zinc plating

[eyeguy]

Okay, I am going to do my own zinc plating. It's hard to find someone close to get it done.
There are two methods that can be done. copy card zinc which leaves a mat finish or a brightner added to make the parts shinny.
Not sure what the original would have been. Anyone have an Idea?

eyeguy

[xenia1]

Having had lots of packets of n.o.s Innocenti fixings i can confirm they were a brightish/satin plating. Some were brighter than others but zinc plate goes dull with age anyway.
I take it youve bought the d.i.y kit with anodes, battery pack and salts? I had one of these from Frosts and tbh didnt really have a lot of luck with it and in the end had what i didnt have n.o.s replated professionally.
Ps- if you do have good results and any plating comes out too bright its easy to tone it down by using a dilute solution of phosphoric acid diluted with hot water in a spray bottle. Leave it wet for a minute or two and wash off with hot water..

Andy.

[Jazzy b]

Having had lots of packets of n.o.s Innocenti fixings i can confirm they were a brightish/satin plating. Some were brighter than others but zinc plate goes dull with age anyway.
I take it youve bought the d.i.y kit with anodes, battery pack and salts? I had one of these from Frosts and tbh didnt really have a lot of luck with it and in the end had what i didnt have n.o.s replated professionally.
Ps- if you do have good results and any plating comes out too bright its easy to tone it down by using a dilute solution of phosphoric acid diluted with hot water in a spray bottle. Leave it wet for a minute or two and wash off with hot water..

Andy.

Your a very knowledgeable guy Andy

[eyeguy]

Thanks for your reply Andy. You have answered my question. I hope the process works. I have spent some money for the right equipment. Constant amp rectifier, heaters, polishing equip. I'll post some final results when I give it a go.

Later
Eyeguy

[xenia1]

Your a very knowledgeable guy Andy

I try to help where i can mate, i hope my posts are of some use

Eyeguy- youre welcome. Hope the plating works out ok. After prepping the surface to rid of any pitting its important to have the surface perfectly clean before zinc coating and the kit from Frosts had cleaning salts which you dissolved in boiling water in a saucepan and the parts placed in the solution for a couple of minutes then rinsed before being placed in the plating tank. I dont have it anymore but a lot depends on the exact current passing through the plating solution to how the finished result looks and its well worth experimenting on a few pieces of old steel beforehand..

[isthmus]

hi eyeguy, I have zinc and nickle plated all my nuts and bolts on my old Lamby .it took me a lot of experiments to perfect so this is my knowledge about plating.simply get two 1.5v battery,s and holder for wires,croc clips,small plastic container and some used zinc battery,s to strip the zinc around them off,your electrolyte would be distilled vinigar,you should know what to do with these ingredients.now,make sure to clean or overclean for plating to work.plate 30secs or until you coat object,cean do it again several sweeps would be good to get thou thickness at a time.if you have zinc salts use them.hope this will get you on your way,isthmus

[eyeguy]

I've done zincing now. So far I'm very happy. The company I bought the kit from is very helpful. I did buy a rectifier to maintain proper volts and amps. The parts look good. We will see over the long haul if they last. It did take som trial and error.

Later
Eyeguy

[Warkton Tornado No.1]

Do you have a finished budget on the total equipment costs, please?

It would be good to see some photos if you could do the parts justice.

[xenia1]

Do you have a finished budget on the total equipment costs, please?

It would be good to see some photos if you could do the parts justice.

http://www.frost.co.uk/zinc-plating-modules.html

Have a look here, they do bright zinc, olive drab and zinc passivate kits. Its around £120 with the anodes, salts, power pack and tub ect. The plating process is the easy part, if you have rusty/ pitted parts to plate (as always) its the prep which can be time consuming if youre after a good finish..

