Cad plating spokes

[Snakeoil]

My original paint knuck has spokes that are pretty much depleted of all their cad plating, including the nipples. Many were rusty where the plate was gone. I had to replace one rim because the previous owner looks to have hit a curb or nasty pothole and bent and then tried to straighten with a big hammer. Too bad because it could have been fixed if done right. So, I unlaced the rim and decided to clean all the spokes. Now I have spokes what will surely rust again. I was thinking about replating them. I was told that they would stick out like a sore thumb when the bike was judged. Anyone have experience with this? I figured that a little scuffing up and exposure to the elements would age the cad pretty quickly. I'm not trying to fool anyone here. I just don't want them to rust again. But I also don't want to screw up the value of the bike with restored spokes.

Finding a set of NOS is an option, but probably a long hard look plus major bucks.

Any suggestions, comments?

Thanks,

[23JDCA 808]

Would scuffed cad plating look much different from matte finish stainless? Stainless don't rust. ...bill

[Chris Haynes]

Would scuffed cad plating look much different from matte finish stainless? Stainless don't rust. ...bill

It looks a LOT different.

[T. Cotten]

What Chris is getting at is that even an un-trained eye can pick it out.
And they will not age appropriately with the rest of the machine.

If a machine has authentic character, then there is no sin in doing what previous generations would: clean the spokes, and preserve what is left with a suitable paint.
It is only a matter of time before everything matches anyway!

...Cotten
PS: I'm glad no one has said it in this thread, because if I hear "rustoration" one more time I'm gonna puke.

[c.o.]

Oh, oh, has that term reached status with "chopper" and "bobber"........ whatever happened to "cool old bike"?

[T. Cotten]

Cory!

I think we can all make distinctions between 'choppers' and 'bobbers';
But just as "patina" seems to now mean anything rusty, there is a real threat to... for lack of a better word: authenticity.

Like the phrase "old school" has become super-stoopid, we shouldn't let machines of character become meaningless. Even if we do take liberties to pull them together from scratch.

That's an art in itself, I'm told.

...Cotten

[Chris Haynes]

I would simply dig through a few boxes and pick out the 40 best spokes I could find. I always find spokes at the swap meets. I almost bought a couple sets last weekend at the Long Beach meet .

[c.o.]

You could have started something here Cotton. I can see it now........a fella is asked about his bike at a meet and he coins it as being an "authentic"......... and I agree "old school" has grown to be "stoopid"....

[Paps]

My Buddy had a bunch of parts re-cad plated less than a full year ago. He is dissapointed in his plater because they look darn near 50 years of age instead of lees than one year of age. When they first came back from his plater, they looked fresh. All parts were stored in a controled climate. The point in bringing this up ????? Maybe, just maybe, this is what is needed. A plater who does cad and ends up creating patina ?? Paps

[T. Cotten]

Cory!

We are just hashing words up, but a part can be "authentic" without being "original".
Thus we can hope for authentic reproductions, and also encourage that fine original parts are not robbed of their authenticity by re-plating, over-polishing, etc. As it has been said by many: "It's only original once."

Of course, as we all know, all meaning of such words goes out the window the minute the part hits ebay.

Paps!

I was warned when I received a batch of fresh cad to avoid storage in a closed container. Perhaps that has some bearing upon your buddy's tarnishing.

...Cotten

[Paps]

As a matter of fact Cotten. He did store them in a closed container. Thanks !! I'll let him know what you said. Paps

[Snakeoil]

Well, at least I have a decent grasp of old school, rustoration, authentic, bobber, and chopper now. Gee, you guys are like herding cats.

I would think there is a way to age cad plate. Maybe a sealed container is the trick. I was thinking it might be a mild salt bath and then allowed to air dry. New bikes with cad spokes tend to have the spokes look old within a year or two, especially if they live outdoors all their life. That was why I was surprised when I was told not to replate them. I figured within a year they would look old again.

I'm not trying to fool anyone here. I've also gotten all the speeches about it's only original once. Well, I view things like rust as unwanted patina. If the original owner had been a neatnik, then the bike would have been kept perfectly clean and cared for all its life and would look excellent today. I'm just cleaning it and making it road worthy again. I realize that beauty is in the eye.... and for me, that's a clean and cared for bike. I actually walked away from a good deal on an original panhead a few years ago because the bike had been so well cared for that the paint was worn thru in a number of places from polishing. Looked like a pinto. I knew that painting it would be wrong and the pinto paint would drive me nuts. So I walked away. Now I'm rambling. Must be contagious.

What I started to say was after moving the rust, I'd like to keep it from returning. Maybe I'll just clear coat them as it and be done with it. I can always replace them if it caused problems in the judging. I would like to think that everyone would want to see an effort made to stop any further degradation of the bike. Touching up bare metal from a dent or scratch is not restoration in my mind. But I don't make the rules.

I'll keep my eye open for old spokes. That's a good suggestion. After reading that, I remember seeing boxes of old spokes at swap meets. I got what I need. You guys can start talking about cooking or your last operation now. Thanks.

[Snakeoil]

My Buddy had a bunch of parts re-cad plated less than a full year ago. He is dissapointed in his plater because they look darn near 50 years of age instead of lees than one year of age. When they first came back from his plater, they looked fresh. All parts were stored in a controled climate. The point in bringing this up ????? Maybe, just maybe, this is what is needed. A plater who does cad and ends up creating patina ?? Paps

As I looked for info on plating, it occurred to me that although your friend asked for cad plate, he might have gotten zinc plate. Cadmium is bad stuff and it is being phased out as far as nuts and bolts go. Zinc plate is the replacement. Zinc tends to age rather quickly turning white and powdery looking. It could be possible that his newly plated spokes are zinc plated and not cad.

[Paps]

I'll pass that info along to him also. Thanks, Paps

[bobdo]

Hey All,
I don't think I would recommend what I'm about to say. Simply because its not original. I can understand not wanting new Cad spokes to "stand out". I couldn't find a place to plate my parts Cad, ( since then I have ) so I had them plated with a dull nickel. It looked kinda similar so I went with it, ( a regret). They sealed the metal & looked pretty good for awhile but have since darkened with patina & really don't look like Cad. I'm just throwing the info out there for someone in case they consider it. If your not interested in accuracy & hate rust but want an old patina, it might be worth considering. Bob