Caswell Plating

[Patcon]

I did some plating last weekend which was a challenge because some of my tanks froze.

This was frozen solid! Took 2 hours to defrost on high.

Got mixed results last week. It was better but still not right.Tried .14 / .16 / .18 per squ in

 

So I moved the plating setup into the shop, and I did some more plating today. I made some progress...

I did add the dilute muriatic acid / water / alcohol / water steps. I am not sure they helped. I haven't added another pump yet.

I think what made the biggest difference was I ran more current. I hung a part in the plating tank. Then I cut off the pump and turned up the current until the part bubbled.Then I backed the current back down until the bubbles basically stopped. Then I restarted the pump. I ended up between .22 and .25 A per square in.

[240260280]

Thanks Charles for the perseverance and excellent documentation.  I'll be following in your foot steps shortly.   I have a Caswell Kit from 2012 that I will break out soon.   I have some nitric acid for the brightening dip.

Edited January 14, 2018 by 240260280

[Patcon]

20012, I wonder if that is the old plating formula or the new formula. You might want to ask because it will change your approach slightly. Also I don't know if the old and new formulas are compatible.

Would love to have some more input from another plater to help narrow down the best process

[240260280]

I'll add my low budget work to contrast the beautiful work from Charles.

The quality is on the low end of the scale but it is protected.

I have not broken out the Caswell kit yet so I am playing with the DIY vinegar, Epsom salts, sugar, zinc flashing, fish tank bubbler, and DC power supply. 

The only deviations from the typical procedures on the web are that I am dipping in  phosphoric acid and wire brushing by hand. 

 

Using the cheap method, it is imperative that you wire brush the part very well after plating otherwise it will look like a galvanized chain link fence post. This means a lot of manual labour and time.

Plating too long or at too high a current causes crusty finish.

A wire wheel on a grinder would make the results even better. Especially if done before and after the plating.

Below is a plated and wire brushed valve cover bolt along with one that was in the acid then under soapy water for the past 24 hours.  I'll dip it in the acid, scrub in washing machine detergent, rinse, then plate and report back (second picture below).

 

You can see the rough zinc coat on the tip of the top bolt.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 19, 2018 by 240260280

[Patcon]

That's a good start Phillip. How are you regulating your DC power?

 

[240260280]

4 minutes ago, Patcon said:

That's a good start Phillip. How are you regulating your DC power?

 

I'm lucky and have a couple of lab test bench ps. One is 3 amp and the other is 5 amp.  I'm just using the the 3amp with the current limited to ~ 0.25A for a single valve cover bolt for 10min plate.

Both power supplies can go into current regulation or voltage regulation.

[Patcon]

I plated some last weekend and Saturday.

I supported these springs expanded so the inside could plate too. Then about half way through I took the wood out of them.

Got some really good finish on some of the zinc. This is raw zinc, no chromate yet

Almost chrome like...

Here is a contrast between the results I tend o get. The lower parts are E brake pieces and look ok, but the upper parts are proportioning valve pieces and look stunning!

I don't really know the reason these 2 sets look different. I ran these 4 parts in the tank at the same time. It has to be some kind of conductivity issue...

 

[Patcon]

here is my excel spread sheet for calculating bolt and washer area. I need to add a formula for nuts

Caswell formulas.xlsx

Run the bolt @ 0.18 per squ. inch or the metric equivalent

I run bolts for longer than that, but I have also had issues with too much Zinc build on the threads when trying to reassemble with them

[Patcon]

So becuase I have become convinced that the variability in my plating is elecrtical in nature I decided a couple of weeks ago to build a barrel plater.

So I bought tanks at Dollar general (Sterilite clear tank)

A set of bowls from dollar General. Used the smallest and an 1/8" drill bit. This was a pain!!!! Then I found rice rinsing bowls on Ebay that look like they would work well for this

Cheap rotisserie motor off Ebay

A little sheet metal for a mount. Blew some holes through them with the plasma cutter.

Some CPVC for a stand. Had that laying around.

Was gonna use it yesterday, but when I went to fire up the plating bench, the power supply was "crowbarred" and I couldn't get it to give me any current. Finally gave up. I assume it's dead now. Which will be the third power supply!!! Really frustrating! I enjoy plating and if I could get a barrel plater up and performing I would keep doing my own work. Having to buy power supplies isn't an option. I will have to reevaluate and see if I can find a decent power supply. Preferably North American made and with a warranty. I spent all day looking yesterday but didn't have very good luck. I found one promising industrial 10 amper but it may not make financial sense.

[240260280]

Good stuff and thanks for the current tip and xls!!!! 

I wish the cheapy vinegar  method would have such smooth finish out of the bath like yours but it may not be easy. I'll give it another more proper go with more effort however I'll crack open the Caswell in a month and follow your excellent lead!

I plan to make a new plating solution with the vinegar and epsom salts but I'll also try coffee filters as anode bags

 

[Patcon]

This is the dangler I made

#10 solid copper fed through a shield jacket from some CCTV cable. Put a rounded off SS bolt in the end of the jacket. Fed it through a polypropylene section of hose. Sealed with heat shrink. The copper helps with being able to shape it for tank placement

[Patcon]

Calculate the bolt you plated and see how that compares to the current you were using. You could also drop back down to 0.14 per Squ/in to see if the DIY bath will give smoother results that way.