Zinc Electro-plating

[c2dfj45]

Ok you’re not allowed to post pictures anymore very beautiful and thanks again for all the tips. I’ll post an update incorporating everything I’ve learnt so far here.I

I'll be really curious to see how the zinc brightener does with the homemade solution. I bet it will work.

 

[avicenna110]

I'll be really curious to see how the zinc brightener does with the homemade solution. I bet it will work.

Just placed the order. I’ll refresh my vinegar solution as well just to make sure it’s not contaminated with other junk. I’m also thinking it should work.

 

[c2dfj45]

Just placed the order. I’ll refresh my vinegar solution as well just to make sure it’s not contaminated with other junk. I’m also thinking it should work.

 

[smokeater]

We use the Caswell Copy Cad kit....1.5 gallon setup. I bought it a few months ago and have run thru quite a bit of hardware. I bought the power supply on Amazon as well as a agitation pump and aquarium heater. It's easy and actually pretty enjoyable process to do but the key is in prep....like with everything else. We clean the parts in our ultrasonic cleaner. Then they go into the bead blast cabinet(120 grit aluminum oxide). The key step if you want shiny parts is they need to be polished with a wire wheel on a bench grinder. One final clean in an acetone bath then they get wired up and dipped. There was a slight learning curve for a few things like the polishing with the wire wheel(we were just vapor honing after bead blasting). That was about it. Chemicals all remain stable when stored it seems. Easy to setup when we need it. Lots of good videos to learn from....I kind of took a little from each one and applied it to our process.

I mainly bought this so we could do small batches....we have a plater that will do all the hardware at once but sorting them all out and organizing didn't appeal to me plus things can get lost. Way better to do small batches for us since we usually tackle a certain stage of a build at one time(engine, chassis, interior). This is great for that.

Maybe one of the most satisfying jobs around the shop. Take a dirty old pile of metal and make it new.

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We use the Caswell blue chromate for the silver parts....gives them a really cool look. Our next batch will be some of the black chromate I think.

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What are you using to wire them up? I had used some stripped 12g wire I had around and it’s way to big as it noticeably blocks plating surface….

2nd what did you do early when the process didn’t turn out to your liking? Did you wire wheel degrease and replate?

3rd is your chromate kept at specific temp during use?

 

[smokeater]

@avicenna110

When you steelwool after plating does it first appear like the plating is being removed as it shines up?

The first time I used a dremmel on some of my parts at low speed and shined them up then submerged in Chromate and it didn’t adhere, so I figured I stripped the zinc off…I don’t want to do that again so when I get some fine wool I want to be sure it’s just enough to take the dullness out before chromate bath…the first two I did I went straight to chromate and it was super dull yellow…when it’s ready to handle I’m going to see if it’ll brighten up with a quick polish…

Have you tried the muriatic acid etch prior to chromate? I haven’t yet as I don’t have the best ventilation right now…curious if that will help

Ultimately, I too think the brightener will help things to shine…if it works with the vinegar/ salt then I’ll stick with it, but the results shown by @c2dfj45 are impressive and validate the copy cad system…looking forward to your thoughts…I’m going to get the brightener as well…it’ll get used one way or another!

 

[avicenna110]

@avicenna110

When you steelwool after plating does it first appear like the plating is being removed as it shines up?

The first time I used a dremmel on some of my parts at low speed and shined them up then submerged in Chromate and it didn’t adhere, so I figured I stripped the zinc off…I don’t want to do that again so when I get some fine wool I want to be sure it’s just enough to take the dullness out before chromate bath…the first two I did I went straight to chromate and it was super dull yellow…when it’s ready to handle I’m going to see if it’ll brighten up with a quick polish…

Have you tried the muriatic acid etch prior to chromate? I haven’t yet as I don’t have the best ventilation right now…curious if that will help

Ultimately, I too think the brightener will help things to shine…if it works with the vinegar/ salt then I’ll stick with it, but the results shown by @c2dfj45 are impressive and validate the copy cad system…looking forward to your thoughts…I’m going to get the brightener as well…it’ll get used one way or another!

The dremmel can remove the Zinc if you push too hard, so I prefer fine steel wool. With steel wool you won’t take off the Zinc. There are different levels of steel wool as well so if you want a good shine you can progress down to fine wool. Also make sure to degrease it again before yellow chromate if you’re handling it by hand. The dullness will depend on how shiny you get it, but all my results are with just really fine steel wool and I’m ok with it.

If you try to polish after yellow chromate, you will easily remove the yellow chromate so I don’t recommend it. Also make sure to get any excess yellow chromate off by rinsing it right after with distilled water.

I do use muriatic acid and it works really well at removing old Zinc and light rust. But like you I never do it inside and never without mask as the fumes are strong.

