$90 if you drop the book:http://www.caswellplating.com/electroplating-anodizing/zinc-plating-kits/copy-cad-reg-and-zinc-plating-kit-1-5-gal.html

Anyone have experience with this kit?

Yes, I love it. Takes a little practice at first but great once you have it down. The thing I like best about my Caswell kit is I can adjust the brightness and rainbow of the yellow zinc. Plus it's convenient to have in your garage instead of sending stuff out.

Rich, Chico and I are going to go for this kit; the price is right and we got a lot of items that need to be done. I hope we can make our zinc as nice as you do.

Lots of useful info in this thread

http://www.britishcarforum.com/bcforum/ubbthreads.php/topics/65445/Re_Caswell_Copy_Cad_Zinc_plati

and this one of a z fan

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

I spent a few hours scouring the net for Copy Cad plating tips and assembled into a PDF. Sorry it is currently net parroting as I never used the Caswell kit yet (I only plated with a self-made kit).

I will revise as I get feedback from others and from experience with the kit that just arrived today.

Enjoy!

[ATTACH]54157[/ATTACH]

Caswell Copy CAD Plating Tips V1.0.pdf

Edited June 15, 201212 yr by Blue

  Blue said:

I spent a few hours scouring the net for Copy Cad plating tips and assembled into a PDF. Sorry it is currently net parroting as I never used the Caswell kit yet (I only plated with a self-made kit).

I will revise as I get feedback from others and from experience with the kit that just arrived today.

Enjoy!

[ATTACH]54157[/ATTACH]

Hi Phil,

That is a very nice write-up on the zinc plating. I would just add a couple things.

1. The wire wheel is pretty key, but the Caswell kit also comes with an orange particle filled nylon wheel. That things makes them really shine prior to the plating process. My typical procedure is to wire wheel first, then use a quick buff on the orange wheel to brighten. My set-up is a 1/2 HP grinder with steel wire wheel on left and orange 'buffer' on right.

2. Under color- for yellow chromate, I usually do the 10-30 second blue chromate dip, then go straight into the yellow chromate for about 2 mins. The blue helps the yellow to 'stick' better and also provides the nice rainbow effect. Also, after the yellow chromate dip, you will want to rinse in very hot tap water, before drying, otherwise the part will continue to darken. A hot rinse works better than room temp water with the yellow zinc.

3. A power supply is pretty key. I am running a nice BK 1621A Power supply. It gives you plenty of power and a nice digital readout. It is a little pricey, but I wouldn't plate without it.

The write-up is a nice summary.

Best regards,

Rich

Edited June 16, 201212 yr by motorman7

Thanks Rich! I appreciate your tips and will add these. It will make life better for all of us following in your foot steps!

Second the note on easing a good power supply. Batteries rarely yield good results, in my experience.