Consensus on home plating.

[Lobo]

I’m currently dismantling the 750 K2 as she’s long due a major refresh. Tonight I dismantled the carbs (& main plate) into their component bits, and sighed at the thought of (a) finding a good / reliable / cheap plater, and (b) endless bloody trips to & fro as the project progresses and (c) the inevitable loss of screws, and worse, non-replaceable parts in that process.
So…. have been looking at home plating kits (zinc initially)… not cheap on the face of it, but maybe so with endless wee parts. Saw UK Pete’s great write up on the Sandcast Only Forum - he had nothing but praise for home plating.
Consensus please - can I expect reliable and professional results, or can it all be a bit hit and miss? One factor I have to consider is that we’re ‘off grid’ as it were with Rainwater tank only, and septic tank - ie no formal drainage / town sewage system. We’re on seawater front… all ground water flows directly into the sea - bottom line I can’t easily dispose of the fluids on the property. Thoughts?
Ta.

[philward]

I've had good results for several years. If you have the space to store the various buckets so you can just get the whole set of them out when plating (as opposed to making up each time). Once you are using to the order of the process, it's easy - and I've had good results.
I've only changed the main solution once and put it in an old plastic oil container and take it to the local council recycling centre with my old oil (I wouldn't put anything like that down the main drains)

Sent from my moto g(50) using Tapatalk

[Orcade-Ian]

I've had great results over almost 20 years with kits and consumables from Gateros.  No connection with the company but very satisfied with their service.  I did a brief write up for the VJMC mag (Tansha) years ago and Gateros had it on their site a while back.

As with any finishing process the key ingredients are preparation and cleanliness.  Garbage in - garbage out.  The greatest advantage is that you have total control - no loss of parts except for an occasional special nut that flies out of the pliers when you are holding it to the wire wheel!  Been there, done that, now use the T shirt for polishing as it shrunk in the wash!  Turn around time is up to you for a change.

Seriously, it's a time consuming labour intensive job but unbelievably satisfying.


Ian

http://www.stallard-engineering.co.uk/Engineering/Zinc%20Plating.htm

[haynes66]

gateros kits come in various forms - with or without power supply etc.  any advice/suggestions of which is best/can i use an alternative poer supply etc

pete

[philward]

gateros kits come in various forms - with or without power supply etc.  any advice/suggestions of which is best/can i use an alternative poer supply etc

pete

I use an old battery charger with the variable current control that came with the kit

[haynes66]

so is it zinc or nickel you use?

[philward]

so is it zinc or nickel you use?

Its zinc

[haynes66]

many thanks. i know the price of zinc plating isnt very expensive but i guess it would add up if i restore two or three bikes.  i'll give it a shot

[philward]

As I have said on previous post Pete, I like it as I do the zincing as I build the bike up - i.e. as I build a set of carbs, I zinc the metal work (as opposed to waiting to get sufficient parts together to make it economical to send to the zinc platers, and then risk losing bits)

[Lobo]

Thanks all - it seems a thumbs up for home zinc plating.
Can anyone suggest how best to finish the highlighted parts in the pics?
And the ‘main plate’ - should I simply polish it?
Ta,
Simon

[Oddjob]

As someone who knows a lot about polishing I'd advise against polishing the main plate, far too many little nooks and crannys for it to turn out well, you'd end up with a patchwork of bright and dull areas. I'd advise either spraying in colour of your choice or powder coating, powder coating is far more robust as you'll know and easier to keep clean.

For the linkages, either polish or paint the same colour as the main plate.

I've got a zinc/nickel kit but as yet I haven't used it as some of the parts aren't ready to be done and as it's a space problem I want to do the parts in one go over a few days so I can then store the tubs in the loft out of the way.

[Johnny4428]

Just to add to Ian’s recommendations, very rewarding, cost affective and satisfying. Use containers with lids then store away until next use. No need to dispose of any liquids for a long time. Had a few projectiles off the wire wheel until I started using self grips.

[MrDavo]

On the several bikes I've restored over the years the one area I've never been happy with is carb linkages, I've always ended up carefully painting parts silver, while looking in envy at bikes where everything has been apart and plated like new - it's one of the first things I look at! (sad I know).

When I've had parts chrome and zinc plated one thing I always come up against is a minimum job cost from platers (£45 + VAT the last one I asked) - I can understand why they don't want to bother with 10p to plate a screw or something, so I am quite interested in DIY plating next time I do a bike. It must be quite satisfying to watch a part slowly become shiny and new looking again.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

If I could turn back time I would have bought a plating kit rather than get my engine bolts plated locally - still plenty of time to justify one for 2022/23

[AshimotoK0]

I have been DIY plating bike parts for getting on for 35 years,  starting with nickel plating parts before zinc kits were readily available.

I have had and (still have ) great results but it's a lot of messing about ... not so much on the plating itself but on the prep. required to achieve the levels of finish achieved by the ptofessional plating companies.

If I too could turn the clocks back, I would have found a reliable company, early on, that used to do a shoe  box full of parts for next to nothing. Sadly, places like Allenchrome, who I used to use... won't do small batches anymore. So to get parts done locally there is nobody I know of and hence, reluctantly,   I am back to doing it myself .... yes , very satisfying and great for small bits that are rocking-horse-poo and you can't possibly afford to lose or need in rush or forgot to send to the platers but still a load of messing about.

To make my point, looking back at the picture below from 5 years back, I has this batch done professionally for  about £50. Try estimating the time to home-plate this lot ! Plus you would be shelling out about the same amount of money , if not more, for chemicals/anodes/de-ionised water etc.

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