ConcoursMustang Forums
Restoring - General discussions that span across many different groups of years and models => Processes, Products & Techniques => Topic started by: Stangly on May 06, 2012, 07:14:08 PM
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Can anybody reccomend a plating company. I would like to get my parking and tailight housings plated. I looked at Detail Plating and Auto Parts Plating on line, they both seem pretty comparable.
Thank you,
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Most folks have $100 minimum for each coating type.
I found a good place in Raleigh, NC that only has a $78 min.
I used them on about 100 items and were pleased.
www.surtronics.com
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Most folks have $100 minimum for each coating type.
I found a good place in Raleigh, NC that only has a $78 min.
I used them on about 100 items and were pleased.
www.surtronics.com
How long ago did you use them? Last time I had some parts done, they were acting like I was a bother and said they didn't want to do anymore "hobby" work.
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It was 2 months ago Charles.
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Have either of you guys or anybody else out there tried plating on your own. I saw a few videos on line with homemade plating outfits, and I saw a few companies that sell plating kits for under $200.
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Have either of you guys or anybody else out there tried plating on your own. I saw a few videos on line with homemade plating outfits, and I saw a few companies that sell plating kits for under $200.
I've tried a couple of them. Seems like they work pretty good the first few times using the setup and then later it's hard to get consistent results.
Thanks for the info on Surtronics Bryan. Did you just have barrel parts done or rack parts also? I was having some issues with rack parts, but it wasn't really their fault.
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Just bolts and small stuff. The biggest thing was the power top motor casing.
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Thanks guys for the info this gives me some food for thought. I have a good buddy who's a chemistry teacher I thought I'd pick his brain a bit before I do anything.
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Have either of you guys or anybody else out there tried plating on your own. I saw a few videos on line with homemade plating outfits, and I saw a few companies that sell plating kits for under $200.
I've used the Eastwood zinc kit on jack handles and trunk latchs. It's OK but as Charles says, "inconsistent". The reason I used the Eastwook kit on the trunk latch is I didn't want to mess up the spring. A professional zinc plating shop will heat your items to bake out the hydrogen from the plating process and it will affect springs. I recomend that you find a "car friendly" plater and cultivate a relationship. I pay about $100 a lot charge and my lots run between 120 and 150 items. They are done on a fill-in basis, when the shop is slow, and I impose no due date.
Jim
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This process appears to be much more complicated than phosphating. Has anybody used the two companies I mentioned in the original post, they didn't speak of any minimum piece charge, maybe something to check out. I only have a few pieces to replate and I plan on driving this car so I may opt to use my art skills and replicate the finish with paints. I did a test piece and it looked pretty good. The only problem is paint just doesn't hold up like the plating, there is still quite a bit of plating on these forty year old parts and that says alot.
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This process appears to be much more complicated than phosphating.
Home plating is easy compared to phosphating. Both require a clean item and that means no grease, oil, paint or any other stuff on the surface. The results are not as good as a professional shop, and I don't know how durable or lasting the home plated items will have.
One thing I forgot about plating, when I send out items to be plated they are degreased and beadblasted. The plater appreciates this bit of "sweat equity" on my part and even in high priced San Jose area, what I pay compared to others who send him items to be plated is cheaper by 2/3rds to 3/4ths. He still dips my items in a pre-acid bath to remove that last bit of potential contaminate.
Jim
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If anyone needs plating done I can get it done here in Arizona. I have a local place that does all my plating all the time (zinc, zinc dichromate and phosphate and another place in California that does anodize finish) .....usually takes 4 weeks to get it turned around and depending what it is can come out really nice. The trick with zinc dichromate finish is the parts have to be as clean and unpitted as possible or it will just not look good. So depending what it is it may need to be tumbled or worked before plating is done.
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What material have you had the best luck with tumbling for the zinc dichromate.
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...Has anybody used the two companies I mentioned in the original post...
I've used Detail Plating several times for silver zinc parts and been very satisfied.
Dave
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That's good to know because the price they quoted me seemed pretty good. It was around a $100 to do both taillight housings and the parking lights if I had them cleaned up. I've never had any plating done so I wasn't sure what to expect for cost, but it seems like alot of places charge a minimum of $100-$150. Wonder how many pieces that typically might include.
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With Surtronics, they have 2 pricing categories. The first is basically small parts like fasteners that they can put in a big barrel bin that turns. They do as much as will fit in a 5 gallon bucket for around $75. This is clear zinc or zinc with dichromate. For cadmium, the price is higher. The other category is bigger parts, which they call "rack" items. Not sure how they price them, maybe by size or weight. If I take just about everything that needs to be re-plated for one car, probably looking at least $500 to have it done (including barrel), maybe closer to $1k by the time it's all said and done. Big pieces like the rear quarter slides and the bottom support of the door glass add to the cost.
Keep in mind that Ford used zinc plating as a "primer" on quite a few pieces. If one got crazy and did a bunch of parts in zinc, that would end up costing more too. I suppose when you compare the cost difference in epoxy primer vs. zinc plating, it might not be that much. Pieces that I can think of that were zinc plated before paint would be: shock tower to cowl braces, battery tray, bumper brackets, hood latch support and other big pieces typically painted/dipped.
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Charles,
Thank you for input I didn't realize there were this many different parts that received plating. I have learned to identify the phosphating, zinc, and dichromate finishes from cleaning up parts. Unfortunately I live in the midwest and my car spent most of it's life on salted roads and many of the parts are to bare metal so the history has been erased. I would be interested to see what the cadmium finish looks like if anybody has a photo handy.
David,
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Zinc is a shiny silver, cadmium is a soft silver.
Next time you strip something like a cowl to shock tower brace, take note of how the paint comes off right before bare steel. If the part hasn't been stripped before, you'll normally see a very thin silvery surface right before hitting the bare steel. I think it was pretty interesting that Ford used this method for priming a lot of parts. Must have been some calculations to show it was a cost savings over manually painting each piece.
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Cool now that you mention it I have seen that on some pieces I have stripped.
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I sent most of my items to Steve Gregori in California.
http://www.brakeboosters.com/services.htm
It all turned out great. There is another place in CA that can do small cadmium parts.