I have about twenty year's experience with electroless plating, but I used Brownells chemicals and recommended procedure. I'm sure there are differences in the procedures, but there are some common pitfalls.
Good results can be obtained if you follow the instructions to the letter. I would do some practice runs on various odds and ends (tool steel) prior to doing your first job on a gun. The parts and firearms I did were always prepped, washed and sprayed with clean silica prior to plating. This "matte" surface not only helps the material adhere to the part better, but helps to hide imperfections on the surface, if there are any. I used large, porcelain lined containers for my solutions, an overhead stirring motor, necessary heat (195 degrees) was provided by a double gas burner.
Remember that cleanliness is of utmost importance. Be sure not to touch the prepped parts with your bare hands, wear clean, disposable rubber gloves, and replace them often. This will protect your hands and prevent you from contaminating the parts as you move them around. Also, remember that the plating will have a tendency to "magnify" even tiny scratches or other imperfections.....especially if you are polishing the surface prior to plating. You must thoroughly examine the part in very good lighting prior to plating to be sure that the surface is clean, polished to your satisfaction, and properly prepped, according to the directions.
As you have probably already read, the electroless plating layer is very thin (well under .001") and, unlike electroplating, is very uniform over the entire surface of the part. This mitigates issues with reassembly, so you can fully disassemble the gun, and separate out the parts you do not want to plate....like the springs, center pin, extractor, front locking bolt, rear sight assy, internals like the hammer, trigger, bolt, etc.
I found that if parts were left on/assembled during plating, the quality of the plated material near the junction of the parts was often compromised. It's better in my opinion to separate the assembly. I never plated internals.
Be sure to "re-hydrate" the parts with some type of high quality lubricant after rinsing and drying, and prior to re-assembling them. After plating, the parts will be free from all lubricants, and as such, will be vulnerable to oxidation....especially in the cracks and crevices you cannot see. I usually sprayed with Break-Free, but you could use any lubricant compatible with the plating you are using. You might consider driving this "after plating" lubrication into the places you cannot see using clean, compressed air.
Contact Caswell if you have any questions. They should be happy to provide you with the info you need. You can also PM me if I can help further with general info.....as I indicated above, I'm not familiar with Caswell's system....but I have made every mistake possible, some more than once.
