Cadmium Plating Services?

[Ohio-Rider]

My response to the EPA when asked what I did with my hazardous materials from my home plating kits will be.

Dear EPA,
I poured all my dangerous chemicals down one of the hundreds of gas injection wells that the EPA allows to use much more dangerous chemicals than myself. You know, the same chemicals that are so deadly that the drilling companies won’t tell us exactly what’s in them under the pretense that they are a company trade secret. The same chemicals that the doctors have to sign an agreement to not reveal their contents to the public. So fear not, all my dangerous chemicals went right down the same hole as yours.
Sincerely
Steve

[bikerdds]

You can do expert cad yourself, and not from a cheesy copy cad[not even close]. The chemicals are available, but nasty stuff and you need good ventilation. Research more on the internet, but basically, clean parts with blasting, clean in hydrochloric acid [quickly] and dip in distilled water. Cleanliness is next to godliness. DO NOT touch the parts with bare hands! Place in cad tank [nasty stuff is a sodium cyanide mixture] with cad balls suspended, and plate for anywhere from 1-5 minutes at approximately 3 volts. Must use a quality meter and electric transformer. You can inspect the part and tell when it is done. Caswell does make a great transformer unit, but do not trust the meter on it and use a good volt meter in line. You can "cook" your cad if not careful. You rinse your part and dip for 15 seconds in chromic acid [also nasty stuff] and rinse and you have the most gorgeous cad you laid eyes on. Can do large parts; just takes longer. If you set yourself up with gallon pails, you will be set for life. Disposal? It lasts forever this way but you can dispose at any site that accepts chemical waste if you need. Gives awesome piece at a time work that you can duplicate from piece to piece. If you want more info, PM me. Marty

[cdndewey]

You can do expert cad yourself, and not from a cheesy copy cad[not even close]. The chemicals are available, but nasty stuff and you need good ventilation. Research more on the internet, but basically, clean parts with blasting, clean in hydrochloric acid [quickly] and dip in distilled water. Cleanliness is next to godliness. DO NOT touch the parts with bare hands! Place in cad tank [nasty stuff is a sodium cyanide mixture] with cad balls suspended, and plate for anywhere from 1-5 minutes at approximately 3 volts. Must use a quality meter and electric transformer. You can inspect the part and tell when it is done. Caswell does make a great transformer unit, but do not trust the meter on it and use a good volt meter in line. You can "cook" your cad if not careful. You rinse your part and dip for 15 seconds in chromic acid [also nasty stuff] and rinse and you have the most gorgeous cad you laid eyes on. Can do large parts; just takes longer. If you set yourself up with gallon pails, you will be set for life. Disposal? It lasts forever this way but you can dispose at any site that accepts chemical waste if you need. Gives awesome piece at a time work that you can duplicate from piece to piece. If you want more info, PM me. Marty

I just want to clarify one thing Marty. A voltmeter does not go in line, it goes across the output terminals. An ammeter goes in line to measure current flow.

I would like some more info as I would like to try some home plating.

[Ohio-Rider]

There are some really good kits available to give plating a try, and they don’t cost an arm and a leg. If you decide to try it, DON’T buy ANY kit or supplies off of e-bay. Lots of junk out there.

The discussion about whether to measure either the volts or the amps for cad plating has been ongoing for years. I was taught by controlling the amp’s so I like to do it that way. Like anything else new, there is definitely a learning curve involved, but it’s a pretty short one. I can’t believe everyone hasn’t tried it once?

[strongm]

I've got a 58XLH 100 point bike and I would recomend Areo Propeller in denver CO for CAD Plating.

Got a batch of parts back from Aero Propeller not long ago and they were badly plated. Areas of bare metal, spittle, and dark stains. Sent them back three times, but same results. I always clean my parts and remove all rust, grease, and old cadmium before sending. They did quality work in the past. Talked to the plater there (Chris) and he says its because they don't use deionized water anymore. So, I would not recommend them at this point. I'm looking for a new plater now.

[hennigan62]

Historic finishes. Fort atkinson,wi. Have had cad and parkerizing done. Good quality.

[len dowe]

They still need it in Aeronautics and that has strict standards. There are only a few that adhere to that in this regime.
I don't think that it will dry up that soon. But I am getting my parts cad from a Aeronautics company, while I still can.
Good chrome on the other hand is getting harder to find. Plus Silver plate.

[gcooperlll]

Williamson Polishing & Plating Co., Inc. in Indianapolis Ask for Tracy ext 305 top notch customer service with attention to detail. 800-772-7266

[strongm]

Just got back a batch of parts from Warner Propeller & Governor Co. Beautifully done. Ask for Brooke.

5102 S. Country Club Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85706
PHONE: 520.294.5671