Proper Plating for 1957 Buick Engine Bay Fender Bolts

[buick man]

Doing my engine bay areas on my 1957 Roadmaster. Does anyone know exactly what kind of plating the fender to inner wheel well bolts were plated with - You know the ones with the thin square unique washers? Perhaps clear silver zinc plating like new bolts you get from the hardware store. Though this would not protect them for very long as hardware clear zinc bolts rust fairly quickly within a season and the ones on my car have yet to some 50 plus years later. Then again, perhaps some kind of silver galvanizing procedure. Mine look clear silver with an almost light galvanized tin tarnish appearance. If I use light sand paper on the bottom of a washer, the zinc like coating is removed revealing bright metal so I think it is an OEM coating and not tarnish. Also for what it's worth, all the bolts for that matter around the engine, fan and grill areas to join sheet metal or chrome parts all use these same bolts.

[Guest martylum]

Hi-I'm not sure about 57 Buick but the hardware in my 53 Buick 76X engine bay seems to have been plated in cadmium so I carefully removed and had it replated in cad. I've restored a number of Ford products in the mid 50s and found they used cad for things like hood and trunk latches, bolts. This finish in a redo will last a lifetime.

Eastwood does sell a spray paint call cadmium for a less expensive approach. Hardware store zinc won't. The military still specifies cad. on a lot of their hardware specs.

Martin Lum

1953 76X restoration

[buick man]

I welcome all comments and experiences. I will post a photo of some of my better original bolt/flat washers later today and let everyone take a guess. Cad plating as far as I know, renders a slight yellow or gold like hue accent to the metal itself. Mine appear silver and some are experiencing the white oxide residue typical of galvanized breakdown and have the slightest grayish hue.

[old-tank]

It is true that replacement zinc plated fasteners will not hold up. But the original fasteners on my 55 were zinc plated 30 years ago ( and 80,000 miles) and are still presentable. Maybe the plating is thicker. Anyhow if cadmium is not available, I would consider zinc.

Willie

[1957buickjim]

Hi David..From what I have received from posts on the forum, the special bolts are supposed to be a black cad plating, not clear (silver) from the factory. This would be the bolts that are along the fender line down to the hood latch inner piece as well as the bolts that hold the rad support and the inner portions of that and the horns. Basically, if it attached to black painted items, it should be black plated. At least that is what my understanding is, after asking this question numerous times on the forum. Hope this helps. Jim

[buick man]

Good thoughts fellas.

For what it's worth, this is my 4th 1957 Buick and all of them have all had silver-ish gray fasteners with square washers that hold the fender mounting lip to the inner wheel wells, both the front apron as well as the center cross bars and central induction/radiator surround areas. I have had a Special 4-door hardtop, Century Convertible, Caballero Wagon and now my Model 76A Roadmaster with this being the only one I attempted to preserve and or refresh parts and areas on.

With that said, I have done some more research and think they were electro-galvanized. The threads that I exposed that have been hidden since 1957 clearly show this plating and color. Another nice thing I found out when I removed my wire harness cover in the battery box was the original shade/gloss of black that the inner fender wells had. This is going to be a good authentic reference for me as a guide. I will be working on her all day tomorrow so I will try and get some photos up here to show everyone what I mean regarding the bolts and such.

Of course Martin you may something there with your Buick. I found the followng description regarding cadmium plating that is not of the usual green, red or yellow variety:

"... Bright silver to gray in color, cadmium is corrosion resistant with exceptional solderability, ductility, lubricity, and good anti-galling properties. Cadmium offers twice the corrosion resistance of zinc for the same deposit thickness. It offers protection against substrate corrosion or the corrosion of the underlying material by corroding before the base metal. This protection remains unimpaired despite minor damage to the cadmium coating such as scratches or small punctures ..."

Here a good reference source I found differentiating the various types of platings with photos. It's not about Buicks but it does explain bolt plating very well:

http://429mustangcougarinfo.50megs.com/new_page_26.htm

Edited June 4, 2011 by buick man
Found another good source to list (see edit history)

[Guest Rob McDonald]

I'm no purist but the colour of these very visible bolts and washers is something that I would like to get close to right. I tried to reuse the original ones on my car - sorry Jim, they were definitely silver coloured, not black. I cleaned them with solvent and gave them a light buffing on the wire wheel. Big mistake. Cadmium is very soft and I must have stripped it because they're all very rusty now, twenty years and very few miles later.

