cadmium plating

[tbirdman]

Any recomendations for cad plating for all the nuts and bolts in the engine compartment?

[Restorer32]

We have it done locally on a regular basis. It's not really cad but rather zinc with a plated clear coat. You should be able to find an industrial plater locally who would do it for you but they likely will have a $50 or so minimum charge. Once you reach the minimum they generally charge by the pound and it is very inexpensive. Be sure to specify that you want "silver cad" rather than the more modern (and non-authentic for an early car) "yellow cad". You will make them happier and more likely to welcome your work if you have everything glass beaded for them. Search your phone book for "Electroplaters" or "Metal Finishing". Chrome shops generally provide the service as well but they likely just send it out and take their markup.

[mrpushbutton]

Great advice, Restorer32, very accurate. I might add that you should glass bead the pieces to be surgically clean. Be picky when you do it, get every surface of the work as clean as you can. And Restorer32 is correct about the minimum amount. Talk to your friends with cars, pool all of your work together, it's all about the same price just to make the minimum amount--that way you can all split the cost and all have nice detailing. Some fastener manufacturers will do cad plating of customer's work as a side line.

[Restorer32]

We hads all the "cad" plating done for a fellows Corvette restoration project, must have been at least 30 pounds of nuts, bolts and widgets. Total cost was only about $130.

[tbirdman]

Unfortunately my fiends who are ding cars right noiw have no interest in doing things right.

I do have a bead blaster so that's not a problem. Also I have a copy cad kit from Carswell which is really zinc plating. Though when it's all said it done, it's much eazier just to go to a plater.

[mrpushbutton]

leave your friends to their Krylon and do right by that Packard

[Guest BigKev]

I'm just curious if anyone has every tried those zinc plating kits that Eastwood sells? or the blacking solution system?

I just wonder if they give good results.

[Guest Albert]

A number of year ago i had about 50lbs of motorcycle parts plated with cad, an has someone said there was a min $ amount, and then so much a pound after that. One thing about cad plating, it does have a different colour than Zinc, but it does last longer than zinc.. And i did not bead Blast any of it, it went into a pickling solution to clean it, then the cad, then it was backed to remove the hydrogen from the plating.

[Clipper47]

I worked in Chrysler Canada plating shop during the summer of '64. As best I can recall parts were newly stamped but sometimes rusted from outside storage. As I recall they were first washed in a heated caustic soda tank then put into cyanide solution before and again after the cadmium plating tank .

[tbirdman]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BigKev54Clipper</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'm just curious if anyone has every tried those zinc plating kits that Eastwood sells? or the blacking solution system?

I just wonder if they give good results. </div></div>

Yesterday, I bought the latest Caswell copy cad zinc kit. Probably cheaper and easier to send out, but this way easier to keep track of everything...plate as I go.

[Guest imported_Speedster]

Let us know if the plating kit works ???

What type power supply does it use?

[tbirdman]

Can you use as much as you want. The more current, the more you can plate. I bought a 3A voltage/current adjustable supply at Frys for $69. Caswell was selling the identical unit for $103. It should be fine for plating small batches at a time.