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Heat Conductivity
Heat conductors take thermal energy from a high temperature object and transfer the energy to a low temperature object. All metals conduct heat, but some conduct heat more efficiently, such as silver, copper, gold and aluminum. The heat conductivity properties of a poor conductor like wood, or a metal with lower conductivity like iron, increases when electroplated with a metal of high heat conductivity.
Electric Conductivity
Metals also conduct electrical energy well. Pure metals, like silver, gold and aluminum, conduct electricity the best, while alloys of multiple elements, like stainless steel, conduct electricity less effectively. Plating a low conductivity metal with a high conductivity metal increases its electrical conductivity, just as plating any object made of a non-conductor, like wood or plastic, adds electrical conductivity.
Hardness and Toughness
Electroplating often adds hardness and toughness to an object. Many nonmetallic objects requiring plating, such as those made with plastic and wood, have little hardness and may need plating in order to hold up against distortion, tearing and deformation. Pure metals can also be plated onto intermetallic compounds for added toughness.
Resistance
Some metals have better resistance properties than others, and these resistant metals often plate weaker metals to prevent undesirable chemical reactions from occurring. For example, iron corrodes relatively easily. Thin layers of tin are plated onto iron to form tin cans, since tin reacts less to most food products than iron. Likewise, zinc plates onto iron to protect structures in automobiles from corroding and forming rust.
Luster
Metals shine when polished, a property known as luster, and some metals have greater luster than others. Some electroplating makes use of luster for decorative purposes. For example, steel bumpers on the trucks often have nickel chrome plating added. Nickel has high reflective properties, and chrome adds a bluish tint that adds extra shine.
Other Aesthetic Properties
Some electroplating processes occur simple for aesthetic purposes. Jewelry manufacturing presents a major example of decorative electroplating. People value gold and silver, but making solid gold and silver jewelry is expensive. Plated jewelry has a level of gold or silver plated onto a less expensive metal, like copper. This conforms the jewelry piece to popular standards while cutting the cost.
Negative Effects
The negative effects of plating mostly depend upon the specific metals used in plating. Metals in general have high densities, and if a particularly heavy metal plates onto another another already heavy metal, the density and weight of an object may increase drastically. Metals with high brittleness---the property of cracking apart---also cause problems. When tin plates over copper, for example, an intermetallic alloy usually forms and causes an increase in the object's overall brittleness.