Caswell home plating

[carbking]

Anyone here use Caswell's Copy Cad home plating outfit that would answer a couple of questions for setting mine up?

 

Thanks

 

Jon

[Peter Gariepy]

https://caswellplating.com/electroplating-anodizing/zinc-plating-kits.html

 

Seems like you'd want to direct to the manufacturer?

[DFeeney]

I have found "Real World" experience to be helpful.   Sometimes the MFG know so much about their product they overlook some details.

[Bhigdog]

5 minutes ago, DFeeney said:

Sometimes the MFG know so much about their product they overlook some details.

Some times "conveniently"........

Best to just  "Ask the man who owns one."

[TTR]

56 minutes ago, Bhigdog said:

Some times "conveniently"........

... as they, i.e. The Manufacturers, often have vested interest to advertise/market only what they think is beneficial (biased ?) to generate (more) sales of their products.

Just go to SEMA show or read/see countless four-color ads in glossy (automotive) magazines claiming/promising all kinds of good things and improvements if you buy, use & stay loyal to their products.

While most make me LOL, I know it (i.e. marketing propaganda) works on general public very well. Always has and always will.

Edited March 16 by TTR (see edit history)

[joe_padavano]

The big pre-formed brake line companies will typically give you the first one for free if you provide a pattern for a product that they don't currently make. I suspect what happened here is that the company sent out a "form letter" response to every name on the waiting list. Have you contacted the person that you worked with originally?

[carbking]

Peter - the manufacturer has a 350 page manual that covers every contigency in detail for chrome plating and chromate conversion on zinc. 375 of those pages are dedicated to safety. Not a bad idea, as chrome is DANGEROUS, as is the chromate conversion. I have no interest in doing these, just in the copy cad.

 

The copy cad is not real cadmium, but a look-alike, I think using zinc. Trying to find out a real world procedure from someone who uses it.

 

While I am paranoid about safety in my shop, if I have to wear a hazmat suit to zinc plate a few carburetor linkage items (for convenience, not economy), then I will sell the unopened kit at a loss; and continue to mail plating to a custom plater.

 

Jon

Edited March 17 by carbking (see edit history)

[mechanician]

In theory there is no difference between theory and practice, in practice there is...

[Akstraw]

Good luck, Jon.  I’m sorry I can’t help.  I am about to embark on the same adventure to do my own nickel. Hopefully somebody with hands on will chime in.

[Hemi Joel]

I bought their kit about 40 years ago. I don't remember having any issues with it. I only used it for one project. I have a good impression of the company, but I don't remember anything specific. 

[prewarnut]

I've done gold, nickel and copper plating (soon to do silver for a project) - my friend does rhodium plating. I use a different company which I feel is a little more transparent in the process but doesn't supply zinc or cadmium type products so I have no direct experience here. I would say the following: 1) this company appears to require you zinc plate first and then through nitric and sulfuric acid exchange, deposit chromium ions to mimic a cadmium look. 2) the initial step of zinc plating can be done different ways and the zinc is chiefly going to protect the substrate from rust or oxidation. Depending on the way it is done you may or may not get good protection. I don't know enough about it to comment here or to comment on your purpose (rust protection or decoration only?) 3) I am not certain if this company has you "electrostatically" cleaning or treating the metal first as I do in order to get uniform coverage. If not done you can get spotty results with some substrates or some types of plating (e.g. nickel) 4) I think the zinc plating step is relatively benign. The second step with the sulfuric and nitric acid for the cadmium "look" is a more careful step. 5) the final step is not a true cadmium plate from what I can tell but I'm not completely sure. In essence you may want to experiment with some bolts and see how it goes. There's also writings by other authorities on-line that show how to expose the final product to a salt spray to check corrosion resistance. All of this is beyond my capabilities or interests when it comes to plating but this is what I can deduce that may be important for your endeavor. I don't want to make this sound horrible - and I think the plating could be done in your shop - but I'd hate for you to do complicated carb castings only to have a non-uniform color or corrosion resistance. Also some metal plating will also "build-up" too much, blocking threads although I do not think that will happen here.

[Peter Gariepy]

Lots of DIY Videos on how to use this kit on YouTube.

“Just search for "Caswell home plating”

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=caswell+home+plating

 

Please heed the safety instructions. Nasty stuff when not used properly.

 

One of the videos on Youtube says "Caswell instructions? DONT NEED THOSE"!  Yikes, dont take his advice.

 

 

 

 

[loicc89]

On 3/17/2024 at 3:24 PM, prewarnut said:

I've done gold, nickel and copper plating (soon to do silver for a project) - my friend does rhodium plating. I use a different company which I feel is a little more transparent in the process but doesn't supply zinc or cadmium type products so I have no direct experience here. I would say the following: 1) this company appears to require you zinc plate first and then through nitric and sulfuric acid exchange, deposit chromium ions to mimic a cadmium look. 2) the initial step of zinc plating can be done different ways and the zinc is chiefly going to protect the substrate from rust or oxidation. Depending on the way it is done you may or may not get good protection. I don't know enough about it to comment here or to comment on your purpose (rust protection or decoration only?) 3) I am not certain if this company has you "electrostatically" cleaning or treating the metal first as I do in order to get uniform coverage. If not done you can get spotty results with some substrates or some types of plating (e.g. nickel) 4) I think the zinc plating step is relatively benign. The second step with the sulfuric and nitric acid for the cadmium "look" is a more careful step. 5) the final step is not a true cadmium plate from what I can tell but I'm not completely sure. In essence you may want to experiment with some bolts and see how it goes. There's also writings by other authorities on-line that show how to expose the final product to a salt spray to check corrosion resistance. All of this is beyond my capabilities or interests when it comes to plating but this is what I can deduce that may be important for your endeavor. I don't want to make this sound horrible - and I think the plating could be done in your shop - but I'd hate for you to do complicated carb castings only to have a non-uniform color or corrosion resistance. Also some metal plating will also "build-up" too much, blocking threads although I do not think that will happen here.