[eyeguy]

I agree with Xenia, the kit I purchased was from caswell plating here in the states. I think the cost of the system was $150.00. This included most things. The rectifier is separate. I bought of the bay for $100.00. However the cleaning part is very important as stated. I bought a small blasting cabinet. I am using a fine grit glass bead which is suppose to be the best way to prepare surface. Of course you need to degrees all parts. The caswell system has a manual which is very good to follow. Look at their site. Not sure if you could buy from them being out of country. I guess you could but the cost would be more. I am out of town until Friday but will post some pics when I get back. Again I think the parts look good but longevity is yet to be determined.
Hope this helps
Eyeguy

[eyeguy]

I did have a look at the Frost system. It is the same as caswell. I think the thing I considere when buying this equipment was, I am restoring 3 scooters. I believe I will save money and time in the long run. As most of you know when sending things out it could take a while. My parts I wanted zinced was three months before I had the guy ship it all back so I could do it. The guy is very nice and also very busy and I understand. He will still get some of my work. I just wanted to get going on my project. Sending pic of where I am with the scooter now. Hopefully it goes through.
Later
Eyeguy

[isthmus]

hi all,just a thought,zinc will tarnish,now whether you bright zinc or just zinc,you will most definatley have to polish both methods of plating,and if you want to do innocente factory finish to look original,just zinc and polish,thanks guys,isthmus

[isthmus]

I also found that I could zinc plate,nickel on that and zinc on that,zinc being sacrificial I thought that I would protect the first layer of zinc,protect that with nickel and finish of with original zinc coating,as per original,does that make sense my friends,to tell the truth I thought to nickel over zinc because I personally like that finish for a number of reasons(I is English!Don,t ya know) Good luck folks

[xenia1]

I agree with Xenia, the kit I purchased was from caswell plating here in the states. I think the cost of the system was $150.00. This included most things. The rectifier is separate. I bought of the bay for $100.00. However the cleaning part is very important as stated. I bought a small blasting cabinet. I am using a fine grit glass bead which is suppose to be the best way to prepare surface. Of course you need to degrees all parts. The caswell system has a manual which is very good to follow. Look at their site. Not sure if you could buy from them being out of country. I guess you could but the cost would be more. I am out of town until Friday but will post some pics when I get back. Again I think the parts look good but longevity is yet to be determined.
Hope this helps
Eyeguy

Ive also seen the Caswell system and it does seem very good and as you mention does come with a very comprehensive manual. I too bought a blast cabinet (a few years ago now) and used glass bead to finish the surface once i had any pitting removed, doing it this way gives an original looking satin finish.
It will pay for itself if you have more than one scooter to do as you have and does save on postage/labour charges farming parts out. The problem i had was regulating the voltage as i didnt have a constant power supply, mine was battery powered and obviously over a short period of time voltage dropped giving varying results, its worth the extra investment for relatively small outlay for a proper voltage regulator..

[eyeguy]

Hi isthmus, what do you recommend polishing with. I have used a wire wheel and that seems to work but am I removing zinc? I have a couple of polish compounds but find not much different.

Thanks
Eyeguy

[isthmus]

eyeguy nice to meet you,first of all dip your part several times because the layers of plate is so thin and wouldn,t last long with one or two dips,then if steel,dunk in water put on side an go back later and look for any brown rust staining,if ok carry on with autosol,because it leaves a protective layer on the metal,if not dig out or use warm soda crystal sol,to displace the traces of rust that lay in pits on the steel,hope this helps your voyage of discovery,isthmus

[eyeguy]

Thanks isthmus, good advice. I wasn't sure if the metal would take on anymore zinc after about 15 to 20 min. So you are saying you can dip again and it will add another layer? I live in a old historic home. I have a cellar. If you know anything about cellars they are damp. So, I would leave parts uncoated down there and they would rust within hours. After coating they have been left for days with no rust. Again after 2 years who knows. Just wondering if this is a good test of the coating. Your thoughts.
Thanks for you input I appreciate it.
Nice to meet you too
Eyeguy

[isthmus]

thats the way to go guy, because you don,t want to have to go back in a couple of days,having to take Lambretta of the road and do it all again.grease the threads too when you assemble them on the scooter cause the plate there usually go,es first and use good sprung or stared washers.if you dip for to long,the plate will rub of,I do ten minutes at 3 volts no lower,lower the volt/amp the better the plate.I use a 6v charger to derust with washing soda crystals,Isthmus bids you good luck

[eyeguy]

As promised some parts I zinced.
Eyeguy

[isthmus]

looks good,keep the good work up,well done.Isthmus.