I'll be pulling them off to replace, if I can find a good likeness. Replating the originals in zinc is also an option but cadmium plating is no longer available around here. The residue from the process is so expensive to dispose of properly that the industrial plating shops have given up on it. In the building industry, everyone still specifies cad plating on fasteners but they invariably get zinc dichromate instead. It's very good but doesn't look right on old cars.

I had it in mind that Chev used the same fender bolts but a quick Google suggests otherwise - 57 CHEVY GRILL OR INNER FENDER BOLTS w/ HEADMARKS. A black oxide finish is noted, so Jim's sources are partly right. I do remember that what appeared to be just the right bolt/washer assemblies were available from a local body shop supplier about ten years ago. So why didn't I buy a bagful? Heck, it would have taken the fun out of searching for them later.

Edited June 5, 2011 by Rob McDonald (see edit history)

[Bhigdog]

Bead blasting and clear coating works well. They were also used on the trannys. Or you could make your own............Bob

[1957buickjim]

This is such a conundrum...Caballero2 Dan tells me that they are black cad, you guys are telling me that they are clear cad (silver)..what's a fellow to do???:confused:

I did a post regarding the engine compartment back in November of last year asking just such questions. The BCA guidelines don't specify, so I was hoping to find out from the forum, and now it looks like there are two different solutions.

Is it possible that there are 2 different colors to the bolts? Or are all the bolts silver? Even the ones that are attaching the radiator sheet metal to the support brackets and the horns to the rad support? Are they black? Just trying to make it all factory..

Hmmmmmm.:confused:

[buick man]

Jim. No these front end engine bay/fender well bolts have always have been silver. I am now just understanding that they are silver cadmium plated but never black phosphate.

I did not get a chance to upload the photos I took regarding this yesterday. But will post a photo showing one of our fender/wheel well bolts. The stem or threaded shank/shoulder of the bolt that was embedded into the sheet metal components and never exposed the elements is very silver. The end of the bolt that protrudes down into the wheel well where it was exposed to the elements over all these years is a darkened oxidized blackened rust color. The top head of the bolt displays a tarnished gray silver color. So the inner shank is the true color and that is a bright silver. Since I originally posted, I have been getting some feedback from other sources and it appears silver cadmium plated is the ticket and what was used.

Remember this Roadmaster I am working with, had always been a one owner, Southern California garage kept car from day one. There was that rust like dusty oxidation on the metal surfaces like the lower roadside part of frame here and there and other front end sheet metal surfaces and components you get from just sitting for 40 years but no rust or pitted rust. I just washed all that away with a phosphoric acid solution over all the exposed frame and sheet metal areas and shop air dried everything out so everything now just looks black.

Will get back with photos. I promise!

[Caballero2]

Just go under your never removed transmission and remove one of the pan bolts. These are the same as those used under the hood. The difference is that the transmission pan bolts probably have been encrusted in grease and oil since new and the finish should be well preserved.

Dan

57-76C

57-56R

[Bhigdog]

Just go under your never removed transmission and remove one of the pan bolts. These are the same as those used under the hood. The difference is that the transmission pan bolts probably have been encrusted in grease and oil since new and the finish should be well preserved.

Dan

57-76C

57-56R

Same shape and size as fender bolts but a totally different application. Might account for a different surface treatment/color................Bob

[Caballero2]

Bob, you might be right. I am in the process of removing the front clip on a virgin '57-56R. See the attached thumbnail. I specifically separated those bolts from the rest and sure enough, they are silver cad. - Dan

[1957buickjim]

Doest this mean that all the underhood square washer fasteners (or "special bolts" as they are called in body portion of the chassis manual) are silver cad? Attached picture is what I am trying to figure out? Are they silver on the black sheet metal as well? or black. The one in the picture are not original, and I did them over 25 yrs ago so just trying to figure it out! This is an interesting thread..great information.

