The previous thread on plating got me off the couch (no small accomplishment on it's own!) to do some plating. So I dug through my parts room and pulled out a set of 65-67 hood latches. These aren't too pretty, but are really good cores.
Hood latch after bead blasting. All paint, dirt and rust must be removed. It's difficult to tell from the pic, but some of the original plating remains, which is not a problem.
There are some scratches and light pitting that are removed with a die grinder and sanding disk. Care must be exersized not to confuse scratches with original tooling marks which need to be preserved.
The part is then bead blasted again to remove sanding scratches left by the die grinder. The bead blasting provides an even finish on the part. The sanding scratches will show through after plating if not removed.
The part is then thoroughly scrubbed cleaned prior to plating. The Caswell kit comes with a degreaser, but I prefer an ammonia cleaner diluted with hot water. The part must be absolutely clean prior to plating. Part is removed with a wire to avoid handling the cleaned part, and rinsed with distilled water. It then goes into the plating tank. Yes, that is my kitchen sink, which might explain why I am single
Current is controlled with a rectifier to obtain roughly 25 ma per square inch with the least voltage possible. Batteries will work, but there are problems controlling the current and voltage. Note that this part only required 1/2 of 1 volt to provide sufficient current, and you can't get that kind of control with a battery.
The kit comes with two ceramic heaters that are controlled with a thermostat.
The part is left to plate for up to an hour, and agitated regularly. The extended time in the tank provides extra thickness for longevity.
The extended time in the tank deposits more zinc, but creates problems too. The longer the time in the tank, the duller and rougher the plating finish becomes. This problem will be made worse if a battery is used. Also, note that the finish is not even. When the part is removed from the tank, it must not be touched for several hours, as the oils from the hands will create black spots. I just let the part sit overnight.
Now the real work begins. The part is rubbed out by hand with 00 steel wool. This brightens and evens out the finish. Trial and error is required during the initial metal prep, and finish polishing to achieve a factory finish. In my opinion, this is as close to a factory finish as I have achieved. Although others like to have a finish that is more highly polished, but it just doesn't look quite right to me. I guess it's just personal preference.
The spring is painted semi-flat black and reinstalled along with the hood bumper.
I think it bears repeating. There is a lot of expense involved in equipment including the plating kit, rectifier, blast cabinet, media, and air compressor. It is also a lot of work and very time consuming. These hood latches took several hours of work. It would be a lot more cost effective and easier to outsource this job. So before investing in all of the equipment, it just has to be something that you want to do for the fun and satisfaction of doing it yourself. If you enjoy this sort of thing, then it can be pretty fun.
Here's the photo album.
Happy Plating!
Hood latch after bead blasting. All paint, dirt and rust must be removed. It's difficult to tell from the pic, but some of the original plating remains, which is not a problem.
There are some scratches and light pitting that are removed with a die grinder and sanding disk. Care must be exersized not to confuse scratches with original tooling marks which need to be preserved.
The part is then bead blasted again to remove sanding scratches left by the die grinder. The bead blasting provides an even finish on the part. The sanding scratches will show through after plating if not removed.
The part is then thoroughly scrubbed cleaned prior to plating. The Caswell kit comes with a degreaser, but I prefer an ammonia cleaner diluted with hot water. The part must be absolutely clean prior to plating. Part is removed with a wire to avoid handling the cleaned part, and rinsed with distilled water. It then goes into the plating tank. Yes, that is my kitchen sink, which might explain why I am single
Current is controlled with a rectifier to obtain roughly 25 ma per square inch with the least voltage possible. Batteries will work, but there are problems controlling the current and voltage. Note that this part only required 1/2 of 1 volt to provide sufficient current, and you can't get that kind of control with a battery.
The kit comes with two ceramic heaters that are controlled with a thermostat.
The part is left to plate for up to an hour, and agitated regularly. The extended time in the tank provides extra thickness for longevity.
The extended time in the tank deposits more zinc, but creates problems too. The longer the time in the tank, the duller and rougher the plating finish becomes. This problem will be made worse if a battery is used. Also, note that the finish is not even. When the part is removed from the tank, it must not be touched for several hours, as the oils from the hands will create black spots. I just let the part sit overnight.
Now the real work begins. The part is rubbed out by hand with 00 steel wool. This brightens and evens out the finish. Trial and error is required during the initial metal prep, and finish polishing to achieve a factory finish. In my opinion, this is as close to a factory finish as I have achieved. Although others like to have a finish that is more highly polished, but it just doesn't look quite right to me. I guess it's just personal preference.
The spring is painted semi-flat black and reinstalled along with the hood bumper.
I think it bears repeating. There is a lot of expense involved in equipment including the plating kit, rectifier, blast cabinet, media, and air compressor. It is also a lot of work and very time consuming. These hood latches took several hours of work. It would be a lot more cost effective and easier to outsource this job. So before investing in all of the equipment, it just has to be something that you want to do for the fun and satisfaction of doing it yourself. If you enjoy this sort of thing, then it can be pretty fun.
Here's the photo album.
Happy Plating!
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