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  #81  
Old 04-04-2020, 06:34 AM
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Thanks. I found the different descriptions confusing. I also found this guy's description of his process too. I was planning on trying it. I'll post results in the near future. http://www.southsandia.com/forum/web...ncplating.html

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  #82  
Old 04-04-2020, 05:27 PM
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Yep, I exchanged a few emails with him years ago. He got good results with his formula and for the most part that's what I still use.

  #83  
Old 04-15-2020, 09:25 PM
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So, Corona dictates that i do my own plating due to the places i was going to use are shut down. I followed this thread, and had excellent results. Thanks Dataway and PY for all of the help.
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  #84  
Old 04-16-2020, 02:13 AM
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Cardo, excellent results! What formula did you end up using? Any details on what voltages/amps/time worked for you? Part prep?

Your results look more uniform than mine.

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Old 04-16-2020, 05:53 AM
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I ended up using the formula that you said you use, the one that is in the link posted in post #81 above. I started out around .64 amp, and went up from there. Lower and slower is definitely better. Smaller thinner pieces seem to plate best around .60 amp, thicker heavier plates better around .80 - 1 amp. I plated several pieces, and toward the end of the day, I started getting some black sediment showing up on the edges, which comes off when brushing but i think i will mix a new solution (same formula) and start again. I tried higher amperages (up to 1.6 amp) and that is when the black started showing up. Some of it is starting to accumulate in the bottom of the bucket too. I think the higher amps may have "cooked" my solution somewhat. Prep - all pieces were glass beaded, dipped in the muratic acid solution, (200 ml acid to 4 liters water) till it stopped bubbling (5 - 10 minutes) rinsed in tap water, and straight into the plating. I plated all of those parts twice.

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  #86  
Old 04-16-2020, 07:27 AM
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Excellent. I think sometimes I lack the patience and try to speed things up too much ... or try to use solution that has sat around for a couple of months.

I'm slowly learning ... gather and prepare everything I want to plate, mix up a new batch of solution, do all the plating in one or two days and throw out the used formula.

Your result were really nice. Only about 70% of my stuff comes out that nice and I end up stripping, mixing a new batch and doing it right the second time

Satisfying isn't it? I have some parts I plated several years ago that have by lying around waiting for installation and they still look great. Specially when you clear/gold chromate them.

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Old 04-24-2020, 08:01 AM
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So i've finished up my plating for now anyway... a couple of more observations. For the best results that i was able to achieve, when i first mixed my solution, i used hot tap water to help dissolve the Karo, and i achieved my best results with the water hot. If i end up doing any more plating in the future, I will buy something like a fish tank heater to maintain the temperature. Lower and slower yet, .30 .40 amps is even better yet. It seems like the finish is easier to brush off and shines better if you go slow and have the water hot. And lastly, you will need more than one brass brush. They wear out pretty quick. Thanks again Dataway for the thread, couldn't have done it without your help.
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  #88  
Old 04-24-2020, 08:47 AM
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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.

  #89  
Old 04-24-2020, 10:06 AM
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No Chromate for now anyway. I use the Eastwood Clear a lot though. The well water may actually work better.... I was reading an article about No Rosion coolant additive this morning, and they actually discouraged the use of distilled water in cooling systems due to the lack of ions lost in the distilling process. They want you to use some kind of ionized water.... It makes me strongly consider just using premixed coolant. My tap water here is fairly hard, so the well water could possibly be better? I don't know, but you could try it on the next go around.

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  #90  
Old 04-24-2020, 11:17 AM
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You know you might be right, the distilled water has got suck up a lot of the zinc right from the get go to "normalize" itself ... zinc that would no longer be available for the plating process. Also would suck up the salt and other chemicals .... I don't think the water will give this stuff up until it's reached a point where the water itself is "satisfied"

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Old 06-24-2020, 04:54 AM
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Have any of you fellow "Zincers" done any brush plating with zinc? I have a hood latch I want to try to selectively plate some parts on.

I understand the general setup, I'm mainly wondering if I can use my usual zinc bath solution for the brush plating electrolyte along with a zinc strip covered in cloth or foam. Or even just use the solution with a charged bristle brush.

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Old 06-24-2020, 09:00 AM
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Nice thread...Iam watching

  #93  
Old 06-10-2021, 04:11 AM
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Latest edition to the "fun with zinc plating" show

So ... removed the filler neck from my original 68 GTO tank to use on the replacement. It had some surface rust that I wanted to remove, tank end was nice, but from the middle to the opening it needed to be sandblasted ... which removes the original zinc plating.

What I ended up doing was blasting the top 2/3thds of it ... I wanted to preserve the very nice solder tinning that was still on the tank end, and I didn't want to plate the whole thing, again because I don't know what it would do to the tinned tank end.

Thought about painting it, but the paint would be scrapped off by the cap the first couple of times it was used ... so the compromise is, plate the cap end, paint the middle, leave the original galvanizing and solder on the tank end.

This is the results before painting and I'm not going to polish the zinc as normal because the OEM filler necks weren't very shiny from the get go. Maybe try to buff it very slightly so it doesn't powder up.

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