[Guest martylum]

Cad plated bolts and latches. My ,what a bumpy road we've gotten on. If you go online and search using--- cadmium plating I'm pretty sure you'll find some outfits still doing cad. It's not any way nearly as expensive as having your bumpers and potmetal done. I always run the old items through my glass bead cabinet to clean up before sending.

I did my 55 Desoto bolts and 30 and 33 Chrysler parts 20+ years ago and they still look great.

E-mail me if you can't find a vendor and I'll look up the last vendor used on the 53 Skylark hardware parts several years ago. My longtime chrome plater in Erie, PA always seems to know who's doing this kind of thing currently.

Martin Lum

marty@oldercar.com

[buick man]

Here is what I am talking about regarding the silver cad plating in the photos below.

*No all the open hood bolts with square washers are cad silver from factory. Black bolts on black steel areas started in the mid - sixties.

*The problem with finding a current cad plater is a lot of them got out of doing this due to the toxic paper chase with the EPA starting around 2000 giver or take. The remaining ones do it only for the U.S. Military but not Joe Blow. They now call this "Restricted Plating". - Go figure. But some still offer it as I have been told and am currently setting my cross hairs on my leads and will make a short list and post it here when I get that together.

Question: *What does it take to get the front fenders off other then the obvious bolts on the front and inner top areas?

I would suppose the inner ones around the front door jamb would be tough to get to and how many are there? Just curious cause I am thinking about taking my passenger side off to get to my heater core rebuild and freshen up the inner area there as well.

[Caballero2]

Pull the bumper, pull the grille, pull the upper grille bar, pull the rear inner fender over the heater core. pull the cowl vent grille. pull the right side kick panel. Now with the door open, access the fender bolt behind the kick panel. remove the bolts in front of the wheel attaching the fender to the splash pan. Remove the bolts that were behind the grille attaching the fender to the splash pan. remove the bolts along the edge of the hood seam. Remove the two bolts thata attach the fender to the chassis located on backside of the skirt. Remove the bolt that attaches the fender to the hood hinge. With the door open, remove the bolt at the edge of the windshield and the bolt under the end of the cowl vent grille. See attached photos.

Dan

'57-76C

'57-56R

Edited June 9, 2011 by Caballero2
I over looked the two skirt bolts. (see edit history)

[buick man]

Thanks again Dan for the fine effort that really helps me out and most likely many others finding this explanation in future searches.

Tell us, what are your thoughts, would you powder coat all this sheet metal once out in the various correct % of flat black or would you enamel paint it just like the factory if wanting to keep it bones stock looking?

IMO it seems one can always tell a powder coated surface just by looking at.

[Caballero2]

Thanks again Dan for the fine effort that really helps me out and most likely many others finding this explanation in future searches.

Tell us, what are your thoughts, would you powder coat all this sheet metal once out in the various correct % of flat black or would you enamel paint it just like the factory if wanting to keep it bones stock looking?

IMO it seems one can always tell a powder coated surface just by looking at.

I powder coated the sheet metal on both my restorations. I have not received any deduct in judging. The reason is that it is so easy to clean beside the fact it looks good. I used 60% gloss to get the amount of flat black that looked right. Oh, I did the inner fenders because the powder coat resists rock chips.

Dan

Edited June 9, 2011 by Caballero2 (see edit history)

[buick man]

Yes you are right it does look good does it not?

Tell me on the first photo, how did you go about taking the bottom inner fender rubber strips off. You know the ones with the staples through the sheet metal? I have to replace mine so I will be carefully removing mine but really do not know how to reinstall them or where to get the correct rubber strips with that threaded-belt gain rubber as the originals are.

Any suggestions and how did you do yours if I may ask?

Thanks in advance

David

[1957buickjim]

Rob, I have done that and the best way is to take a pair of needle nose pliers and a fairly small screw driver and bend back the back side of the staple straight with the screw driver, and then from the otherside, work and pull the staple out. Fairly easy task that you could do sitting down with a cold amber colored carbonated beverage or two by your side.

I think CARS sells the masticated rubber with the correct grain by the sq. ft or linear ft, if I am not mistaken. You know the drill on the pattern, and cutting the stuff to match.

