Eastwood Tin-Zinc Plating kit

[FastWoman]

Dumb question: Are the original parts such as brackets and tubing made of zinc plated steel, perhaps with a yellowish lacquer on top? They do rust, at least some of them, but most of them are extraordinarily rust free. On the other hand, they get quite crusty -- sort of a light gray crust. Can someone enlighten me as to what these things are generally made of?

I'm guessing these things rust because the original zinc plate has lost its integrity, so that's why you're re-plating????

[TomoHawk]

Most every fastener I've seen on an S30 doesn't have any kind of protecting finish- they're all just uncoated steel, so they rust. And since most car shows or cruises you'll go to have zero Z people, besides you, they'll all think your car is a rust bucket, when you know it's quite appropriate to have the oxide coating on just about everything. I've even had judges refuse to judge my car becuse "it's old and hasn't been restored or cleaned" meaning everything isn't either chrome-plated or highly polished.

I once had a '78 that was a Cleveland car. It was so rusted the radiator support was mostly gone, the floors were almost missing, and every bolt under the car or under the hood was rusted solid & broke when turned. It was only 8 years old with 40,000 miles, but the wires were nearly new-looking tho. I didn't know that much about S30 back then. Hopefully, you don't have a salt sitution that affects your Z.

Besides some polishing or plating, I even remove what bolts I can just to give the threads some antiseize. Eventually, everything will get to be or have to be seriviced, so a little rust prevention now will save lots of drilling & tapping later.

There's never a dumb question Sarah.

thxZ

Edited November 16, 2009 by TomoHawk

[geezer]

Can someone enlighten me as to what these things are generally made of?

I'm guessing these things rust because the original zinc plate has lost its integrity, so that's why you're re-plating????

Hi Sarah - Your guess is correct. Once the sacrificial coating has been compromised the base metal will suffer the effects of corrosion. I really don't have any first hand experience on the durability of these home plating kits and have never heard of a salt spray test being conducted on the parts coated. I'm sure the results won't be as good as an industrial plater. What I am primarily after is the appearance factor. If I can turn back almost 40 years of corrosion on these parts, great but I don't expect these coatings to last another 40 years. There have been a few good threads/posts covering the various industrial coatings. I found this one in a search that caught my interest. Carl Beck has touched on this subject more than once IIRC. We are discussing the kits available from Eastwood & Caswell, which have a way to go I think before coming up with a product to compare with what is available in industry. But, for 40 year old hardware on my Z it may be what I need. These kits are available in clear zinc, yellow zinc, black oxide, olive drab and many other variations today I believe.

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?p=214428&highlight=zinc+coating#post214428

Edited November 17, 2009 by geezer
Forgot link

[FastWoman]

Thanks, guys!

[=Enigma=]

Most every fastener I've seen on an S30 doesn't have any kind of protecting finish- they're all just uncoated steel.....

Umm......BS......Every fastener I've come across on the S30 was plated in one form or another from the factory. Be it the silver cadmium or the yellow chromate. Trust me Tomo, if the parts had not been plated originally, they would be in much worse shape than what you're probably seeing with the majority of your fasteners.

Once the sacrificial coating has been compromised the base metal will suffer the effects of corrosion.

I'm sure the results won't be as good as an industrial plater. What I am primarily after is the appearance factor. If I can turn back almost 40 years of corrosion on these parts, great but I don't expect these coatings to last another 40 years.

And the voice of reason. This is definitely true, but it's better than doing nothing after stripping the final bits of zinc from rusting parts while cleaning them up. Trust me on this one... :stupid:

Dumb question: Are the original parts such as brackets and tubing made of zinc plated steel, perhaps with a yellowish lacquer on top??

I'm guessing these things rust because the original zinc plate has lost its integrity, so that's why you're re-plating????

As Geezer pointed out, cad/zinc which is less prone to rust and corrosion, acts as a protective yet sacrificial finish for steel parts. The yellow color is actually one of a few finishes that are available for cadmium or zinc plated parts. This is not a spray-on finish but rather a chemical treatment and dye that becomes part of the plating when applied. I'm not sure how it's done by industrial platers, but in the kits available to DIYers it comes as a die that you dip your freshly plated parts into. The longer you leave it in, the darker the finish. This yellow chomate finish, and perhaps others supposedly harden and help seal the cad/zinc plating so it lasts a bit longer.

All in all I have to say that doing the plating yourself if very rewarding, but it's also very time consuming, somewhat frustrating at first, and a bit of an art to get right. Doing so requires accurate measurement of the surface area (yuck...math) of often unusually shaped parts, so that you can then calculate the proper volt/amp settings to achieve the proper adhesion, thickness, and finish desired. This is where the science part meets the art. If done correctly, no polishing should be necessary. However if you miscalculate the surface area and set the amperage too low, or allow the temperature of the plating solution to get out of spec, you may not get an even plate or the plate may not adhere well. Get the voltage too high, and you can burn the plate or just end up with a dull looking plate job. Polishing afterwards is not very effective, but as Dave pointed out, the cleaner and smoother the parts are going in, the better they will look coming out. This is definitely a case where patience, process, and consistency pays off.

If you decide to do this for more than a few nuts and bolts, I recommend purchasing a decent plating rectifier. This will make it easier to dial in the proper settings and help achieving more consistent results. Again, money and time spent up front will pay off in the end. I ended up getting a lab quality unit by HP from eBay for $175.

That said, if I ever have more than a few small nuts and bolts, I'll definitely be sending it to a professional. It's just too tedious and time consuming otherwise IMHO. I'll post some pics of my mixed results when I get a chance. I did all of the original fasteners for the entire suspension, as well as misc brake parts.

Edited November 19, 2009 by =Enigma=

[sblake01]

.......apparently my anti-grumpy pills are wearing off.

LOLLOLLOLLOLNo, Dave, you've simply encountered one of those cases where they just don't have any effect. Edited November 19, 2009 by sblake01

[TomoHawk]

I have to speak from my own experience.

EVERY exposed bolt on the exterior of my car has no protective coating on it. Only the chromed or painted ones in side the car are still OK, and that is why I am starting the plating process. Maybe it was like that (coated with something protective) 30 years ago, but not after 100,000+ miles.

Edited November 19, 2009 by TomoHawk

[sblake01]

I have to speak from my own experience.

EVERY exposed bolt on the exterior of my car has no protective coating on it. Only the chromed or painted ones in side the car are still OK, and that is why I am starting the plating process. Maybe it was like that 30 years ago, but not after 100,000+ miles.

Since you would argue with a sign, let me remind you that Enigma said "if the parts had not been plated originally" they would be in much worse shape than what you're probably seeing with the majority of your fasteners.

[TomoHawk]

that is why I am coating them now, but that is off the subject.

[sblake01]

Well, in that case, you should have just bought the kit and coated them. You really didn't need the thread. You already know it all..........done here!~

[TomoHawk]

The subject here is for others to share any tips or experience they've using the plating kit successfully. I'm not the only one to have one, and some day or someone else will probably need to know things to be successfull too.

There is always room for more tips.

Edited November 19, 2009 by TomoHawk

[sblake01]

If you could just do it wthout editorializing(which is really not your strong suit regardless of what you may think-look at some of the reactions you get). Now, I really am done here....go on with your thread. Don't waste the time to answer me.

Edited November 19, 2009 by sblake01