How To: Zinc electro plating at home

[Jordan Baker]

I will preface this post with a disclaimer that I am by no means an expert. Use whatever precautions you deem necessary and do your own research on the chemicals involved.

I wanted to take my restorations to the next level and plate parts that were originally done this way. However sending out stuff to a company wasn’t really feasible for me since it was only occasionally going to be needed. A quick google search turned up a pile of how to videos and articles. The following two are ones I liked as they were very easy to follow.

http://www.cmoist.com/zinc-plating-on-the-cheap/

https://www.gomog.com/allmorgan/ZincPlatingAtHome.html

I bought all the ingredients from amazon except for the corn syrup and distilled water. They came from my local grocery store.

You also need a power supply. I bought one from Amazon that had both a Volt and Amp control. It also lets you adjust minor or large. Hence the left and right knobs. Lastly I also found a cheap small aquarium heater and a small submersible pump. The solution works best warm around 75deg and with a bit of movement. This helps greatly with getting everything mixed.

[Jordan Baker]

Lastly you also need zinc. Some of the online articles say to use large batteries to get your zinc. However it is usually contaminated and you have to cut up batteries. Easier in my mind is to just buy some. I found a 10pack on Amazon.

As for tank setup. I’m using a 4L distilled water container with the top cut off. The copper tube is what I’ll suspend my parts from. The zinc plates are bolted to the sides. Using alligator clips, I connected the two zinc plates together. These will the be connected to the positive on the power supply. The negative goes to the copper tube.

Parts need to be very clean, no rust of oils from your fingers. So spend your time getting them as best look as possible. The plating is very thin and does not fill in pitting. Once ready I dip the parts in phosphoric acid then quickly rinse in distilled water then into the plating bath. I adjust the Amp supply depending on how many parts I’m doing. Most parts should take between 2-15 minutes. You want some bubbles but not crazy.

I used a steel wire brush ever so lightly to polish them up.

[Jordan Baker]

Caswell does sell ready mixed solutions as well and they seem to have excellent reviews online from people. They are not cheap but have the advantage that it’s a one stop shop and everything is mixed as it should be. The home made versions are quite usable and I’m very happy with my results. There is just a greater chance to introduce unknown variables.

[Lynn Eades]

Excellent! Jordan, what happens on the brass throttle spindles? Do they get a zinc wash as well, or do you grease or tape them?

Now I'm waiting for when you re silver some reflectors....

[Mike Kelly]

Thanks for the Positively biased write-up.

This should appeal to those of us on a low budget ! Grocery store restorations are in my league.

[Robin Craig]

I am waiting to see Jordan get caught cleaning parts in the dishwasher and become banished to the shed for a few nights

[Jordan Baker]

Originally Posted by Robin Craig

I am waiting to see Jordan get caught cleaning parts in the dishwasher and become banished to the shed for a few nights

I’m going to have to up my game then. I baked the carb body after painting in the oven. Only complaint was it smelled. Honestly I’d be fine with being banished in the shed. Solid nights sleep without hearing a baby crying. Sign me up….

[maple_leaf_eh]

There is a genre of restoration videos on YT, and I remember some show how to plate small parts which have deteriorated. If I bump into another one, I'll add the link. The search tools aren't going to help much because plating old parts is just one of the many interventions the creators use.

[Matthew P]

Do you follow up with a Chromate Conversion dip in blue/clear Chromate to both simulate Cadmium finish and provide a surface for paint to stick to better? This is a topic I'm researching now and hope in August to start experimenting with.

Matt

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Thanks Jordan,

As always a very helpful write-up!