With replacing the staples, I used some heavy duty staples that fit the spacing of the holes left from the original staples, (1/2" or 9/16" tall), pushed them through the metal first, leaving the exposed sharp pointy edges then pressed the rubber down on the staples and forced them through the rubber. When they are through, you can peen them over using the needle nose first to turn them downward, then a tack hammer or any hammer and drive them home. Once that is done, I clear-coated them with a flat clear coat (won't affect the rubber) to protect them from rusting over time.

Hope this helps out.

[Caballero2]

As Jim says, it is a bit tedous. I took a Drimmel and cut the old staples and removed them with a pair of pliers. Then using a 5/64 dia drill, I oversized the staple holes, then bent 1/16 dia stainless welding rod into the size of the old staples. I then pushed them through the rubber and bent the new staples. I made the rubber a little too wide so I could trim to fit after mounting to check fit. And, look Ma, no rusty staples.

- Dan

Edited June 10, 2011 by Caballero2 (see edit history)

[Guest Rob McDonald]

SHEESH, now you're challenging the BCA judges to start doing metallurgical testing on mud flap staples. Is there no limit to this lunacy? I can hardly wait to get my old beauty running, so I can go find a huge mud puddle to plough through, just to get that over with. We can forgive Jim for his obsession, though, because he drove Old Bessie as a beater for twenty years. See? I pay attention over on the Eastwood site, when I go and post my vote every day (the score is 220 to 52, by the way, and I'm not talking about the Canucks/Bruins game).

[1957buickjim]

Oh the pain and agony of driving the beater Buick for 20 years...

[stealthbob]

As I know we are "Hobbyists" and like to do thing ourselves, you may want to check into plating the hardware yourself...it something I plan on doing:

Caswell Inc. - Copy Cad® and Zinc Plating Kit

[1957buickjim]

Bob, I have done that with the Eastwood Tin/Zinc plating kit. Pretty easy and looks pretty good as well. You really need to get all the rust of the item though, which can be kind of tough on the threads and recesses. I have read about the Caswell systems as well and they look quite promising too. Let us know if you proceed along those lines. I would like to hear your feedback on how it works.

[Guest Rob McDonald]

I have an old friend here, who used to be an avid Jaguar restorer. Sadly, an industrial accident (unrelated to his hobby) severely reduced his abilities, although not his enthusiasm for the Leaping Cat.

Like many ex-pats from the UK, he was an absolute tight-wad when it came to spending money on his cars. For years, he did his own copper- and nickel-plating, so that he could work out all of the pits in pot-metal pieces himself and get the steel shapes just right. He would then take the almost-finished work to a plating shop, with strict instructions to do the finish chrome-plating ONLY. It didn't cost much and he consistently had the best chrome on the show field.

[frame30]

Dear Rob McDonald/Edmonton and my old email friend Dan from Denver:

Just found this link. Mine is a 58 Buick Estate wagon that Dan is aware of. I am assuming that 57/58 were very similiar. I too am in the same quandry about the colour of the bolts in the engine compartment. If silver/zinc, is there an off the shelf paint or can I go to Carlsons Auto Body Supply and give them a pantone/name to match? I'd love to move on and start getting the rest of the engine fire wall done ... then onto final painting.

Oh, also wondering: is there a gasket between the brake MC and the large piece that fits to the firewall?

A wack of close ups of the engine compartment would be appreciated.

Dan: Photos of my 49 Merc are on my Facebook site if you'd care to peek.

Rob: Any chance of connecting so I can see what a Buick in Edmonton looks like in person?

Look forward to any advise. Cheers. Michael.

[1957buickjim]

Michael,

If you can find a plater near by, by all means go to them to get the bolts replated instead of painting them. I originally painted them back 20 yrs ago on my 57 and they got rusty over time. This go around I took them to a local plater (not chrome, but industrial - nuts, bolts, etc) and hat them plate them. Cost $50 for the plating of about 8 pounds of bolts, clamps, washers, etc. and they look great. My guy took about 1.5 weeks in the turnaround.

