Plating/coating/anodizing kits

[W. Tripp]

For those who want to DIY:


http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/

[Riverman]

I buy my anodizing dyes from Caswell - they work very well. Although they recommend heating the dyes, we have had good success with the dyes cold.

[triple dude]

Ever try the powder coating kit from Eastwood?? They talk it up pretty well.

[W. Tripp]

The same powdercoating equipment that can be purchased from Eastwood, can also be bought under other brand names - sometimes for a lot less. But yes, I have an Eastwood kit - and another "professional" gun and equipment - and I use it regularly. It is easy to use but (like all finishes) the surface prep is the biggest part of getting good results.

If you want to try your hand at plating or anodizing, Caswell is a great source.

[jphii]

Thanks for the info, this otta come in handy.

[Merc-Cruiser]

For the info! M/C:)

[cvz19]

has anyone here used the deluxe caswell kit? i'm thinking about getting one.

[Techno]

You can also plate aluminum. You do need their Zincate preplating dip for that though.

Zincate
Flash & acid copper
bronze
nickel & copy chrome

I've found my cleared Kandied aluminum faded just like the anodized stuff did so eventually it will be plated. That can't fade!

One bit of warning is you need copius amounts of demineralized water. I can get it from work but broke down and bought a DI unit to eliminate that hassle. No DI water and you'll contaminate your brews.

[Hottrucks]

Seem pretty kool
can you enlighten me about it a bit I the bezels are getting shabby looking on the SKater this may be a cheap ( I didn't see the price list) way to redo them and add a few more goodie while I'm at it??

[Techno]

This is a fairly involved process but its quite simple to do.

Some of the stumbling blocks although none of them are made of granite.
The water. This is just rinsing between stuff.
power supply. A 6 volt battery. I use an old computer power supply. They gots lots of amperage and a few voltage choices. They're also either cheap or free.
A resistance thing. Light bulbs rheostats or lengths of wire zig zagged.

You dunk the part in the magic liquid. Put power to the part and the plates. Metal comes off the plates and sticks to the part.

Theres another way. Electroless. You dunk the part in the bath and the magic chemical does all of it. No power no plates. The fluid has the plating metal in solution.
You can send your stuff out but sometimes doing it your self is nicer. If you have kids I would send the parts out. Your the best judge of this. These kits use acids. Battery acid and muriatic acid like for cleaning concrete. Both are diluted in the tanks but its still acid. But gasoline and drain cleaner aren't fabulous chemicals either.

Copper plating is used as 'body filler' this is why chrome uses copper. It uses nickel also as a rust proofer since chrome is porous. Copper is easy to sand and polish for the shiny finished plate. It also plates thick very fast.

Now that I put everyone off they do have the tiney brush plating kits get one of those just to play with it. Plating is just too cool to pass up.:D

Lastly doing it yourself you get to decide how thick the plating is. .003" is marine proof and is roughly 1/2 an hour. My Vette catalog rear bumpers had rust spots on them less than 2 years after I bought them. In other words they did a crappy job.
edit
The site is a bit confusing to navigate. Click on any of the kits and it will take you to the price lists.
This isn't cheap. But anyone with a Skater shouldn't be scared by these prices.
It depends on the kit size, how much your going to plate and what you consider to be costly cheap.

[Hottrucks]

[quote=Techno;1135391]
This isn't cheap. But anyone with a Skater shouldn't be scared by these prices.
quote]

I have a Skater just cann't afford to do much nice stuff unless I do it myself....Just finished doing the motors and fill the tanks with oil and gas......Kinda like the OLD snowmobles work on them for 5 day so you can ride for 5 minutes!!!

[ctered]

The reason they use nickel first when chrome plating is that chrome is clear and hilights whatever is behind it. Put a layer of shiny nickel on first and the chrome will brighten it up and stop it from rusting. As stated above, the surface prep is the important part. Any impurities left on when plating can cause the rust such as on bumpers. I do agree that if chrome is not thick enough it can be porous. On the other hand, if chrome is put on too thick it becomes brittle and can crack easily.