Anyone successfully plated their own stuff at home? Any firsthand experience?

35 minutes ago, DC871F said:

Anyone successfully plated their own stuff at home? Any firsthand experience?

Look up my caswell thread

Here it is, I can't do some of this on my phone...

 

Edited November 21, 20213 yr by Patcon

On 11/21/2021 at 2:46 PM, Patcon said:

Look up my caswell thread

Enjoyed reading through that.  You got some nice results Patcon.  I have been tempted to do some on my own, but so far have avoided because I don't see enough pros to counter cons for my situation.  Space in my garage is always a factor.  Chemicals that get stored for very long periods of time without use are another big con for me.  Anyway, I wish I could plate a few things here and there.  

Good news for me is that Texas Precision Plating (Steve) said I can send my parts to him and they will plate them.  I am happy about that.  I had boxed most things up already.  Yesterday, I "bent" the hard lines that go through the transmission tunnel (brake, fuel supply, fuel return, and gas tank vent) so they could fit in a box.  I used the gas cylinder from my Mig as a form, and put one ~180 degree bend in each long hard line.  Along with those in a large box, I put a lot of the large parts which are to receive zinc with yellow chromate (gold) packed in their own box.  I have two boxes to ship them.  The other box is just hardware and small parts and comes to 50 lbs! 

Edited December 5, 20213 yr by inline6

Would the complete nut and bolt set that's offered by Z Depot be correct? 

Not sure going to get that anal on my build, but then again....

It seems like a convieniant route to have nice hardware, if they in fact correct.

3 hours ago, inline6 said:

Enjoyed reading through that.  You got some nice results Patcon.  I have been tempted to do some on my own, but so far have avoided because I don't see enough pros to counter cons for my situation.  Space in my garage is always a factor.  Chemicals that get stored for very long periods of time without use are another big con for me.  Anyway, I wish I could plate a few things here and there.

I agree, there are some cons. I tried to plate something the other day and couldn't get acceptable results. That's what happens when you let things sit. It's also very time consuming to plate unless you have a BIG setup. I have been disappointed by a couple of commercial platers. I'm glad TPP is gonna take your plating. Please update my other thread when you get your hardware back

1 hour ago, DC871F said:

Would the complete nut and bolt set that's offered by Z Depot be correct? 

Not sure going to get that anal on my build, but then again....

It seems like a convieniant route to have nice hardware, if they in fact correct.

The vintage hardware many times looks different from the new stuff. Sometimes the heads are different sizes. Also the vintage hardware have numbers on them "7's" or "9's"

So, I got all my parts sent out for plating.  $100 in shipping for one box and $146 for the other.  $246 in shipping from GA to TX!!!  F'rs.  

Amazon (for shipping) is going to eat them alive before too much longer - both UPS and FedEx.  

Edited December 10, 20213 yr by inline6

I think I found some Koito headlights like the original ones that came on the car new.  I went ahead and bought them.  I was using this very original 280Z on Bring a Trailer as a reference:  https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-datsun-280z-108/

Here are the ones I bought - these sealed beam bulbs look the same: 

Edited December 19, 20213 yr by inline6

I started a little project to build some frames with wheels assemblies that will allow me to roll the car around easily when it I take it off the rotisserie.  Here are a few pics.  

    

    

 

Rather than make a body cart, I am going to try to get away with just two assemblies, one for the front and one for the rear.  The front will attach to the front crossmember support bolt holes on the frame of the car.  The rear will attach to the inner control arm pivot areas on the car.  I am also making it so that it has two height positions.  I found some square tubes and rectangular box sections (scraps) at a local metal supply place.  The rectangular box sections are about 55" long and 3" X 1.5".  I sourced U bolts with 3" inside spacing to secure the caster wheels.  U bolts and some pins for setting the height were sourced from McMaster Carr.  I got the wheels from Northern Hydraulic. 

Edited December 19, 20213 yr by inline6

A bit more time invested, and I finished the rear one: 

    

 

I would want to tie them together with a bar or two, front to back. I would be afraid of tweaking the body mounts if one frame doesn't roll for some reason

6 minutes ago, Patcon said:

I would want to tie them together with a bar or two, front to back. I would be afraid of tweaking the body mounts if one frame doesn't roll for some reason

Yes. I was looking at it and something wasnt sitting right with what I was seeing.

Nailed it.

Hmmm.  Maybe I should do that.  I'm not ready to use these, won't be for a while longer.  I'll have to look for suitable "drops" at my local metal store.  Those are the leftover bits that they sell for a single rate by weight. 

Texas Precision Plating got my two shipments ok.  Hope they turn my parts around in the early part of January.  Once I get them back, I can bolt on inner fender supports, the fenders, and the inspection lids for the last time.  Then, I can proceed with the last of the primer coats and final sanding on the fenders.  There are still a few other areas to address with further bodywork, such as an area on the passenger door, and the rear tail panel.  Getting closer to paint! 

While the car is at the paint shop, I plan to Black Diamond blast all of the black parts and prime and paint them.  It would be easier to drop them all off at a powder coater.  But, I figure epoxy primer and paint will be much more durable than the factory's original attempt, but look more authentic. 

I wish all of my efforts, all of this, was for an early VIN car for value reasons, but hey, 240z's in this good of a starting condition are somewhat hard to find.