Spoke/Nipple prep for plating...chrome plating

[AshimotoK0]

Got 5 sets of spokes that I need to get replated BZP. Does anyone know the prep required before plating? (commercial BZP plating ... too much faffing to do in my plating setup) They are all pretty good nick with only minor or no  rust. My gut instinct would be to bung them in phosphoric acid mix to remove the zinc and then fine bead blast them but others say just leave them alone for the plater to sort out.

Left my Chrome plating over a week ago at the place in Hinkley and heard nothing about his  quote. Then my fellow 250 restorer tells me he has had his front mudguard there for 11 months and not finished it.

Someone who 's opinion I hold in high esteem just got a rim from a 400/4 replated for 65GBP by a plater John Wyatt recommended... wish I had gone there now ! and it's only 50 miles from me as apposed to 110 miles  for the Hinkley place. He says the chrome is still a bit 'blingy' but not overpolished that they  remove lots of metal and he will use them again, which is good enough for me.

If he pi@@es me about with the  1.85 x18" 36 hole DID rim I left him I might just swallow my pride and use a scripted one from DSS on one of my twins.

Ash

[martin_uk]

The parts need to be free of loose rust, I normally use a bench wire brush.

The platers should degrease, dip in acid and plate.

Best to check with the co you are using.

Firms that provide these services are not always reliable as the value of small jobs is low and often is a low priority.

[Orcade-Ian]

Hi Ash,
I've just done a set on the front wheel of the bike I got back from Hull.  They were in fairly good nick to start with but I cleaned them up on the lathe with emery tape, one end at a time. Take care not to wrap the tape around the spoke but just rest it on the surface.  Then with a wire brush in the pillar drill I went over each one until satisfied.  The nipples were put on a spoke and cleaned in the pillar drill, one at a time.  Next was a dip in brick/path cleaner (dilute hydrochloric acid) for about ten minutes to remove any bits of rust and original zinc.  Rinse off and then one minute in caustic soda, rinse again and you're good to plate.
I like to be in control of as much as I possibly can - obviously I have to farm out chrome plating but I have used Prestige in Mexborough for years now with excellent (but slow) results.  They did a brilliant job on my last set of DID rims with all stampings still legible.

There are some pics on my site in the What's new section

Ian