electroplating prep.

[Ed]

Guys,

I was reading in Ed Singletons thread about CraigA's and Ed S' way to achieve top zinc plate results is to blast the parts first.. this is great if you have a blast cabinet, unfortunately I don’t.

Just spoke to a local plater (Alexandria Platers) who can do the job but he also does not have a blast cabinet.  What is the best way to remove paint off parts like bonnet hinges.  A wire brush cant reach all the areas etc.

Any home recipes for paint stripper baths etc?  or should I be looking at using a plater who has a blaster?

Cheers

Ed

[craiga]

Ed, I read something about Molasses  being used for parts stripping? Possibly this is suitable.

With bigger stuff like hinges I'm sure a commercial blaster would be able to do it for you.

Cheers,

Craig.

[Ed]

think i just found a suitable solution.. caustic soda.

[Ed]

just spoke with the chemist who kindly gave me some di-chloro-methane and hexane waste to try out.

[zulu]

Whenever I need something fidley like that done I take it to a local Engine Reconditioner that did an engine for me & he usually does it no charge.

[Ed]

that's very resourceful Gary.
I may try the cylinder head guys up the street who I have used before.
the solvent i was given works very well too. just a little bit on a scotch brite pad and the paint wipes away.

Cheers
Ed

[JB]

Hey Ed,

was looking at the price of a bead cadinet the other day... Around $400, not too bad if you go in with a few mates.

Jason.  ;D

[parisian62]

HI Ed,

I've been using this Deox C to strip rust and paint with good results.

See here for more info and some pics http://www.fbekholden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2359

regards
Stewart

[Glenn 'Stinky' Stankevicius]

I'll second CraigA's comment about mollasses, never tried it though.

[Ed]

Stewart,

Deox - C, looks really good!
as my bad luck would have it I just made an order with PPC a day ago.. arghh..
im going to persist with the solvent method.. im not doing a huge amount of parts so can cope.  nice review on the product tho.

Jason,
I have seen fold up blast cabinets too!
something i would like, but i dont really have the room for... come to think of it I have no friends within 20 kms who would share the need for a blast cabinet.

Stinky,
have read alot about molasses but never seen it in action... where would you get bulk molasses?

the rust isnt really much of a problem with plating as they dip the parts first to remove all the surface rust.

had a look at the platers today and they had enormous baths of the solvents.

Cheers

Ed

[Brad]

Molasses removes rust only .
     Will not remove or effect grease or paint. It can be bought at most animal produce stores . The kind of place that sells hay bails  or salt licks for horses. Cost is about $1.00 -$2.00 a litre.
     You need a suitably sized container for your parts , then add the molasses to around 8 liters of water to 1 litre of mollasses. Mix well and wait about two weeks depending on the temperature where you live. The mollasses starts to ferment and smell like dog turds ( true ).  A chemical reaction occurs bettween the rust and the fermented mollasses.It takes bettween 4 and 6 weeks depending on the severity of the rust . A good idea is to remove the part and wash once a week with cold water to remove the gunk that builds up on the surface.Will not affect unrusted steel so the longer you leave it in the bath the better the result
    It takes time but it will remove ALL the rust back to pure clean steel with little effort.Also gets into places like the space bettween the panels on the spare wheel door . Worked extremely well on mine. ;D.
     Any questions just ask.
                      Brad.

[sgo]

I'll second Brads comments on molassis.
$25 for 20 liltre drum, at your local stock-feed supplier.
2 drums and add 10 parts water will give about 3/4 of a 44 gal drum of solution.
Two weeks will clean up the most rusted parts you have! Just leave them hanging with wire from a stick. Smell is not too bad.
Small bits can be left in an ice-cream container of solution.
Washes off with water and non-toxic.
After 4 months my batch is still working, just left outside with a lid on.

[Ed]

I would be killed if i left a 44 gallon drum of dog turd liquid and car panels in my yard. .lol

we have a house where garden is at a minimum, so no good.

I did see PPC selling a nifty benchtop blaster for around $200 though.. I'll stick that on the wishlist.

in the meantime will try out some caustic soda as the solvent stripper didnt work very well.

Cheers

Ed

[mickusmickus]

Thanks for getting this post going again guys another toy that I do not have room for that I will now have to get.................I cant get over how cheap these cabinets are, I have been using one at a mates workshop and they work an absolute treat for all those small, and at times not so small :P items

MICK

[TTV6FC]

Hey ED,citric acid also work well as it is not a heavy corrosive.I used this on some FJ panels in a clam shell bath and the results were excellent.Only removes the rust but depends on the ratio.Possibly not as easy to come by as Mollassas unless you live near a winery (I live inthe Barossa Valley,lots of wineries  ;D).Cheers,Jamie.

[Ed]

Hi Guys,

I ended up going to bunnings and buying some Caustic Soda (NaOH or sodium hydroxide) for $3.89 / 500 grams.

added this to water and soaked the bonnet hinges over night.

the old crappy chrome paint disappeared in about 10 minutes, while the etch primer took a while to bubble up.

after this i soaked the parts in water and then went over the hinges using steel wool.  All the paint is now removed.

these are now ready to be plated!

only a hundred other bits and bobs to do now.

Question. 

Are the door latches (not striker plates) zinc platable?
reason is you cant plate die cast... I cant remember if there are any die cast bits in them?
is the star shaped striker wheel die cast?

Cheers

Ed

[FC0058]

Hi Ed
Thanks for starting this thread some interesting information going back and forth. I have had a wish list for a while now and once I move back to Brisbane, I will build my shed and get out the wish list. One of the top items will be the collapsible blaster (advertised in ACC) and maybe 40 litres of Malasses.

Cheers Jim

[Chuck]

Ed

The door latches are fine, there is no die cast there.

Die cast is non magnetic so its pretty easy to see whats what.

Chuck

[Ed]

After dismantling half the car and wirebrushing, caustic dipping and cleaning all the bits, I loaded up the pushbike with buckets of bolts and brackets and headed down to my local plater.

Dropped off the stuff this morning and just got a phone call to say ready for pick up before 9 am tomorrow!

the anticipation is killing me...

the thought of driving the wagon this weekend is a very real possibility!

it's a slow day at work...

Cheers

Ed
:D

[fe1957]

Does anyone have a chemical formula\process to strip off old chrome?
thanks
Grant