Zinc replating

[boilermaker1]

Hi, I have some 400 4 parts I want to get replated. axles, bolts etc
What is the best method for cleaning up these parts??
Any advise would be great

[eem46]

Hi, degrease it and sandblast it, that's the best.

Kind regards,

Emiel

[Laverda Dave]

Hi. Degrease everything and make sure you remove any burrs on the bolts otherwise when you get them back from the plater they will look rough and rust where the plating rubs off the burrs as soon as you fit a spanner! The plater will remove the old zinc in the stripping bath before replating. Its all about the preparation, the less you do yourself the more it will cost you for the plater to do it.
Good luck.

[Dave487]

You can remove the old plating with BRICK ACID from the local DIY but they'll rust like hell if you don't oil them straight away. Best leave to the plater.
I bought a kit and did a lot of my own, mainly to prevent losses at the plater, particularly the small carb bits. My platers bath must be ankle deep in my bits from previous projects.
It's a bit fiddly though and they don't tell you about the lethal chemicals involved until the kit arrives together with a few pages on COSH regulations.

[Nurse Julie]

To clean the items prior to taking to the platers for re zincing, I put all the parts in a cement mixer with builders sand, traffic film remover and boiling hot water, 10 to 15 minutes is usually enough, remove and place in a big sieve and rinse off with the hose pipe. Then dry off before spending hours cleaning all the threads and nooks and crannies with a wire brush before taking to platers. Never had any bad bits come back from platers and I usually take between 7 to 10 kg at a time. Sorting them all out after..........well, that's another story 

[AshimotoK0]

If you want to strip it the pro way chemically use this (all available cheapish of eBay).  I bought 1kg of EDTA today of eBay. I use the same place for plating as Julie  and he positively loves doing my stuff stripped with this brew.

To make up 1 litre of stripping solution:-

100 grammes ---  Sodium Hydroxide  (Source Poundshops, B &Q, Wilkinsons, ect)

90 grammes --- EDTA---- (EthyleneDiamineTetraAcetic acid)  Source eBay

4 grammes ----  Triethanolamine   ..........Source eBay

Immersion is at 70 degrees C +/- 5 degrees for about 20 minutes (basically until the bubbling stops).

Slow cookers are mega cheap (Lidl, Aldi, loft  ) and will not overheat the solution on max. setting.

Specify if you need passivate finish either Gold chromate or bluish tinge clear (example of gold chromate are  regulator cover, spoke nipples). Sometimes you get black passivate. Examples of black pass.  are 'D' spacer washers on 500/4 & 750/4 top yokes and the earthing covers on USA 500/4 rear indicator brackets. But the bluish tinge passivate is used for most parts.

[SteveD CB500K0]

Put a copy of this post in the Anorak's Corner Ash 

[AshimotoK0]

Put a copy of this post in the Anorak's Corner Ash 

Done