DIY zinc plating kits

[Mr_B]

Anyone use them with good results ? Will have lots of little bits needing plate over a long time scale, so takling one bracket of a couple of tiny bits each time to a plating shop is not really practical.

[FunkySon]

I have one from Gateros plating that I picked up a year or two ago.

I used it for a few small bits when I first got it with mixed results. Some items came out really well but others weren't so good. It could easily have been, and probably was, my prep though as when it worked it did look really good.

I sold the car soon afterwards so I never got to see how well it lasted.

I'll be giving it another go over the next few weeks as I have a pile of bits off of a neighbour's Mini that need doing. Assuming, of course, if I can find the instructions.

Duncan

[droopsnoot]

I've also got a Gateros one, mine is for yellow passivate plating. I get the same - some parts are really good, some are not so special, and I'm sure it's down to how well the item is cleaned first. I think the commercial platers have access to some much better (stronger) cleaning solutions. That said, I did buy some 'extra special' cleaning solution at the same time as the kit, but never used it because I started with some good results.



You can see there the two washers to the left of the photo have plated quite well, but the bonnet catch and spring are not so good. I had a lot of trouble cleaning the spring and I think I ended up painting it just to get it done for a show.

I bought the 'deluxe' kit with the heater and agitator, which drops the plating time down to under and hour. My old zinc plating kit from eBay had the heater but no agitator, and could need leaving overnight to get decent coverage.