Looking For Plating Shop Recommendations

[Captain Obvious]

For you guys having parts plated... Are you shipping them, or is it always a personal drop-off ordeal? I'm thinking... If you ship them boxes of parts, then maybe I could do the same. But if you are dropping them off in person, then I would have to be in the same location as you.

I would like to have some parts plated, but I don't even know where to start. Looking to the collective for ideas.

[grannyknot]

I drop my stuff off at a local platers but I'm pretty sure @motorman7 ships his off.

[zspert]

Yes, industrial platers!!! Have dealt with this breed for more than 35 years and no matter who you're dealing with the story never changes. First it's important to understand the difference between industrial platers and chrome platers. I've never found a shop that does both. They , chrome platers, at least those with any kind of good reputation, know that they must produce a first class product without excuses. I have never had to reject a chrome job. You're right, I've paid the price one has to pay for peace of mind but consider it the price of admission. On the other hand industrial platers will almost always lose a few of your smaller parts/fasteners, do a less, sometimes a lot less, than concourse job on 10-15% of your parts and then shrug their shoulders while sticking their hand out for payment. No, this is not just one shop, THEY ALL DO THIS! I've run out of time this evening but I'll try to get back tomorrow with what you can, no must, do to reduce your chance of heart break.     Cheers

[jonathanrussell]

@motorman7 used Sav-On plating. See post 135 on page 6 of his bringin' back the flat tops thread.

 

 

 

 

[Zup]

I agree totally with what Zspert said above. 

The local chrome shop is a dream to work with----perfect results with little to no worry. He doesn't do zinc plating. He does do pot metal restoration and plating as well!

I've sent parts to be plated to Sav-On Plating in Phoenix, AZ---same place motorman7 uses.  https://sav-onplating.com/

Fill a large USPS flat rate shipping box with as much "to be" plated material as you can--up to the 70 lbs. USPS weight limit for this type parcel. Separate the clear zinc parts from the yellow zinc parts into plastic ziplock bags.They do it in batches and at a flat rate. If you don't fill it up they won't charge you less. The items I sent did not weigh close to 70lbs.-- but the price was the same. I was advised of this before hand by Rich. I was in a hurry and needed stuff back before the Atlanta ZCON and it resulted in my batch costing more than it reasonably should for what it was.

I should have asked more questions and received more answers from them before I did it but-------

I had several large , bulky emissions and water line items to be plated and they must have done them differently.

They came back nicely  plated, although there was some discoloration in spots, usually from bleed out of the plating  solutions from cavities within the part. (IE: tubing, diaphragm chambers, etc.) I did lose some small pieces from assemblies as Zspert stated above. (2 ball sockets that screwed onto the ends of two linkage rods, and the cotter keys, washers and springs from the throttle rods)

In my experience, don't think of this as a hand work piece by piece process. I think they use a rotating barrel type plating method in a semi-automated cycle for screws, bolts, nuts and other smaller pieces, but that isn't well suited to window glass carriers, headlight buckets, etc.

I guess you really should consult with Rich. He obviously gets great results and could advise you better than I regarding your specific requirements and especially concerning this particular  plating company.

@motorman7------our Captain needs your help!

[Captain Obvious]

Thanks for the info so far guys. I don't expect to have a full box either. Maybe there's another owner out there thinking the same thing that would like to share an order?

So, if you don't mind me asking...

11 hours ago, Zup said:

Separate the clear zinc parts from the yellow zinc parts into plastic ziplock bags.They do it in batches and at a flat rate. If you don't fill it up they won't charge you less. The items I sent did not weigh close to 70lbs.-- but the price was the same. I was advised of this before hand by Rich. I was in a hurry and needed stuff back before the Atlanta ZCON and it resulted in my batch costing more than it reasonably should for what it was.

How much was it for each batch?

[duffymahoney]

I have been zinc plating for a few years,  I have used 3 shops, sadly I have zero local options.  I ship via priority mail.  Usually comes back in a week or two.  Whatever shop it is, chat with them about prep.  My current shop wants pretty minimal prep unless it's painted or rusty.  Also will they do small batches?  I prefer smaller batches for say 50-75$.  

[motorman7]

1 hour ago, Captain Obvious said:

Thanks for the info so far guys. I don't expect to have a full box either. Maybe there's another owner out there thinking the same thing that would like to share an order?

So, if you don't mind me asking...

How much was it for each batch?

@Captain Obvious  Cost is $140 per batch.  A batch is probably about 2/3 of a 5 gallon bucket.  Parts that are fairly large, longer than 12", will be done separately at an added charge.  As @Zup mentioned, be careful with parts that have internal cavities, diaphragms,etc.  They will retain liquid and then bleed on your parts during shipping, discoloring the plating.

I put parts in zip lock bags just as Zup mentioned.  First time I sent parts USPS shipper, it weighed 33 pounds.  I felt bad for the postal guy.  Next time I broke it up into two USPS boxes, approx 20 pounds each.

I do minimal prep. Paint needs to be removed from parts, other than that grease and rust seems to be acceptable.  I usually do a quick wire wheel on parts that have a lot of rust or gunk on them.

The color or the parts is about perfect.

Let me know if you need any more info.

[Zup]

What Rich says is it---I just re-told what he told me before I sent my first batch out there.

I'm thinking I was out about $160.00 for the plating and shipping. Some of my pieces were the long water tubes that go behind the block on the 73 and associated water piping and that may account for some of the added cost. It is not like I got an itemized invoice.

The price of admission as Zspert says.

Was I happy with the outcome? Yes, for the most part---there were pieces I wished were better (more consistent in finish) and now I know to seal off areas that the solution might enter and then leak out of later.

[jfa.series1]

I get all my plating done locally - lucky to not have to deal with shipping.  My philosophy is that the results will be no better than the prep so everything is thoroughly stripped of paint, rust, scale, grease, ...etc. prior to delivery.  Get rid of scratches and rough edges.  Yes... small bits can and will get lost so I secure those pieces per the pics below - problem solved!  Anything with a spring, including spring steel, will need a bake cycle to drive out nitrogen (?) molecules. if not done, the piece will break.

[Patcon]

7 hours ago, jfa.series1 said:

I get all my plating done locally - lucky to not have to deal with shipping.  My philosophy is that the results will be no better than the prep so everything is thoroughly stripped of paint, rust, scale, grease, ...etc. prior to delivery.  Get rid of scratches and rough edges.  Yes... small bits can and will get lost so I secure those pieces per the pics below - problem solved!  Anything with a spring, including spring steel, will need a bake cycle to drive out nitrogen (?) molecules. if not done, the piece will break.

Are you doing the post plating bake or the plater?

[jfa.series1]

The plater covers that automatically.