SOHC.co.uk Forums > Anorak's Corner

Gatepost (Gateros ) Plating kits

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Orcade-Ian:
I think that if you have a trustworthy source nearby as I used to have, then it might not be worth the effort.  Saying that, you don't want to be paying someone to clean a myriad of tiny parts prior to plating and that is more than half the work done.  If you slot things in between other jobs, then it doesn't become a boring chore.  Passivating is also important for longer term protection.
Also having an easily variable power source made all the difference to me but I've done quite a few of my own bikes plus many parts of other peoples.  I've also made quite a few special tools over the years and plated those too.

Ian

AshimotoK0:

--- Quote from: McCabe-Thiele (Ted) on October 14, 2023, 09:41:54 PM ---The Gatepost (TM) plating kits certainly look good - I should have bought one when I was rebuilding my 400 but took my casing bolts to a local plating firm instead for convenience.

Santa might visit with one in his sack who knows - if nothing else they sound rewarding to use. ;D ;D ;D

--- End quote ---

I would avoid the power supply they sell though Ted. Motoclassics in Hants used to own Caswell Europe and they asked me to evaluate one... which I naturally took to bits as it seemed amazingly cheap. The internals left a lot to be desired from a safety point of view and I found that the current and voltage control wasn't very good.

I am just evaluating this module which has both voltage and constant current control. Will post my findings.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374348983612

DomP:
I bought the same Longwei controller they sell but cheaper on Ebay, you're right Ash it's fantastically Chinese and hard to set but better than guesswork.

DomP:
Well this is frustrating, my dry acid pickle has lost strength already putting a halt to my days plating.

kent400:
All good advice here on the subject of zinc plating. I've been doing that for quite a few years and usually parts larger than a couple of bolts. My method my differ from that used by others and frequently the parts are quite rusty.

Firstly the parts go in a vinegar pot, takes a few days to remove the rust and then on a rotary wire brush. Then in brick acid to remove any old zinc plating that remains, a rinse and then a polish with wire wool.

Electrolyte heat heated to 30c using a fish tank heater  while that heating up the part goes in caustic soda, rinse and into the brick cleaner. Another rinse and into the electrolyte

The anodes are in sleeves which prevents tiny pieces on zinc floating around the tank and the item being plated is moved around the tank. Once plated they are passivated.

This little lot took all morning to plate having previously ben cleaned and then the electrolyte gets filtered though two coffee filters ready for reuse.

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