I made as you, and had zink flakes, after that i bought the caswell chemicals and the first pieces was good, very bright, then the bath turn red, i found 2 results, the bright part in a few seconds, and the grey finish that need polish, will keep trying
I recommend using a wire wheel for cleaning the rust off of the metal parts i usually first use the wire wheel to clean the large amounts of rust off then let The part sit in some rust killing solution which turns The part black you can then go back over with the wire wheel and take that material off and clean it up and plate it but I do not like using media blast it basically creates a whole bunch of tiny pits in the Metal which is hard to get out
Not *necessary*, but the reason for using it is that it doesn't react chemically with the electrolyte (or slowly anyhow). If you use copper you may get some contamination in your electrolyte and on your work. It may be ok as long as you don't immerse the copper wire on the positive side (with the zinc). That way you aren't dissolving copper from the wire into your solution. It should be ok to hang the work on copper wire. You'll just be plating the wire with zinc.
Glad I could help. This process isn't very finicky. Copper or nickel might be more sensitive to variation. I'll ldo something on those solutions soon. Stay tuned...*cough*subscribe*hmph*....
As far as surface finish, what you put into the tank is what comes out. You're only putting a few tenths (0.0001") on, if that, so the base metal has to be shiny if you want a shiny finish. Or polish, plate, repeat, until you're happy. Usual stuff works; 600 wet/dry, 00 scotch brite, etc.
This explanation seemed misleading and overly complicated. Make an electrolyte with about 1 Gal. White Vinegar, 1/2 cup Epsom Salts, 1/3 cup Sugar. You can get free zinc from old wheel weights marked Zn or from the outer cases of dry cell batteries (zinc-carbon, not alkaline). Use 1.5V batteries (or an old 5vdc cellphone charger). Note: Car batteries and car chargers are too powerful. Attach the part you want to plate to negative and the sacrificial zinc anode to positive. Before plating, charge your solution overnight with zinc at both ends. Your anode will partially disintegrate into solution. Clean and degrease your parts. When plating, rotate your part occasionally to get full even coverage or surround your part with more anodes connected together. Use almost any conductive wire to hang things. If you want to make your plated part shinier, buff it. Plate outdoors to avoid fumes. (Note, most diecast parts are made of 96% zinc and 4% aluminum which is another great source for the zinc since the aluminum will not electroplate from solution.) Also note: Boat anodes are made of zinc, magnesium, or aluminum (not just zinc). Happy plating.
@@Spikev01 You are welcome. I've done a lot of zinc plating at home, mostly for rehabbing steel tools. Some how-to videos get a little misguided at times. BTW: I found 5lb zinc anodes on eBay for about $5 ea, so cheap! Plate slow for the best result. If you use too high a voltage and/or current the plating just wipes off. I guess I should do a video. Also, I've switched to "washing soda" for making the electrolytic rather than using Epson salts. :)
Another question. To make the initial solution I used two zinc strips with an old sony 400mA power adapter, as I had seen in some other videos. I left them powered in the vinegar/epson/sugar solution for a few hours. After that, I unplugged the power adapter and left the setup overnight. the next morning I looked at the solution, with the zinc strips still in there, connected to the adapter. They were lightly bubbling and completely black! With the conductive solution, there was something going on with the circuit. Did I ruin the solution? What happened? Thank you!
That's interesting. I've done that electro-dissolving technique for nickel, but not for zinc. I can't think of what would cause that. It's probably carbon from the vinegar, but I have no idea what would cause that species to precipitate. I'd just wipe or scotchbrite off the electrodes and try to plate some test pieces with it; see what happens. If it doesn't work, try again without the electro-disolving (which shouldn't be necessary)
Sorry I'm not familiar with that process. I googled it and got scholarly articles. So that's past my ability to comment on it. I'm just a dude in a barn.
I have a 12V supply that I run close to max (10-11V). The apms depends on the surface area if the part, but for bolts and small parts, it's typically a few hundred milliamperes. When you say "goods transfer", do you mean uniform - not patchy - or thick?
@@markseiter8208 Yes I'm not getting a uniform coating, also its so thin if I scotch brite it it pretty much removes it. I'm using a variable power supply set at like 3v and 100milliamps for 1 bolt. I'm experimenting with 1 before I do a whole batch. The hardware was previously blasted but has been sitting so I dipped it in phosphoric acid for a couple min. Then removed rinsed with water and put it in the plating solution.
@@kurtkose5238 huh. You seem to be getting much higher conduction through your solution, or your electrode is much closer to your part. That might have effect. It's possible to get "electrode shading". Try moving the electrode away from the part if it's very close. I haven't tried phosphoric acid, but I don't think it would do much to remove non-polar contaminants (oil, grease...) Just Dawn soap and water, then acetone did a good job. Also, rust never sleeps. It's a good idea to scotchbrite before washing. I
@@markseiter8208 after I did the phosphoric acid, I also tried wire wheeling again then Spraying it down with brake clean still doesn't seem to be coating right. I'd show you pics of my setup but no pics on here lol. I'm pretty sure its hooked up right, have positive of the power supply to the anode Neg. on the part. If I cant figure it out maybe I'll just powdercoat them when my oven is fixed lol.
Huh. Thanks for the tip. Got any ideas to up the concentration? I left that batch for about a week, so more time probably wouldn't help. Heating, aggetation? Electro-disolving; I've done that with nickel, takes an age.
@@barnyardbikes54Have to apologise, I was thinking of nickle plating. Your acetate is the right color. Might try the electro thing - which I've had the best luck with. Keep the current to about 1~1.5 amps for a couple of hours. Good luck and I look forward to more of your vids!
@@ScottDLR no worries. That nickel method works well. I think I started recording it but it didn't make for excited viewing. Should have some new stuff soon. I keep getting stuck halfway through projects. Thanks for the view!
The metre introduced in France in the 1790s... So YES Metric is French! It's official international designation is SI ( Système International), again, French... AND, there are still 3 countries that are hold outs...
it's wrong. They use alkali baths. Acidic zincate baths require high current. 5-100 Amps, for short periods. It's only used on wires. The layer is thin. I'll keep seeking the hydroxide solution recipe
Everything we purchase or consume is in Imperial measurements and everything we make is metric. It wouldn't be possible to change every machine in the shop. I am bi-dimensional and am comfortable with either platform.