In this context, I sugest consulting an online blog specializing in anti-corrosion coatings. These blogs typically ofer detailed information on available treatments, including rust converters, as well as reviews and expert advice. By exploring these resources, you can better understand the diferent options and make informed decisions to protect your steel components from corosion.

[dodge28]

Ever listen to a politician speak for 1 hour and says nothing. That is how manufacturers advertise there products. Write up a whole glossy  page just to say "my product is the best" Could have said the same thing in 5 words.

[Jim Bollman]

Use to live in the same county as Caswell.  They did a demo at a meeting of our then AACA Region. They sure made it look easy.  This was many years ago. Thought about setting up a little side business in one of my shop bays. Glad I decided it wasn't a good way to spend my money and time and my shop bay.

[prewarnut]

With the demise of a few of the large scale chrome platers I would actually think smaller scale nickel plating (decorative plate) has a role to look into. It could satisfy the need for refinishing older speedometer and gauge bezels, hinges, escutcheons, window crank levers, external mirrors, bolts and clamps on wheel felloes, lock covers and lock heads, gas caps, etc. The utility of nickel plating is that it can go right onto a number of substances without an initial plating of a different metal. It is not very caustic as the kit I use utilizes boric acid which is a weak acid and used prevalently. Also the solution is cheap. The downside is that it takes a little while to get a thick plate, it requires a few anodes spread around the item, it requires air agitation, and ideally some heating. Someone could at least come up with their own "set-up" with specifications on the maximum size of item they could accommodate. Additionally if a closer to chrome appearance is needed I would think one could plate palliadium over this (although I have not tried that). Food for thought you entrepreneurs!

[PFitz]

On 3/16/2024 at 9:01 PM, carbking said:

Peter - the manufacturer has a 350 page manual that covers every contigency in detail for chrome plating and chromate conversion on zinc. 375 of those pages are dedicated to safety. Not a bad idea, as chrome is DANGEROUS, as is the chromate conversion. I have no interest in doing these, just in the copy cad.

 

The copy cad is not real cadmium, but a look-alike, I think using zinc. Trying to find out a real world procedure from someone who uses it.

 

While I am paranoid about safety in my shop, if I have to wear a hazmat suit to zinc plate a few carburetor linkage items (for convenience, not economy), then I will sell the unopened kit at a loss; and continue to mail plating to a custom plater.

 

Jon

Jon.

 

The kit is not that bad. No hazmat suit needed. I just use nitril gloves and safety glasses.

 

I have version 10 which is the current Caswell instruction book. It's only 181 pages and all the instructions for the Copy Cad is just page 99.  The Copy Cad is a lot easier than many other plating operations.

 

Plus, the power supply does not have to be fancy or expensive for small parts. I've even used flashlight batteries in series to adjust the voltage for carb parts - such as the pictures below. Parts that I did many years ago and have held up very well. 

 

However, most of the time I use an old cheapo transformer type 4 amp battery charger like ones you sometimes find at yard/garage sales. I set it on 6 volts and power it from an extension cord I made that has a box with an outlet plug fed by a simple household dimmer light switch to adjust the voltage to the plating.  Doesn't work as well with the newer electronic type chargers. 

 

And if you do have any questions that are not covered on page 99, or the extensive trouble-shooting section in the back, I've found the Caswell people are a great help by phone or email.

 

Correction. It's page 96 to 99 are the Copy Cad instructions. But there is some redundancy so it's not like four pages worth of complicated. And yes, it is a form of bright zinc coating to give the look of cadmium plating, hence the use of the word "copy".

 The nice part about it is if there is any opps, it's easy to fix. Just rinse the parts with water, easily bead blast - or use the wire wheel that comes in the kit - to strip off the opps, and start over.  

Paul 

Edited March 30 by PFitz (see edit history)

[PFitz]

4 hours ago, prewarnut said:

With the demise of a few of the large scale chrome platers I would actually think smaller scale nickel plating (decorative plate) has a role to look into. It could satisfy the need for refinishing older speedometer and gauge bezels, hinges, escutcheons, window crank levers, external mirrors, bolts and clamps on wheel felloes, lock covers and lock heads, gas caps, etc. The utility of nickel plating is that it can go right onto a number of substances without an initial plating of a different metal. It is not very caustic as the kit I use utilizes boric acid which is a weak acid and used prevalently. Also the solution is cheap. The downside is that it takes a little while to get a thick plate, it requires a few anodes spread around the item, it requires air agitation, and ideally some heating. Someone could at least come up with their own "set-up" with specifications on the maximum size of item they could accommodate. Additionally if a closer to chrome appearance is needed I would think one could plate palliadium over this (although I have not tried that). Food for thought you entrepreneurs!

Yes. Here's '29 Stromberg carb parts using Caswell's nickel kit directly on bead blasted and degreased steel, no base plating coat needed.

 

Paul

[carbking]

Paul - THANK YOU!

 

That is exactly what I needed to hear.

 

The kit was sold as not dangerous to use, but the manual is scary! Of course, with legal obligations, they have to cover all bases. I have no interest in plating anything except using the copy cad.

 

Waiting for good weather, and will use the kit outdoors, with gloves, long sleeve shirt, and a full face mask. Should be enough.

 

Again, thanks.

 

Jon