fixings, zinc plating and other dilemmas

[Ian65]

Hi Frank,

I haven\'t got that far yet but have been thinking about the best way to restore these parts. I prefer the factory look and so that rules out painting them, which to my mind never looks right and then eventually starts to flake off.

The only way I know of at the moment is bead blasting but this involves the total strip down of the part.
I\'ll let you know if I discover an easier way.

[David Nock (RIP)]

I\'m going plating crazy now!

Absolutely Marvellous matey.

[Ricco_04]

Step 1. I soaked each item in a solution of water and brick acid for about 15 - 20 minutes to clean them first.
This got rid of the old zinc plating and any rust.

(picking your brains) Do you just drop any rusty item into this solution and it comes out minus any coatings and all rust is removed?  Asking cause I have some items I dont want to shotblast and they are too intricate to use wire wheels etc

[RobMatthews]

I really fancied one of these kits as I wanted to give my engine bay an authentic, \'new\' look but they seemed a bit pricey at nearly 80 quid.
I then realised that I already had half the stuff...
Bucket, mask, goggles,gloves,wire, croc clips, battery charger, battery, acid pickle ( use brick acid instead).

So I just bought the chemicals I needed for about £30 and voila, instant zinc plating and yellow passivating kit.

I\'ve tried to take a few pics but they\'re a bit dark without the flash and too bright and reflective with the flash...

The engine bay...




my refurbed headlight raising assembly...




This spanner is out of the RX7 tool kit. It was covered in rust and now looks like it\'s made of solid gold...



I\'m going plating crazy now!

I dont suppose you still have some of the pics that are no longer here?

and where did you buy the chemicals?

any good links/videos to where you found good information?

i keep finding school kids doing pennys and not finding them particulay good watching lol

[Ian65]

I really fancied one of these kits as I wanted to give my engine bay an authentic, \'new\' look but they seemed a bit pricey at nearly 80 quid.
I then realised that I already had half the stuff...
Bucket, mask, goggles,gloves,wire, croc clips, battery charger, battery, acid pickle ( use brick acid instead).

So I just bought the chemicals I needed for about £30 and voila, instant zinc plating and yellow passivating kit.

I\'ve tried to take a few pics but they\'re a bit dark without the flash and too bright and reflective with the flash...

The engine bay...




my refurbed headlight raising assembly...




This spanner is out of the RX7 tool kit. It was covered in rust and now looks like it\'s made of solid gold...





I\'m going plating crazy now!

Here they are.... plus another of a few bits and pieces...



I got mine from here...
http://www.gaterosplating.co.uk/Zinc-Plating-kit.php

There\'s some good info on their website.


This is a similar kit...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Zinc-Electroplating-Kit-Car-Bike-Motorcycle-Plating-/260677769243?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3cb19b181b

Have a good look at what\'s included, some kits have you paying extra for a bucket and some gloves etc which you can buy cheaply from anywhere.

[RobMatthews]

Ian did you just hang yours to dry in ambient tempature? or use a heatgun/ hairdryer on them?

I\'ve started mine,(god it tedious work, bored already!(only done about 10 nuts and bolts lol) i\'ve tried hanging them over a gas fire and the gold passivate dissapeared:-( so left them in the workshop tonight hanging in room temp so hopefully tomorrow i\'ll find out if its worked:-)

i dont know about these chemicals, what do the dead fish trees and scull and crossbones mean? the white powder is not a substitute for dry milk either,

rob

[myatt1972]

From what I remember talking to Ian the secret is raising the temperature of the solution with a fish tank heater or the like.
Im sure he will fill you in.
 
Keith...

[Ian65]

I just leave mine to dry in the air Rob.
As Keith says. the key is to use warm water, both when plating and when passivating... a fish tank heater is ideal

[RobMatthews]

cool i\'ll scour ebay and the local papers see whats about 2nd hand :-)