I copied a quote from another thread. I didn't add the pictures. Your computer is fine 😉

I used J.D. Martinez, flawless zinc plating. He is  in Escondido California. He will do shipping.

I have a thread with posted pictures. He did all the prep work for me

I used a place in San Diego called Anocote Metal Finishing.  They regularly do car restoration parts. I was very happy with the results and cost.  I think it was $70 per hour.  So whatever they could process in one hour.  So lots of screws and nuts will take more time as the have to wire them up.  Here is a pic of a bin of extra stuff I had done by them but don’t need anymore. All the yellow zinc you see in the engine compartment pic was done by them.  It’s not perfect but it’s well within my expectation.  I shipped a 14 lbs box and got it back in about 10 days including shipping time.  Super easy people to work with.  I don’t think anyone does the real deal chromate anymore for environmental reasons.  The stuff I had done is a yellow zinc plating.  

Ask for: Debbie Cook 

Anocote Metal Finishing

7550 Trade St. 

San Diego, CA. 92121

858-566-1015

 

I have found that when I have large parts plated (headlamp holders, door mechanisms etc) having it all aqua blasted first (water and glass beads), gives a much more consistent finish. The person who I use adds an inhibitor so rust doesn't start. It obviously gets rid of the dirt surface corrosion, but it may find (I'm guessing) it helps to get rid of impurites, which tend to "leak out" during the plating process. I know there is some washing at the platers prior to plating, but in a sense the parts get two cleans.

Just remember it’s all about prep.  For small parts I use a Harbor Freight tumbler with water and Dawn soap.  If I have some parts that are stubborn, I will throw in a small handful of sheet rock screws into the tumbler.  It’s amazing how much crap comes off after tumbling for a few hours.  On the larger parts I use a dremel with the little scotch bright heads which can be purchased in bulk off EBay or Amazon.  Dremel also makes what looks like a small rotary buffer that uses scotch bright pads and these can cover the larger parts like head light buckets.

I sorted the parts that need to be re-plated by color, yellow zinc or clear zinc.  I did a quick clean to knock off excess dirt and wire wheeled the areas where there was paint overspray from the previous paint job. I put some shrink sleeve over the plastic portion of the carb linkage to protect them during the cleaning process.  I also plugged the holes of the carb and smog accessories to prevent the fluids from entering inside.   I then put the small parts in gallon zip lock bags.  I had one box of the clear/silver zinc parts, and 3 boxes of the yellow/gold zinc parts.  I used three boxes for the yellow zinc because of the excess weight (USPS flat rate shipping box). Each box weighed approximately 20 pounds  For the plating process, the 3 yellow/gold zinc parts will be thrown into a single barrel, so the charge will be for just one yellow zinc barrel plate.

The plating company does a good job of cleaning the smaller parts in their prep process.  I am guessing it is either a vibe or tumble process along with a chemical clean that they use to clean the parts to remove dirt and rust.

I spent a bit more time cleaning the long tubes and larger parts as they will be rack plated and I do not think they get cleaned as well.  On the long tubes I put in a large diameter bend in order get the parts to fit in my 4 foot shipping box. They said they can accomodate parts up to 6 feet in length.

All plating is done by Sav-On plating in Phoenix, AZ.  They have done a great job with my parts on previous restorations.

Pics Below

As of 8/1/2024 Marquis Zinc is no longer in business. 😞

 

Hate to hear that. I tried to get in touch with them a week or two ago. No luck.

I sent a few things off to Rochester Overnight plating. They arent overnight, but I should get my stuff back this week. I will post up how they turned out. 

I assume that’s Rochester Ny.

Got stuff back from rochester Overnight plating. Pleased with the color and finish. They kept the small parts organized in the same bags I sent them in. Probably a couple of weeks turn around and easy to communicate with. One of the gas caps has a bad place. I may call them and see what they say. All this for about $130. I prepped them pretty well in the wet blaster. Not sure if this is a good deal or not, as everything seems really expensive to me these days! Just thought I would share in case someone is looking for a plater. 

I don't think that's unreasonable. I would think most peoples minimum would be that much and it would take me 3 or 4 hours at least to plate that at home.

I think she told me $120/rack. Not sure how big one rack is, but all that fit on one rack. I am sure chemical regulations are costly.