Plating ?

Thought I would update what I have been doing. I am still doing plating mostly following gord's instructions. A couple of things I have modified is that I am using Karo syrup for the brightener, I bought some zinc boat anodes that do work better than the swamp cooler ones, and I have added 300 grams of zinc sulfate to the mixture. It is coming out a bunch better IMO and plates quicker.

Over and out, for now.

We'll post up your entire recipe so we can try it .

Probably smells like pecan pie instead of vinegar menthol!

Here is the solution and anodes I am using now.

1 gal vinegar
1/2 cup Epsom salt
1/2 bottle of Karo corn syrup
300 grams (3 1/2oz) of 35.5% zinc sulfate (its used on fruit tree's, Ebay $12 for two pounds)
2-Camp R2 boat anodes.

It is plating quicker and brighter on my stuff.

Thanks for the info.....we all appreciate it.

Great thanx! Will try it on next batch of parts.

We tried the zinc sulfate originally and it didn't seem to make any difference. Now we're going to try the karo corn syrup. But then again, at this time of the year, maybe MAPLE syrup would be better!

Pretty funny Gord about the maple syrup. I found in my mixture the zinc sulfate seemed to make it plate a little more consistent. Maybe I was holding my mouth just right while plating.

Has anyone tried the homemade setup that Gord and others use with batteries rather than a battery charger? I've seen a couple of the kits online that use two D cell batteries. Same results??


Mark

Has anyone tried plating small nuts, bolts, etc. together in a wire basket rather than hanging them individually on separate wires?

We do everything individually on separate wires. You might be able to do them in a basket, but the basket would have to be non ferrous or it would get clogged with zinc. I would also worry about parts overlapping, depending on how many were put in the basket. I'm thinking individually to get the zinc evenly plated on all surfaces of the part. But several people have experimented with the original recipe I posted here. I guess you could try it and see what happens.

A couple questions...is distilled vinegar correct to use, and, if guys are using D cell batteries why couldn't you just hook up straight to a car battery? Or am I a tard and missing something obvious?

Some are using car battery chargers

I've had excellent results following this guy's process and materials:

http://home.comcast.net/~rt66tbird/website/zincplating.html

I use various DC power supplies from an old cordless phone set. I try to achieve about 140mA per sq. inch, as described in the link above.

-Mark

I am using a 5v, 1.6 amp cell phone charger and am having great results. I have also tried a 6v lantern battery that also worked well.

I have tried chargers with more voltage and the results were not as good as what I am using now. I have upgraded to cleaning vinegar as it is 6% compared to 5%.

That's a well written article.

I have used old battery acid to strip parts with good results and have found that the more preparation the better the finish [ same as chroming ]
I use the fish tank heater and have found the results a lot better. [ bit cool around here ]
I also use an adjustable power supply and have found that the least power [ less than 1 amp] gives a better result as well.

I remove the parts from the tank , wash them in water [ no touching with the fingers ] and hang them to dry.
Job done.

I have read a lot on this thread , but every one says it turns out great but no one really post any pics about a year later or after a lot of use. I would also like to know how it holds up under heavy humidity areas like down south where shit will rust over night if left out. I made the mistake of polishing all my spokes on the 87 and now I have to do it all the time because they will have rust on them if not.

Good point, I think the rustproofing aspect will depend on the plating thickness, and as you say, how much wear it gets. I would be keen to see some pics after a few years too.

I have been doing this at home but my stuff isn't turning out that "bright". I could get it shinny if I polished them but I don't want to remove any of the zinc. It does give it a "new" look to it but I can't tell you how durable it is yet. Here is some hardware for the engine on my '67 Honda Ca77 dream. The copper washers are just that.

Hate to say this but beed blast all your parts/ wire wheel them and price how much a plater will do it for.
I have a guy doing mine now that's reasonable and really not worth the hassle.