Hi all,

I can tell hot dip galvanising and bright zinc plating apart (the former
creates a thick, dull layer of zinc in which you can sometimes see
grains, whereas the latter creates a thinner, shinier layer) but I'm not
sure how bright zinc plating is achieved. Is it an electroplating
process? I did a quick Google search but couldn't find the answer. Just
curious...

Chris

On Sun, 23 Oct 2005 13:42:08 +0000 (UTC), Christopher Tidy
wrote:

Hi all,

I can tell hot dip galvanising and bright zinc plating apart (the former
creates a thick, dull layer of zinc in which you can sometimes see
grains, whereas the latter creates a thinner, shinier layer) but I'm not
sure how bright zinc plating is achieved. Is it an electroplating
process? I did a quick Google search but couldn't find the answer. Just
curious...

Chris

Yes, it is electroplating using proprietary "brighteners" in the soup.

Don Foreman wrote:
On Sun, 23 Oct 2005 13:42:08 +0000 (UTC), Christopher Tidy
wrote:


Hi all,

I can tell hot dip galvanising and bright zinc plating apart (the former
creates a thick, dull layer of zinc in which you can sometimes see
grains, whereas the latter creates a thinner, shinier layer) but I'm not
sure how bright zinc plating is achieved. Is it an electroplating
process? I did a quick Google search but couldn't find the answer. Just
curious...

Chris


Yes, it is electroplating using proprietary "brighteners" in the soup.

Thanks, Don. Interesting to know.

Chris

Here is a DIY kit for this process.

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/zinc.htm

--

Roger Shoaf

About the time I had mastered getting the toothpaste back in the tube, then
they come up with this striped stuff.


"Christopher Tidy" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I can tell hot dip galvanising and bright zinc plating apart (the former
creates a thick, dull layer of zinc in which you can sometimes see
grains, whereas the latter creates a thinner, shinier layer) but I'm not
sure how bright zinc plating is achieved. Is it an electroplating
process? I did a quick Google search but couldn't find the answer. Just
curious...

Chris

On Sun, 23 Oct 2005 19:51:06 -0700, "Roger Shoaf"
wrote:

Here is a DIY kit for this process.

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/zinc.htm

This includes the brightener, and it does a very nice job.

Tip: the brightener is an organic chemical that degrades fairly
quickly (a few weeks) in the soup, making a muddy brown preciptate
that can only partially be filtered out with coffee filters. It
looks grotty, but doesn't seem to hurt anything.

You can tell when the brightener is depleted because it has a very
distinictive sweet odor. If the zinc soup doesn't have that aroma,
it needs another wee shot of brightener.

I've been running my bucket of zinc soup for several years, still get
good results.

Don Foreman wrote:
On Sun, 23 Oct 2005 19:51:06 -0700, "Roger Shoaf"
wrote:


Here is a DIY kit for this process.

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/zinc.htm


This includes the brightener, and it does a very nice job.

Tip: the brightener is an organic chemical that degrades fairly
quickly (a few weeks) in the soup, making a muddy brown preciptate
that can only partially be filtered out with coffee filters. It
looks grotty, but doesn't seem to hurt anything.

You can tell when the brightener is depleted because it has a very
distinictive sweet odor. If the zinc soup doesn't have that aroma,
it needs another wee shot of brightener.

I've been running my bucket of zinc soup for several years, still get
good results.

Sounds interesting. What kind of power supply do you use? I might try it
sometime.

Chris

On Wed, 26 Oct 2005 16:40:27 +0000 (UTC), Christopher Tidy
wrote:

Don Foreman wrote:
On Sun, 23 Oct 2005 19:51:06 -0700, "Roger Shoaf"
wrote:


Here is a DIY kit for this process.

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/zinc.htm


This includes the brightener, and it does a very nice job.

Tip: the brightener is an organic chemical that degrades fairly
quickly (a few weeks) in the soup, making a muddy brown preciptate
that can only partially be filtered out with coffee filters. It
looks grotty, but doesn't seem to hurt anything.

You can tell when the brightener is depleted because it has a very
distinictive sweet odor. If the zinc soup doesn't have that aroma,
it needs another wee shot of brightener.

I've been running my bucket of zinc soup for several years, still get
good results.

Sounds interesting. What kind of power supply do you use? I might try it
sometime.

Chris

I use a shop-made brute-force dirt-simple adjustable electronic
current regulator. A battery charger and variac will do the job
too.

Don Foreman wrote:
On Wed, 26 Oct 2005 16:40:27 +0000 (UTC), Christopher Tidy
wrote:


Don Foreman wrote:

On Sun, 23 Oct 2005 19:51:06 -0700, "Roger Shoaf"
wrote:



Here is a DIY kit for this process.

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/zinc.htm


This includes the brightener, and it does a very nice job.

Tip: the brightener is an organic chemical that degrades fairly
quickly (a few weeks) in the soup, making a muddy brown preciptate
that can only partially be filtered out with coffee filters. It
looks grotty, but doesn't seem to hurt anything.

You can tell when the brightener is depleted because it has a very
distinictive sweet odor. If the zinc soup doesn't have that aroma,
it needs another wee shot of brightener.

I've been running my bucket of zinc soup for several years, still get
good results.

Sounds interesting. What kind of power supply do you use? I might try it
sometime.

Chris


I use a shop-made brute-force dirt-simple adjustable electronic
current regulator. A battery charger and variac will do the job
too.

How much current do you need for your setup? Maybe I could use the 75
amp battery charger on my welding set if I ever get round to fixing it.

Chris

I think if you surf around the site I posted they have FAQs that cover this
question. I suspect the power supply has a lot to do with the surface area
of the part being plated and the distance between the anode (cathode?) and
part.

I recall in Junior High School we used dry cells to silverplate pennys and
copper plate dimes.

--

__
Roger Shoaf

Important factors in selecting a mate:
1] Depth of gene pool
2] Position on the food chain.



"Christopher Tidy" wrote in message
...
Don Foreman wrote:
On Wed, 26 Oct 2005 16:40:27 +0000 (UTC), Christopher Tidy
wrote:


Don Foreman wrote:

On Sun, 23 Oct 2005 19:51:06 -0700, "Roger Shoaf"
wrote:



Here is a DIY kit for this process.

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/zinc.htm


This includes the brightener, and it does a very nice job.

Tip: the brightener is an organic chemical that degrades fairly
quickly (a few weeks) in the soup, making a muddy brown preciptate
that can only partially be filtered out with coffee filters. It
looks grotty, but doesn't seem to hurt anything.

You can tell when the brightener is depleted because it has a very
distinictive sweet odor. If the zinc soup doesn't have that aroma,
it needs another wee shot of brightener.

I've been running my bucket of zinc soup for several years, still get
good results.

Sounds interesting. What kind of power supply do you use? I might try it
sometime.

Chris


I use a shop-made brute-force dirt-simple adjustable electronic
current regulator. A battery charger and variac will do the job
too.

How much current do you need for your setup? Maybe I could use the 75
amp battery charger on my welding set if I ever get round to fixing it.

Chris