I have been looking at the following home electroplating kit from Frosts:
Frost Electroplating Module
You can get various modules to plate in zinc, nickel, yellow passivate, olive drab etc. It looks like the perfect bit of kit for restoring my stage 1 to a condition that'll resist corrosion a little longer than normal and make parts look better (and hopefully easier to disassemble in future).
The question is, has anyone used this kit or similar and how good is it?
It looks like it may work, but could be a load of hassle to get results.
Electroplating components
So you will really need to buy all nine kits. One on it's own can't possibly work. Simplest answer is to go to any electroplaters and see how many tanks they need just to do one type of finish.
You have the right idea but I suggest that you are far better off finding an electroplater that does bright and gold zinc and sending in box loads at a time that have already been colour sorted.
You have the right idea but I suggest that you are far better off finding an electroplater that does bright and gold zinc and sending in box loads at a time that have already been colour sorted.
I was only going to buy the Common module and one of the plating kits (hadn't decided which finish to use yet).
The platers that are local are quite expensive and don't really like dealing with lots of small components. In fact, unless you fill a plating basket, they charge full whack anyway.
I was looking to do parts as they come off on an ad hoc basis.
As with a lot of these things (especially when aimed at classic car restoration) they can be lots of hassle and prep. I will just use the standard parts cleaned up if I am likely to spend huge amounts of time plating stuff.
The platers that are local are quite expensive and don't really like dealing with lots of small components. In fact, unless you fill a plating basket, they charge full whack anyway.
I was looking to do parts as they come off on an ad hoc basis.
As with a lot of these things (especially when aimed at classic car restoration) they can be lots of hassle and prep. I will just use the standard parts cleaned up if I am likely to spend huge amounts of time plating stuff.
Well if you have a spare life time and infinite space....
However one plastic bucket, a jug of acid and a battery charger isn't going to solve your problem. Simple challenge; buy a plastic bucket and a jug of chemical (your choice) and see how many times you have to clean that bucket just to get those parts to a clean stage. Not a pre plating stage, just clean - no crud, no rust. You will quickly see your home brew kit taking up more space than the Land-Rover.
However one plastic bucket, a jug of acid and a battery charger isn't going to solve your problem. Simple challenge; buy a plastic bucket and a jug of chemical (your choice) and see how many times you have to clean that bucket just to get those parts to a clean stage. Not a pre plating stage, just clean - no crud, no rust. You will quickly see your home brew kit taking up more space than the Land-Rover.