I bought the brightener but unfortunately it did not work with the homemade solution, even after I did a fresh setup with new vinegar. I don’t know the chemistry but would love to know why. I was hoping this would eliminate the need of polishing the parts again prior to yellow chromate. As I said before I don’t mind doing it by hand on small quantities. I just got a large batch however, from rebuilding my front end (knuckle, breaks, etc..) so polishing 60+ pieces of bolts is something I’d like to avoid. I decided to buy the Caswell kit to try out, that way I can also make a comparison myself. For large/long pieces I still have to use my homemade solution on a large tank somehow.

 

[smokeater]

The dremmel can remove the Zinc if you push too hard, so I prefer fine steel wool. With steel wool you won’t take off the Zinc. There are different levels of steel wool as well so if you want a good shine you can progress down to fine wool. Also make sure to degrease it again before yellow chromate if you’re handling it by hand. The dullness will depend on how shiny you get it, but all my results are with just really fine steel wool and I’m ok with it.

If you try to polish after yellow chromate, you will easily remove the yellow chromate so I don’t recommend it. Also make sure to get any excess yellow chromate off by rinsing it right after with distilled water.

I do use muriatic acid and it works really well at removing old Zinc and light rust. But like you I never do it inside and never without mask as the fumes are strong.

I bought the brightener but unfortunately it did not work with the homemade solution, even after I did a fresh setup with new vinegar. I don’t know the chemistry but would love to know why. I was hoping this would eliminate the need of polishing the parts again prior to yellow chromate. As I said before I don’t mind doing it by hand on small quantities. I just got a large batch however, from rebuilding my front end (knuckle, breaks, etc..) so polishing 60+ pieces of bolts is something I’d like to avoid. I decided to buy the Caswell kit to try out, that way I can also make a comparison myself. For large/long pieces I still have to use my homemade solution on a large tank somehow.

Thanks for the advice…it’s a bummer about the brightener and homemade solution I called Caswell today and asked about getting the solution and brightener…they gave me the part numbers I needed. I thought $80 wasnt a terrible price for the 1.5 gal solution. With brightener and some blue chromate it’s about $130…

Happy trails!

 

[c2dfj45]

What are you using to wire them up? I had used some stripped 12g wire I had around and it’s way to big as it noticeably blocks plating surface….

2nd what did you do early when the process didn’t turn out to your liking? Did you wire wheel degrease and replate?

3rd is your chromate kept at specific temp during use?

We use copper wire....I think it's for jewelry or something....24awg. Amazon. Amazon product ASIN B000IJU1ZW
When something comes out that I don't like, it goes back in line to be cleaned, blasted, brushed, acetone bath, back in the plating chemicals.

My chromates are at 76-78....no heat.

My biggest failure was when the power supply had corrosion on the alligator clips...that killed us. Once we increased the size of the wire and the alligator leads(I think we ended up using battery tender clips), it was perfect. Zinc plating is shiny and nice.

And of course, prep. It's all in the prep. When they come off the wire wheel they are super shiny and nice.

 

[c2dfj45]

Thanks for the advice…it’s a bummer about the brightener and homemade solution I called Caswell today and asked about getting the solution and brightener…they gave me the part numbers I needed. I thought $80 wasnt a terrible price for the 1.5 gal solution. With brightener and some blue chromate it’s about $130…

Happy trails!

I think you'll be fine with the Caswell setup....it really works. It's like magic when it does

Our steps:

+Degrease parts very very well. We use an ultrasonic cleaner with Pinesol. We put the hardware in plastic containers in Pinesol then submerge that in cleaner(water is in the tank). We heat ours up and run it for 30 minutes(or more if they need it).

+Rinse parts with tap water.....we blow dry them with shop air

+Blast cabinet.....we run aluminum oxide with some garnet....not really that precise....looking for a uniform finish and of course removing any existing plating.

+Wire wheel them until they shine. This is the most important step from what I can tell....this makes them smooth and shiny. We switched to a brass wheel and it makes a big difference. Bench grinder is great for this.

+Wire them up with the 24awg copper wire. We do about 5-7 pieces(nuts/bolts/washers) per string. There is an art to wiring them up for sure.

+Acetone bath....we soak them for a few minutes....take them out, hang them to dry.

+Process them thru the plating liquids. 15-20 minutes in the zinc bath for us usually. I do heat this one to about 100.

+After chromate dip(30 seconds), I rinse them with distilled water....then I dry them with a heat gun. This really makes the colors pop.

+dry overnight....then enjoy your shiny new stuff

 

[avicenna110]

Thanks for the advice…it’s a bummer about the brightener and homemade solution I called Caswell today and asked about getting the solution and brightener…they gave me the part numbers I needed. I thought $80 wasnt a terrible price for the 1.5 gal solution. With brightener and some blue chromate it’s about $130…

Happy trails!

