Should I plate cast iron with copper first before nickel plating? I have some antique handplane lever caps I would like to retore back to their former glory. They are made of nickel plated cast iron. The plating  pin holed and flaked in areas, creating rust spots.

I am planning on stripping the nickel using hydrochloric acid and electrolysis. I've heard that nickel has a much better affinity for copper than iron. Would it be a good idea to first plate the lever caps with copper and then plate them with nickel for a more durable finish?  Any other suggestions for improving the quality if the finish?
The standard technique is to copper plate then nickel ,then chromium, if you want chrome. The copper protects the steel then the nickel provides a silver surface color ,normally significantly thinner than the copper.