Well, I got my plating kit early. Actually, got the Caswell hardware and manual on e-bay for $43 total (includes shipping). Such a deal, I couldn't pass it up. It's used, but everything seems to be in working order. I ordered the chemicals on-line and should have everything by early next week. The cost of the chemicals is actually fairly cheap. The shipping costs are more than the actual materials cost. The most expesnsive item was the yellow chromate from Caswell. Not sure if I can get this cheaper somewhere else, but will check into it.

I cleaned up the garage a bit and set aside an area for the plating buckets. I also made a rotating 'bucket' for plating quantities of nuts and bolts. I hope to try my hand at plating as soon as the chemicals come in. Perhaps by the end of next week. I will post pics of the progress.

Also, here are a couple sites that are pretty helpful with plating info.

http://www.thisoldtractor.com/gtbender/zinc.htm

http://www.nulltime.com/zincplating/index.html

Rich

After using the kit a little, I took some time to GOOP a stick to the side of the big jug (which contans the eletrolyte) so I can attach an arm. That way I can clamp the part's wire to it and walk away (or just rest my arm) even though the plating process only takes a few minutes or less.

In the meantime, you can get yourself a few lengths of different gauges of copper wire. Remember to get ever last bitof rust off, and grindd/sand/polish the surface to perfgection before plating (if possible.)

I will get a few pics of my plated water fittings & hose clamps soon.

thxZ

Edited December 12, 200915 yr by TomoHawk

I have used Eastwood's tin/zinc plating kit with good results. As previously mentioned, surface prep of the part to be plated is key. I start by cleaning the parts to be plated in hot, soapy water to remove all grease & dirt. Really dirty parts may require wire brushing and cleaning with brake cleaner. I then use a produce called Evaporust to remove any surface rust on the part. I've found that a small, brass bristle brush will help shine up the parts after they have been plated.

Did you notice the plating site on nulltime.com is a 240Z guy!

http://www.nulltime.com/zincplating/parts/datsun_240-z_parts.html

Is he on classicZcars? Whois says its Sean Collins from Idaho. Sean, if your listening, thanks for taking all the time to document the setup!!

Those are the same parts I'm working on now. It's 99% (60 - 90 minutes) sanding & polishing, then 1% (2-3 minutes) in the plating bath.

I got my Caswell plating kit set-up and plated some parts today. It took a bit of practice, but I am very happy with the results. The difficult part was getting the right current to produce the bright color.

I originally tried doing the plating the cheap way by just getting the chemicals (NaOH and ZnO) off of e-bay, but the plating came out dull. So, I had to pop for the Caswell kit in order to get the parts to have the correct shine. Below are 2 pics of the dull finish and 2 of the Caswell kit finish. Also have my plating shelf shown here.

I am actually pretty thrilled about being able to do this myself. When I strip the 71Z at the end of February here, I want to re-zinc all of the bolts that I take off while the body is off to paint. Should make it look nice when it's all put back together.

motorman if you don't mind what were all different items you purchased from Caswell? I am now in the process of cleaning all the bolts and nuts for the rear suspension.

Everything looks great by the way.

I bought the 3-gallon kit ($205) and the yellow chromate liquid ($30). Add shipping and it's a little over $250. Also got a crock pot (for heating the solvent) from target and Muriatic acid and a couple of buckets from Home Depot. So the whole package is roughly $300.

What do you guys do with the chemicals when you are done? I imagine there is some pretty nasty stuff that Al Gore would have a huge beef with.

They tell you how to dispose of it in the enclosed Caswell plating manual. Essentually you neutralize it with a base..baking soda, then dispose.

Also, I am getting much better with this. It's actually pretty exciting. Here are some more samples. Got my son doing it now for parts on his T-bird.

They do look very nice.. How long do they soak?

Is this the kit: http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/zinc.htm

John

Edited January 18, 201015 yr by JohnnyO

They do look very nice.. How long do they soak?

Is this the kit: http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/zinc.htm

John

Roughly 15 mins in the 'pickle' and 15 mins in the plate tank, 30 seconds in the chromate.

Yes, that's the kit I have. Works well after a little practice.

Rich