IMHO the plating is way cheaper, looks better and lasts a lot longer, not to mention more corrosion resistant. If you can't find any one around you, PM me and we can set something up to go to my plater. I am taking a bunch of things over there for some more plating later this month.

Regarding your other questions: No Gasket between the MC and the Cowl Vent Cover.

Attached are some pics of my 57 Engine Compartment. Should be pretty similar to the 58. There are some subtle differences that I know of, but I am not sure what they are.

Good luck on your restoration. Cheers!

[buick man]

O.K. I'm jealous. These photos are just too nice!

Jim: Are you saying you found a guy who will true silver cad plate your bolts or is he just using the nonacid base pseudo cad process that everyone seems to be doing these days? If so, I might take you up on your offer.

Did you paint or powder coat the sheet metal work?

Also, for anyone out there in the know about powder coating, what does one use to fill holes, creases etc before powder coating? I have been told JB Weld, but gee, would'nt that be kinda hard to feather out? Anyone -

[421-6speed]

O.K. I'm jealous. These photos are just too nice!

Jim: Are you saying you found a guy who will true silver cad plate your bolts or is he just using the nonacid base pseudo cad process that everyone seems to be doing these days? If so, I might take you up on your offer.

Did you paint or powder coat the sheet metal work?

Also, for anyone out there in the know about powder coating, what does one use to fill holes, creases etc before powder coating? I have been told JB Weld, but gee, would'nt that be kinda hard to feather out? Anyone -

We have a place here is Washington that still does the cad plating. They also do the zinc but, the zinc is not correct and does not look right. Although it is much more affordable.

Electrofinishing, Inc.

22630 88th Ave. S.

Kent, WA 98031-2432 map

Phone: 253-850-0540

Fax: 253-852-2909

I have used them on several of my projects. As others have said in the course of this thread the cost prior to 2000 was relatively inexpensive but has since become quite expensive due to the environmental disposal. I recently used them for my last project and the cost to do a 1/3 of a 5-gallon bucket of original fasteners was around 200.00-250.00. If you insist on using correct fasteners then this is not such a bad deal. I always save all the fasteners from my parts cars and include them in the process and that way I have fasteners for future projects. All my stuff is GM so the same fasteners I have found where used by all the GM manufactures. They do have a cleaning fee of I think 50.00. Meaning they will blast the fasteners for you prior to the plating process.

I have also been using the 60% black powder coating for the inner fenders core support for sever years and it by far is superior to any enamel paint. It will not chip like paint during the assembly process. There is not filler that can be used for repairs prior to powder coat. Your only option here is to fix any holes ore dents prior to powder coat.

As far as the weather seal to frame materials and attaching as others have said CARS Inc. I also measured the stapels that I removed and then went down to the local welding shop and got 3-sticks of SS Tig wire. It just so happened that I had a set of square nose wire tie plires that had the exact same width dimention as the stapels need so, I was able to bend the wire around the end of the pliers and cut the end off to make a perfect staple for the weather seal. Then I used a long sharp tool like a awl but much skinnier. I just layed the weather seal over the area that it was to be attached and punched the hole through the seal and the hole in the inner fender then attached with the staple. I preformed this process on about every 4th staple to lay out the weather strip them came back and filled in the remaining staples. Good Luck with your project and keep us informed to your progress. My current project is a 57 Buick so I will be keeping track of your progress. It is not a original restoration but more of a resto-rod. I have done the purist restorations and like all aspects of the hobby including the hot rods. Dan

[421-6speed]

By the way I wanted to say buickjim your car looks fantastic...

[1957buickjim]

Dan,

Thanks..as does yours. I opted for the traditional way for the inner fender sheet metal. I painted them with a 60% semi-gloss. Worked well for me in my backyard restoration approach.

There is a shop in MI that does cad plating as well. I used a similar method as yourself in the re attaching of the rubber strips on the fenderwells and such. Not to tough, but tedious. However, it does turn out very well.

What model is your 1957 Buick project car? Feel free to contact me on anything you might have pertaining to it, I have had a lot of experience lately with that vehicle. And there are also a large number of us 1957 Buick owners on the Forum as well that can help with technical questions...alot of been there, done that experience that is invaluable.

