[punx777]

Hello guys, this is my first post to chemforums. I don't know much about chemistry outside of my one high school class. We electroplated a penny.

I have a 1.5ish square-foot piece of wood, and i am wanting to CHROME IT.... chrome paint kits cost hundreds of dollars, and i've before seen chrome-plated wood.. and i want to replicate the results.



I'm looking for a cost effective alternative to expensive chrome kits     (+300 dollars for a pint)

IS THIS POSSIBLE??
Is there a metal chemical that can somehow be applied evenly to the entire surface of the wood? (i.e. paint?)
What, and how much of the specific chemicals do i need, and where can i find them?


Thanks so much for your responses to my problem:P

[Arkcon]

For a smooth finish, you're going to want the kit.  By the time you buy all individual chemicals, you'll easily spend a couple of hundred dollars, and you won't have any of the things you need to control the plating to get a smooth surface.

As I recall from my kid's book of science, written in the 1960's, when a child's safety was clearly the last thing on the author's mind, non-conductive items you wanted to electroplate were first painted with a conductive paint containing graphite, and other components I don't recall.  But that was just a game really, if the surface wasn't mirror smooth we didn't care, we just got to see electroplating in action.