New 142

[Burdekin]

Originally Posted by Steve 940

What, you're not painting yourself???

After all the work you've put in, I'd be Very, Very reluctant to have someone else spray the top coat.

This is probably a numpty reaction, as I've never sprayed a car in my life, but I suppose you just have to get the professionals on board at some point, e.g. You won't be re-chroming on a diy basis.

Good luck, cheers,
Steve

I've done a bit of nickel plating 10 years ago now. Goodness. I want to get back into doing some, not chrome though. My mate had some really good success and did a load of parts on my 131.

This is his pre-plating cleaning process and along with agitation and a good power source you can do nickel and zinc okay at home.

Cleaning Solutions
Isopropanol IPA
Sodium hydroxide (caustic soda – heavy duty drain cleaner)
Hydrochloric acid (brick cleaner)
Tap water between each cleaning step.

Pre-Cleaning Process
If the part is already zinc plated, rusty or heavily soiled, do the following.
Clean parts in thinners to remove grease, underseal etc.
Clean part in hot water, washing up liquid and baking soda, then dry.
Soak the part in hydrochloric acid until the solution stops fizzing.
When the fizzing has stopped, all of the old zinc / cadmium plate will have been removed. Now wash the part in water. Inspect and check for rust. If there is rust on the part, put it back into the hydrochloric acid. Inspect every 30 minutes or so. Don’t leave it in any longer than necessary. Wash the past in water each time you remove it.
Once you have completed the above, lightly wire brush the part by hand. This will remove any residue from the process above. Again, wash in water. Now you can move to the Cleaning Process.

Cleaning Process
This is the important bit.
Wash part in Isopropanol IPA, then water.
Wash part in Sodium hydroxide then water.
Wash part in hydrochloric acid (max 2 minutes) then water.
If water will not bead on the job, it is clean. If water does bead on the job, clean it again. Look up the Water Break Test to get an idea of how to check surface cleanliness.
When water will not bead on the job, it is ready for plating.