Yes you’re correct, we only need their solution+brightener and not their whole kit as we already have everything else setup. So it’s not that bad at all. Post some pictures when you get results.

 

[c2dfj45]

We just finished up a batch.....well, partial batch.....this was a good one. I haven't used my plating chemicals since summer.....storage didn't hurt them. A little cooler than summer for us and my heater for the zinc bath took a dump so we heated the buckets in the ultrasonic cleaner for a bit. Still not exactly as warm as I like(100*F) but it doesn't seem to affect anything.

I'm playing with how much brightener I'm using...it makes a huge difference. I seem to be running a bit more than what Caswell recommends.

Also monitoring voltage at the electrode bar.....I see about a .4 volt drop. My parts are happiest at 1.1v at the parts....nice and bright. I have my machine set at 1.6v. Shows output around 1.4 at the machine. Not sure if it can't make more power or what but 1-1.1v at the clamps on my electrodes seems to be fine.

This is a crank pulley bolt....it wasn't very smooth to start. Turned out really well though.

 

[c2dfj45]

We ran some black chromate the other day and it turned out really well. I probably did these a little too long....they were very black. I was thinking they were going to be more of a black chrome.....next test I do I will do them for 10 seconds or something(these were dipped for about 30). These are seat track bolts that I didn't want to be gold or silver.....the black seemed like a nicer color in an interior.

 

[Honger]

We ran some black chromate the other day and it turned out really well. I probably did these a little too long....they were very black. I was thinking they were going to be more of a black chrome.....next test I do I will do them for 10 seconds or something(these were dipped for about 30). These are seat track bolts that I didn't want to be gold or silver.....the black seemed like a nicer color in an interior.




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Black chromate is the obvious choice for the seat bolts. So cool.

So do you have your different solutions set up in a way that you can close things up and keep it ready for another batch another day?

 

[sogncab]

I want to find somebody to do my frame in black. Seems to me a much better solution than paint

 

[Drake2]

We just finished up a batch.....well, partial batch.....this was a good one. I haven't used my plating chemicals since summer.....storage didn't hurt them. A little cooler than summer for us and my heater for the zinc bath took a dump so we heated the buckets in the ultrasonic cleaner for a bit. Still not exactly as warm as I like(100*F) but it doesn't seem to affect anything.

I'm playing with how much brightener I'm using...it makes a huge difference. I seem to be running a bit more than what Caswell recommends.

Also monitoring voltage at the electrode bar.....I see about a .4 volt drop. My parts are happiest at 1.1v at the parts....nice and bright. I have my machine set at 1.6v. Shows output around 1.4 at the machine. Not sure if it can't make more power or what but 1-1.1v at the clamps on my electrodes seems to be fine.View attachment 2925600View attachment 2925601View attachment 2925602

This is a crank pulley bolt....it wasn't very smooth to start. Turned out really well though.
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Fantastic job!

 

[c2dfj45]

Black chromate is the obvious choice for the seat bolts. So cool.

So do you have your different solutions set up in a way that you can close things up and keep it ready for another batch another day?

The black will be really useful for dash stuff, door stuff...anywhere you don't want gold or bright silver. It's a cool option.

So I keep my solutions in food grade buckets with really good lids....3.5 gallon buckets(I bought 4 new buckets with o-ring sealed spin on lids to use now....I want all 4 identical). I have 4 of them.....one for my zinc solution and then one for each chromate. The rinse buckets are standard cheap 5 gallon ones we have for shop use(we use one bucket per color for the rinse). You're supposed to use distilled water to rinse after chromate but I've been using tap water and it seems to be fine. We used distilled for the initial setup of the chromates and the zinc bath. I don't think this stuff really evaporates or goes anywhere if sealed properly. We keep the buckets in a back room and break them out when we need them. The 3.5 gallon buckets are easy to stack and stash in a corner. When we're ready to run hardware, we put them on our plastic cart and work right out of it. It's really simple.

2 things I will change eventually......I'd like to find a filter/circulator for my zinc bath....there is a lot of stuff that comes off in that process that I would like to clean up. If you let it settle, you can pour out most of the clean zinc solution. The suspended material or dirt or whatever it is stays behind and can be washed out. I don't think it affects anything but it's nice to have a clear solution to work with. I need to find a better heater as well.....the zinc works better when it's over 100 degrees in my opinion....so I'm going to be doing that next. The one I used initially was crap and broke. Aquarium heater.

This is probably one of my favorite things to do in the shop.....it's super satisfying. We ran some Ferrari parts last week for our paint shop for a restoration they were doing......was pretty proud of that. Everyone at the paint shop was quite impressed