Looking For Plating Shop Recommendations

[zspert]

There are two techniques used for industrial plating, rack plating and barrel plating. Barrel plating is used for small parts.  The parts are dumped through the hatch of a plastic barrel, the hatch is shut and the barrel is sent down the plating line. Think nuts, bolts, washers,  windshield washer nozzles, hood latch parts etc. Rack plating is as the name implies, the parts are secured to a rack by fine wire or hooks. Rack plating is used for parts like the plate between the engine and transmission, long brake, clutch and fuel lines (more about these long lines later) water pump pulley, etc. Be careful, the plater may want to put some of the larger parts in the barrel so have your preferences decided ahead of time. Sometimes rack plating may leave a dark spot where the wire or hook touches the part. The more conscientious platers will work with you to minimize or eliminate the chance of the dark spot, plan ahead. Here's how I deal with the long lines. I first use Brakleen to remove any oil or grease. Then I use single O steel wool to remove any rust, paint, etc followed by the same texture steel wool to polish the lines.  I have yet to find a plater with tanks large enough to plate these long lines so I carefully bend them around a 55 gallon drum making the overall length small enough for the plating tanks. Because I want to be very selective about reusing replated 50 year old lines through which flow critical fluids under pressure I always take another step. I bend and flare a complete set of new brake, clutch and fuel lines which I have plated at the same time as the original lines.  I buy a length of line from my NAPA store in each of the sizes required and NAPA fittings which happen to come with the correct 10mm flats and are already plated in yellow zinc. Yes, a lot of work but when all the lines have been replated I can choose the best, and safest, of the litter. Damn,  he sure goes through a lot of work but hey,  I've been doing this long enough that making a new set isn't a big deal and I know I can have confidence in the finished product. Prep work for everything else - I start with brakleen - a product that doesn't leave a residue - then glass bead blasting to remove paint, rust, etc followed by many hours of tumbling in a rock tumbler filled with my small parts and crushed corn cobs. The end product will have a lightly polished finish. An excellent start to the zinc plating process. Yes, Jfa.series1, your use of wire to keep the small stuff together is an excellent idea, a must for SU carb parts. For the past 3 loads I've been using a shop just south of Philadelphia. Every time I drop off a load they ask me about the environment the parts will live in. I'm impressed by that as I had NEVER been asked that before. However, I've gotten good reports about Sav-On from more than one source. If I ever have issues with the Phila folks I'll give Sav-In a go. The Royal Pain In The arse work I've outlined is what separates a quality restoration one can be proud of from everything else. Good Hunting (plating)! 

[Patcon]

1 hour ago, jfa.series1 said:

The plater covers that automatically.

Any issues with the baked parts being a different color?

[jfa.series1]

8 hours ago, Patcon said:

Any issues with the baked parts being a different color?

They don't separate the parts, all of the batch goes thru the bake cycle so everything is consistent in color whether its clear or yellow.

Per the comments by @zspert above, this shop has tanks large enough to handle the long fuel/hydraulic lines.  A buddy has his done and they came out awesome.

[Zup]

Zspert----

The original poster of this thread lives near Philadelphia and I am sure Bruce (Captain Obvious) would be extremely interested to know which Philly plater outfit you use.

[Captain Obvious]

Thanks again guys. Some follow-up questions...

motorman7 and Zup, Does that $140-$150 per batch at Sav-On cover both colors of chromate dip, or are the two different colors considered two different batches? The reason I ask is that I was figuring I would only do one color chromate (yellow this time), but if I've got the option to do different colors without affecting the cost, I would include some clear chromate parts as well (like the ashtray).

duffymahoney, Would you share some more info about the shop you are using currently? I like the sounds of the cost and the batch size, but can you put a little more definition around what constitutes a small batch? And what about different chromate dip colors? Do different colors add to the cost?

jfa.series1, How does your plater stack up cost-wise to the other options above? And does it have to be an in-person transaction?

zspert , How does your plater stack up cost-wise as well. And as Zup mentioned above, I'm in the Philadelphia area, so something south of the city would be possible to do drop off and pick-up instead of shipping. I could spend shipping money on gas for the car instead.

[jfa.series1]

CO - the most recent batch was about 25 lbs., both clear and yellow.  Three of us went in together, the total cost was $200, no breakout on the color.  The largest pieces were a fuel rail and a heat shield.  For individuals like me, it is a cash-only (check) transaction - no credit cards.  I'm sure they have billing for the commercial accounts.  As to whether they would ship, that would be a question to raise in a contact with them.  The company is Texas Precision Plating, http://www.texasprecision.net/

Speaking of ashtrays, this one just completed (soon to be listed for sale ):

[Patcon]

Were the ashtrays clear zinc and not chrome?

[zclocks]

Hey Captain, 

The best option is if you can find a plating shop within driving distance. 

I 've tried many plating shops over the years and find that you should look for a shop that has been in business for 

many years. Most plating process are not difficult , but consistency is usually the problem. I have a place in CA, Van Nuys Plating, that does my

plating  and they do it all, are second generation platers, ,and at a reasonable cost. 

Call and talk to Linda at Van Nuys Plating   vannuysplating.com . Check out their web site.

Ron

[Av8ferg]

CO, I’d be happy to share a batch with you if you can’t fill it up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jfa.series1]

1 hour ago, Patcon said:

Were the ashtrays clear zinc and not chrome?

The body of the ashtray is clear zinc, the fittings are chrome.