TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sun Jan 15, 2012 8:23 pm

I normally do not post much, but I ordered the Copy Cad plating kit from Caswell and wanted to share the positive results I had. Below is a photo of the three parts I did today. The parts are for a vintage Chaparral snowmobile I am restoring. I will post some VW parts once I do some.

Sun Jan 15, 2012 8:30 pm

Can you post some before and after pics and pics of the kit?

Sun Jan 15, 2012 8:33 pm

Will Do Glenn

Mon Jan 16, 2012 4:57 pm

Today I plated some more parts which included some tail light bulb holders. Below are the steps I took.

• Blast the part to remove the old plating and any rust
• Put the part in the cleaner/degreaser supplied with the kit for 5 min
• Remove the part from the cleaner and rinse it off
• Place the part in the Copy Cad plating tank for 20 min.
• Removed it from the tank, rinse it off, then put it in the Blue chromate solution for 20 sec
• Remove it from the chromate, rinse and then dry with a hair dryers

For a power supply I used a 12V battery wired to some light bulbs. By adding and removing bulbs you control the amount of current flowing. In this case I had just over 1A. This setup works, but a power supply with a knob for controlling the current would be nice. Since the plating kit works well I will likely invest in one.

In addition to the Blue chromate I also purchased the yellow and black solutions. I used the yellow yesterday but have not used the black yet.

So far I have been pleased with the results. I was hoping the parts would be a bit brighter, but I think that has to do with how I prepared the part. A more polished surface to start with will give a brighter finish.

Before

After Cleaning and in the tank

Power supply setup

Coming out of the tank after 20 min

Coming out of Blue chromate tank after 20 sec

The finished product

Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:34 pm

Very nice!! Do you mind plating a few scrap parts and leaving them outside for a while? I'm curious to see how the plating holds up to an adverse environment.

Also do you have a link to the kit, I'm interested. 8)

Thanks, Brent D.

Mon Jan 16, 2012 11:26 pm

Very nice experiment. What media did you use for the blasting?

Tue Jan 17, 2012 8:46 pm

The kit is from Caswell http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/zinc.htm

I put a couple of parts out in the snow today. We will wait and see what happens

Thu Feb 09, 2012 6:37 pm

I thought I would give an update on my platting experiment.

The parts I put out in the snow/water are holding up well with no signs of rust :D

I also platted about 50 additional parts. Most of them are for the snowmobile, but I did do a few VW parts also. I used the black Chromate and it looks really good.

Here is the top half of the carb put back together with the new platted parts

Thu Feb 09, 2012 7:37 pm

This is fantastic work Mark!

Thu Feb 09, 2012 8:14 pm

Man that looks really nice...time to get one.