[421-6speed]

Dan,

Thanks..as does yours. I opted for the traditional way for the inner fender sheet metal. I painted them with a 60% semi-gloss. Worked well for me in my backyard restoration approach.

There is a shop in MI that does cad plating as well. I used a similar method as yourself in the re attaching of the rubber strips on the fenderwells and such. Not to tough, but tedious. However, it does turn out very well.

What model is your 1957 Buick project car? Feel free to contact me on anything you might have pertaining to it, I have had a lot of experience lately with that vehicle. And there are also a large number of us 1957 Buick owners on the Forum as well that can help with technical questions...alot of been there, done that experience that is invaluable.

Jim, Thank you. My 57' is a Super. I do have some questions but, I do not want to get off subject here with Buick Man's thread so I will start a new thread pertaining to my questions. Thanks Dan

[Guest Rob McDonald]

MICHAEL, you must be the film maker that Denver Dan recently told me was lurking around Edmonton with a '58 Caballero. I'd love to get together and we can admire each other's Buicks-in-progress. I'll PM you.

I recently had a tour of Daam Plating, here in Edmonton. They do industrial hot dip galvanizing - street light poles, structural fabrications, that sort of big stuff. However, their massive zinc bath doesn't care how big the parts are. The company president told me to bring in a bucket of bolts, literally, or whatever small car parts I'd like to have zinc plated, and he'll do them for free. I did that to a number of parts years ago - some brackets, the vacuum storage tank. However, seeing Jim's photos makes me crave more underhood bling.

I think I'll pull all of the fender bolts out of my car, replacing them one at a time with regular 1/4" cap screws, so I don't lose any alignments. The guy at Daam (the Daam guy?) didn't mention the de-brittle heat treatment noted elsewhere here but I'll ask him about it.

This will not result in a factory-perfect finish but my car is never going to be judged by the sort of fine people, for whom that would be considered a deductible sin. All I want is to get rid of the unsightly rust that's infected these bolts, due to my overenthusiastic cleaning long ago.

One day, I'd love to drive my Buick to a major show somewhere in the northern US, where spectacular restorations are displayed. My beauty will out in the parking lot, though, not on the show field. I'll be proud as punch of the bug guts and rock chips that we will have collected on the way. If someone wants to see my shiny fender bolts, heck, I'll be proud of those too.

Edited February 7, 2012 by Rob McDonald (see edit history)

[Caballero2]

Rob:

I can tell that you are a real Buick guy. We drove our Caballero to five national meets along with other lesser meets. There were a number of funny stories that I can tell about the critics estimation of the quality of restoration. But most importantly was all the favorable comments from other judges, other entrants and spectators about the fact that the car was driven and I did not quite get all the bugs off the bumper and hood.

Dan

[1957buickjim]

Dan and Rob,

That's my plan for this year - drive Old Bessie to Charlotte from Detroit...get her judged, bugs and all. The darn cars were built to drive..not trailer. That's my mantra and I'm sticking to it!

[frame30]

Dear All: I found B&H Plating 780-485-1482 here in Edmonton. I asked about the '58 Silver Cad process and they said bring 'em down. They'll be ready next week. Fortunately, all of my fender and special bolts all came out in one piece with the round and square washers. Looking forward, Bob, to seeing your Buick on Friday. I'm bringing a camera. Cheers. Michael.

[buick man]

Now remember brothers and sisters, if the guy down at that shop ain't using real silver and good ol cyanides, then it just ain't Silver Cad Plating, no matter what you wanna call it or what they wanna call it. OK?

So with that said, presented here for your easy armchair reading enjoyment is a complete but somewhat edited version of a

" How To Do Real Silver Cad Plating ". Sorry I have no photos, diagrams or drawings but this will tell you how to go about doing it right in your own home shop. Remember to lock the doors and put the cat out first!

So with no further ado and as originally presented in an issue of Mechanics Illustrated around July of 1957 - our slightly edited version that we hope you will all truly enjoy:

"HOW TO DO SILVER-CADMIUM PLATING" ... at home in your shop.

