen | Handled by the shop | Bath disposal and wastewater treatment | The old part |
| Downtime | Minutes | Days or more while the part is away | Hours | Until the new part arrives |
When brush plating is not the cheaper option
- Plating entire parts, or large surface areas, where pens would be used up quickly
- Deposits thicker than 1.5 to 1.8 µm (standard pens) or 3 to 3.6 µm (heavy-duty pens)
- High-volume production finishing, where a tank line spreads its fixed costs over thousands of parts
- Aluminum parts, which the Micro-Metallizer system does not plate
- Cheap parts that cost less to replace than the time to repair them
How to compare for your own job
- Add up the area that actually needs plating, in square inches
- Multiply by the per-square-inch cost of each pen in your sequence
- Compare that, plus a few minutes of bench time, against the outside quote including minimums, masking, shipping both ways and the time the part or equipment is out of service
- If the part would otherwise be replaced, compare against the replacement price and lead time
Frequently asked questions
How much does brush plating cost?
A complete setup starts at $400 for the Contact Repair Kit. Solution runs about $0.22 to $1.03 per square inch depending on the metal, based on roughly 300 square inches per pen.
Is brush plating cheaper than sending parts to a plating shop?
For spot repair and small areas, usually yes, because you avoid minimum charges, masking, shipping and the time the part is away. For whole parts, thick deposits or high volume, a plating shop is usually cheaper.
How much gold does it cost to plate one square inch?
A standard gold pen ($145) covers about 300 square inches, so roughly $0.48 of solution per square inch. Thicker deposits use more.
Do I need to buy a power supply?
Not if you already own a variable DC supply up to 12V at 0.1A. Otherwise the Micro-Metallizer supply is $220 and is included in every kit.
Are there ongoing costs besides pens?
No bath chemistry, tank maintenance or waste treatment. Ongoing cost is replacement pens as they run out.
Not sure which pens your part needs?
Tell us the substrate and the finish you need. The people who build the system will tell you the sequence.