You've actually inspired me to replate some of my stuff. I did a lot of mine in the winter when the shop was chilly. I knew the water should be warm but I kind of ignored it, tried an aquarium heater but didn't have the patience. I know the temps have a large effect on the speed and quality of the reactions. Most of my poor results were do to trying to rush things.
I was using distilled water (my water comes from a deep well and has some minerals in it), but I DO have a hot plate right in the shop that I could have used to warm it up ... if I wasn't in such a hurry.
Wish I had an area I could dedicate to the plating.
Are you going to try any of the Chromate coatings on top of the zinc? The Eastwood clear works nice. I also have tried it with my own batch of Sodium Di-Chromate, hit and miss, looks great when it works well though. But that stuff is a bit dangerous.
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