Getting set up and what you will need:

1st: Water into 1-Gallon Bucket

2nd: Potassium cyanide - 4 1/2 oz

3rd: Silver Cyanide 4.4 troy oz

4th: Cadmium cyanide 3 oz

5th: Potassium Carbonate 5 oz

Notes: Polish all metal completely before finish plating using emery powder and jewelers’ rouge.

Using a Stone Crock Pot, Battery positive is hooked up to rod supported on lip of crock. A copper Anode sheet is folded over the top of the rod. The negative battery post is wired to another rod supported on the lip of the crock and this supports the work piece held by a hook and suspended into the solution.

Note: Before attempting to plate iron and steel objects with silver cadmium alloy, the work should be given a preliminary plate with strike solutions. For brass and copper work, first immerse in a blue dip and then use second strike.

Actual Article: Electroplating with alloys offers many possibilities including the making of ornamental designs by using alloy plates on contrasting color. After the metal to be plated has been polished with emery powder and jewelers’ rouge as in Fig 2., to remove surface faults and develop a good luster, it is subjected to a careful cleaning procedure as success in electroplating is largely controlled by the thoroughness of cleaning.

Cleaning: If the object to be plated is coated with heavy rust or scale, it should be rinsed in a pickling solution, Fig.3. This is made by carefully adding sulfuric acid, 2-lbs, and hydrochloric acid, 1-lb, to water, 7-pints (caution-do not add water to acid always add acid to water ). The work should not be left in this pickling solution any longer than is required to remove scale and corrosion, as it will attack the metal and cause pitting. When rust or scale is only slight, the work should be pickled in a mild solution. Fig 4. which is made by adding hydrochloric acid, 1-lb, to water, 3 pts For best results, this solution is used while heated to about 120 degrees F. These solutions should be used in glass containers or stone crocks.

When the work is removed from the pickling solution, it must be rinsed thoroughly first in hot and then in cold water. After pickling, the work is freed from grease by washing in carbon tetrachloride or in trichloroethylene. These solvents are noninflammable. It is a good plan to solder a connecting wire to the work to be plated before cleaning in the solvent as in Fig 11, in order to make possible handling without contact by the hands. Otherwise use rubber gloves or a pair of pliers as in Fig 1. Grease and oil from the skin will form a thin coating on the metal and prevent proper plating.

After the work has been cleaned it is kept immersed in clean water until ready for plating to prevent the formation of a thin film of corrosion which would make plating difficult.

Silver-Cadmium Alloy Plating: Silver cadmium alloy plate is considerably more resistant to corrosion than pure silver. Before attempting to coat the work with silver-cadmium alloy, the surface should be given preliminary plates with the following strike solutions, depending upon the metal. If steel or iron, it should be immersed for a few seconds in a first strike solution made by dissolving in the order listed. potassium cyanide (96%), 9 oz (deadly poison), copper carbonate, 2 oz, and silver cyanide, 0.2 troy oz, in water, 1-gal. See Fig 7. The silver cyanid and copper carbonate are dissolved by stirring the solution with a wooden stick.

Pleas Note: In all cases where cyanides are used, the work should be done in a vented to the outside vented hood or as close to an open window and fan where the draft will carry fumes away from you. In addition, care should be taken to prevent acids or chemicals of any type from getting into these solutions as this would bring about the formation of hydrocyanic-acid gas which is a deadly poison. If these solutions are used as directed, if care is taken to keep them away form acid, and if the solutions are washed away through a sink with copious quantities of water after use, there should be no danger.

Fig 5 shows how the work is connected for the strike. Simply attach the wire soldered to the work, to the negative pole of the battery and suspend it into the solution for a few seconds to insure a complete surface coating of silver-copper alloy on its surface. By inspecting the work you can easily tell when the entire surface has become coated.

Next, immerse the work for a few seconds in a second strike, Fig. 8, made by dissolving potassium cyanide (96%), 9 oz ( deadly poison), and silver cyanide, .8 troy oz., in water, 1 gal. this solution is used in the same manner as the first strike. After the second strike, steel objects should be rinsed in hot water and immediately transferred to the silver-cadmium plating solution shown in Fig.6. If this is not ready, the work should be kept immersed under clean water to protect its surface from corrosion.

