Parkerizing

[schmittm]

Cad plating step 1, the parts should be absolutely clean bare metal and look almost as if they were already plated.

[schmittm]

cad plating step 3. unlike checking for leaks on an intake manifold we want bubbles here. first pic shows parts suspended in plating take before the current is turned on. second pic show what happens when you have TOO MUCH current, fast and furious plating and lots of bubbles; you get flakey lumpy plating results from something like this. Best is just a light fizzing around the parts. takes about 15-20 minutes.

[schmittm]

cad plating step 3. before the current is turned on

[schmittm]

cad plating step 4. When the parts come out of the plating tank and are rinsed and dried they will have a dull chalky appearance. Hand buffing with 0000 steel wool will shine them right up

[schmittm]

cad plating final results. After a very light buffing with extra fine steel wool (0000) and applying wax or other protective coating the parts are ready to install. Start to finish you could do a batch of parts like this in about 2 hours.

[exeric]

Great photographs Mike. There is nothing like a picture to clarify an idea. You don't have to quote a price, but weighing quality, and convenience with storage of chemicals and preparation time, do you think this kit is a good deal for the occasional home plater?

[schmittm]

Absolutely Eric!

Cad plating, unlike chrome or nickel, is a very low voltage, low amperage operation. You can see the voltmeter in one of the pics, its plating just fine at 1.48 volts. Chemicals are not any more hazardous than most common household cleaners and storage is easy, the plastic pail that comes with the kit has a snap on lid that seals it up air tight. It is a very low risk procedure.

There are lots of advantages of do-it-yourself cad plating. Turn around time is as fast as you can do it, no waiting. If you're not happy with the way it turned out you just do it over, it doesn't hurt the part to buff it again and give it another shot.

And, of course, the satisfaction and pride in having done it yourself. The smile on your face when the first part shines up after final buffing?....priceless!

give it a try

mike

[D.Mac]

Thanks for the excellent information , Mike.
I enjoy reading all the posts on this forum, and tips like this really make it worthwhile. Although I had heard that cad plating was something that could be done at home, I didn't realize it was that easy. I like to do as much of my own work as possible, partly because I'm a cheap SOB, but also just for the personal satifaction of taking the time to do a job well. With the detailed info and pictures you provided I will be giving it a try, and I suspect more than a few others will also.
Doug.

[bmh]

It's amazing how easy we become sidetracked. Back to parkerizing. Most of the products listed in the catolog i dug out are listed as charcoal gray"military" color, both in the original parker maganese phosphate and zink phosphate. This would be about hte same as an M-1 Garand barrel most likely. there is also one that has a pre-wash that says black. This catalog is 6 yrs old, it's the newest one I have found around here. I'll keep looking as I know I had more recent ones, but they may have been lent to someone.
Brian

[bmh]

The images were posted while I was typing. Looks great. And it is as easy as the article I read. Imagine that. I'll defenetly be in the plating biz this winter.
Brian

[Kojack]

Those home plating kits are great for a few parts but you'd be at it a long time to plate a whole bucket full of nuts, bolts and doodads. The pros use a process called "barrel plating" which allows them to cad plate large batches of parts quickly and evenly. I bought an Eastwood kit several years ago. It's the same tin/zinc process as Caswell's on a smaller scale (true cadmium is too toxic for a home shop). The plating as it comes from the solution is too white to pass for cadmium plating. In my opinion, after it's polished it's just a little too shiney. On the plus side you can do a few parts whenever you want without worrying about a minumum order and the tin/zinc coating is actually more rust resistant and durable than cadmium. Eastwood has a short video on their website that also shows the process: http://www.eastwoodco.com/text/conte...s/tin_zinc.mov

Mike, thanks for the great info on parkerizing and your power supply. I'm going to steal that idea.

[Lonnie]

To me, what seems most desirable is that this home plating is less destructive than sending certain parts to the pros. I've sent several of the knucklehead timer 'bands' to be cad plated and every time they come back destroyed with the band completely eroded in the middle. In the photos, the band as shown is not harmed in any way.

Lonnie

[gallen]

Parkerizing Color

I'm also looking for the color answer. I'm still bringing a 47 Knuckle back from a 1970's period chopper. I have been doing my own parkerizing and am having fairly good luck. But my question is,What is the correct color I need to use? Is it Black or is it the grayish color. They list Black and they list Gray formula solutions.
I have been using Black and I get gray and black. I know that metals color differently because of hardness or carbon content.
I have seen bikes restored for instance with a gray brake pedal and a black one. Mine turned out black. What is deemed correct?
Hope someone can help.

[hogluvr]

gallen,

I'm trying to find the answer to this question myself, I tried to re-visit this topic in "Parking Lot Chatter", hopefully between this thread and the one I started over there we can both get some answers.

Mike

[koanes]

Something I have noticed, the more time a part spends in the acid bath prior to parkerizing the darker it turns out. This can be used to advantage when doing nuts and bolts, as most HD hardware is of the darker tone.