Plating on steel follows a similar sequence to plating on other metals. Clean, activate, apply a strike, and electroplate. Alkaline cleaners are commonly used for soak and electro-clean. Muriatic acid can be used to deoxidize the steel. Both alkaline copper and watts nickel can be used to strike the steel (apply the first layer of plating).

To properly prepare the metal for plating, we will dunk it in 20 to 50 percent sulfuric acid at 150°F to activate it. Once that's completed, we'll then move onto plating, which involves placing it in a chrome bath for a few moments before gradually introducing voltage.