If the work is make of brass, copper or Brittania metal, the cleaned work should be immersed for a few seconds in a blue-dip solution made by dissolving mercuric chloride, 1 oz. (poison), and ammonium chloride, 1/2 oz., in water, 1 gal. See Fig.9. dipping the work into the mercury solution will cause the deposition of a thin coating of mercury on the surface. The work should only be left in this solution 3 or 4 seconds. After immersion in the blue dip, the work is rinsed quickly in warm water and placed in the second strike as previously explained explained for a few seconds, after which it is ready for plating with the silver-cadmium alloy.

If the object to be plated is made from nickel silver or other nickel alloys, it is only necessary to give it the second strike and place it in the silver-cadmium plating bath. The silver cadmium plating solution is made up by dissolving in order listed, potassium cyanide, 4 1/2 oz (deadly poison), silver cyanide 4.4 troy oz, cadmium cyanide, 3 oz, and potassium carbonate, 5 oz., in water. 1-gal. The plating of bright, lustrous corrosion resistant silver-cadmium alloys is quite difficult if the following working instructions are not carried out carefully. Fig. 13 shows the method of connecting. Strips of cadmium and silver are suspended on the anode rod in the plating tank. The rod used to support these strips should be wood or hard rubber.

If ammeters are not available, simply omit them from the circuit and use the rheostats to control the current, until the appearance of the alloy is satisfactory. Once a suitable adjustment has been found by experiment, it is a simple matter to produce uniform plate. If ammeters are used, the ammeter connected to the cadmium strips should read approximately 2 1/2 times the value shown by the ammeter connected to the silver strip; This will produce a plate which is a little less than 50% silver. The voltmeter should read between 3 and 4 volts. A suitable plate thick enough for ordinary purposes will be produced in anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes. If a brighter plate is desired, a drop or two of carbon disulfide is added to the plating solution.

When the silver-cadmium alloy plate has been completed the work is removed from the tank and immediately rinsed in hot and then cold water. If a design is to be plated over the silver-cadmium alloy with bronze or brass as described later, dry the work in sawdust and coat the parts not to receive the bronze or brass with stop-off varnish. This can be made by mixing coal varnish and yellow ocher to the consistency of paint, rubbing the ocher into the varnish with a mortar and pestle. Apply the varnish with a fine camel’s -hair brush. Allow to dry without forcing until thoroughly hard, which may require 24 hours. Electrotypers’ varnish may be used in place of the stop-off varnish. In using varnish, prevent getting it onto the parts to be plated with bronze or brass. Also, the part to be plated should not be touched by the hands as this would produce a thin film of oil which would interfere with he adhesion of other plate. If care is taken in varnishing, a simple rinse in water or an immersion in the second pickling solution, already described, followed by a rinse in clean water will be all that is required after the varnish has dried, to prepare the work for the second plate.

In electroplating with alloys, it is important to pay close attention to details and observe carefully the color of the deposit produced so that you will acquire as much information as possible about the way the various solutions work. After a little practice, it will be found that some extremely interesting results can be produced by varying the voltage and the distance between the anodes and work in the tank. Work carefully and experiment until you get the exact results desired.

Post Notes: In Cadmium-silver plating, two rheostats and ammeters are connected in the circuit to control amount of cadmium and silver deposited on the work piece. A Glass Rod facilitates drop -by-drop addition of acids. Although ammeters are not absolutely necessary, it is preferable to use them-the one connected to the cadmium anode should read about two and one-half the reading of the one connected to the silver anode, which will result in a plate consisting of about 50 per cent silver and the balance cadmium.

If you want to have a real good Cleaner for Rust Solution:

Cleaner for heavy rust or scale Forulla: 1ST: Water 7-pints, 2ND: Sulfuric Acid 2 lbs. 3RD: Hydrochloric Acid, 1 lb.

Cleaner for light rust or scale: 1ST: Water 3-pints, 2ND: hydrochloric Acid, 1lb.

Hope you enjoyed this . Are there any questions?

Edited February 11, 2012 by buick man (see edit history)

[buick5563]

Yeah, when are the cops gonna show up to bust this meth lab?