DIY Zinc Plating

[KJDonovan]

I know most folks here restore bikes, so I wanted to post this so if anyone is dealing with the same there is a reference here.

Anyway, over the winter I have been restoring another bike for my wife (72 Montesa Cota) and there were lots of small parts that were originally zinc coated that needed attention.  Unfortunately in my area there are not any businesses that do zinc coating on a small scale and I had zero desire to mail my stuff to someone else to have these bits and pieces zinc coated.  So a buddy and I (Gordon Brennan) started doing some research and between You-Tube videos, MSDS documents from Caswell Kits and some simple trial and error have come up with a simple, safe, SUPER CHEAP and easy way for all of us to zinc plate our bits and pieces as we cobble old bikes back together.

What you need:
1 gallon of vinegar ($2.50 at any market)

½ Cup Magnesium Sulphate (Epsom Salt, get it any pharmacy)

½ Cup Sugar (Yup, the stuff you put in your coffee)

About 8" of 3" wide zinc flashing or any chunk of zinc like a boat anode.  If you should be able to find zinc flashing at the hardware store, but if not you can get it online.

An aerator from a fish tank, Petco or other pet store.

Empty plastic jug with sturdy sides, like a detergent container something that isn't too flimsy

A few old metal coat hangers

A manual battery charger.

2 test lead's with an alligator clip on each end of each.


How to do it:

Cut the top off the empty jug and wash it out good inside.

Pour the vinegar, sugar and Epsom salt into the jug and stir it up well so it mixes in good.

If you are using zinc flashing, bend one side over the side of the jug and have the rest of it hanging on the inside of the jug.  If your using an anode, suspend it so that it is mostly submerged in the solution with a little sticking out the top.

Run the hose from your aerator into the solution and start the aerator.  

Let everything sit overnight, this will allow some of the zinc to dissolve into the solution.

Prep your parts:

Glass bead or wire brush all your parts really well, removing any rust or paint, then wash them very well in soap and water to remove any grease an oils that may be on them.

Next day;  

Cut the coat hanger into pieces, making one to bridge the top of the jug and a few other pieces to use as hangers to hang your pieces into the solution.  Clean the pieces of hanger down to bare metal with steel wool or sandpaper.

Next, with the battery charger UNPLUGED, run a test lead from the positive lead on the battery charger to the anode or flashing.

Now starting with your heaviest pieces to coat first, hang them one piece at a time into the solution from the bridge so they are completely submerged in the solution.

Run a test lead from the negative lead on the battery charger to the bridge your part is hung from.

Plug in charger.  After a few seconds you will notice what looks like smoke coming off you part.  It is actually zinc attaching to your part.  Leave it in there between 5 and 10 minutes.  Then UNPLUG the charger and remove the piece.  Be careful when you grab the hangers, sometimes they get hot.

Next, using steel wool or a soft copper wire brush polish up the pieces removing all the gray haze.  It takes a little while to do this but it works.  I usually give my pieces 3 baths in the solution cleaning them up after each dip.  Also if you want to you can polish the pieces with a rope wheel when you are done and they will almost look like chrome.

Below are some before and after photos of the Montesa parts I did.  I am sure the parts would probably be a little prettier if I had them professionally done, but the coating that I put on these is much thicker that what was originally on them and it cost next to nothing.

One last item, when you are all done the left over brine can be used as a moss killer.  Just put it in a spray bottle and mist it on the moss patches in your lawn and it will die off in a couple of days.

Pictures;

The parts in the right of this photo were the ones that needed to be zinc plated
[image]http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/KJDonovan/montesa010_zps78927bc1.jpg[/image]

This is the plating vat in action
[image]http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/KJDonovan/zincbath.jpg[/image]

These are the completed parts.
[image]http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/KJDonovan/zinc-1.jpg[/image]

And this shows a before and after of my brake pulls, the after photos are what your parts will looks like if you spend some time really polishing them up when your done.
[image]http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/KJDonovan/oldlevers.png[/image]



Thanks,

Kevin

Kevin J. Donovan
Foster, Rhode Island
72 Jack Piner (My Ride)
72 Six Day (Wifes Ride)
71 Suzuki TS125
72 Montesa Cota 123

[skiracer]

Nicely done Kevin! Always good to learn new ways of making our bike projects look better!  Jl

1976 MC 5 Original Owner
1976 Hercules 250 GS 7A
1982 Suzuki PE 175
2002 KTM 200 EXC
1976 Penton 175 GS
1976 Hercules 250 GS 7A project

[Big Mac]

Really cool...love the do-it-yourself initiative. Nothing better than boiling down mysterious science to pretty simple bench wrenching. Got to try it.

[brian kirby]

My Dad does that, and Cad plating for Ford Mustang car parts.

Brian

[Rain Man]

you guys are too funny !!  talk about yankee ingenuity.
 stay tuned boys and girls, next week I'll show you how to chrome plate with hydrocloric acid and...[8D]

Raymond
 Down East Pentons

[KJDonovan]

Raymond,

I know its really low tech, but I hemmed and hawed for weeks about buying a kit from Caswell that does basically the same thing...then decided I couldn't bring myself to spend 175 bucks plus shipping for something I could make with stuff hanging around the house.  I got less than $30 into this approach and I am really pleased with the results, remains to be seen how well it holds up but was a fun project and I learned some new stuff .

One thing I would add that I did not include in the original post is that if you change the polarity by putting the positive on the work and negative on the zinc, you and use the same stuff to remove rust from old parts.  I did a few brake rod springs that were pretty crusty and 2 of the 3 came out great, one I left in too long and it basically dissolved as I am guessing the rust was the only thing holding it together!

Thanks,

Kevin


Kevin J. Donovan
Foster, Rhode Island
72 Jack Piner (My Ride)
72 Six Day (Wifes Ride)
71 Suzuki TS125
72 Montesa Cota 123

[huskyrider390]

kevin,
i tried to contact you by email here, but i'm having trouble with my email address. could you post your email so i can write and ask you a few questions.

thanks,
george

[Fred Deagostino]

Slick! I have several 'small parts' that I'd bead blasted and painted and they looked stupid. Now stripped, I was wondering what I might do next, and here's a recipe complete with pics. Great post. Thanks for taking the time to document and pass it on so thoroughly.  Fred

V416 OneMoreTime

[t20sl]

What amperage charger do you use?  Thanks for all the great info.  Ted

[KJDonovan]

Ted,

I use 12V 6A, but it really does not matter. I have also tried it with 6V 4A and it worked fine, just a little slower.

Thanks,

Kevin

Kevin J. Donovan
Foster, Rhode Island
72 Jack Piner (My Ride)
72 Six Day (Wifes Ride)
71 Suzuki TS125
72 Montesa Cota 123

[t20sl]

Thanks Kevin, I will give it try.  My plater has a minimum and seems I always miss getting something plated.
Ted

[Mike Rosso]

As Kevin noted about what to use for a zinc source "boat anode" that should be available at most marine supply stores or internet websites like:

http://www.usazincs.com/store/home.php

http://www.discountmarinesupplies.com/MOTOR_ACCESSORIES-Zinc_Anodes.html

http://www.bizrate.com/boats-kayaks-boating-equipment/zinc-anodes-marine/

Kevin will any of these zinc anodes in the links work?

[KJDonovan]

Mike,

Any piece of zinc should work.  I used zinc flashing http://www.amazon.com/Zinc-Armor-1-roll-Prevent-Fungus/dp/B001QV3GI0 which is also available at most building supply stores.

Thanks,