Replating old bike parts at home

[David Lahey]

I've finally had a go at doing some replating for a project bike and the first batch came out so well I couldn't resist posting some photos
Its good fun too
TY250 twinshock rear axle parts, zinc plated

[brt650]

Hello David,
Great job on the plating. But I can't seem to find your mailing address to send my parts to you. OR
Did I miss the "How To section" with plating at home?
Or is that to follow?
Thanks Brian

[sharvie]

Hi David, nice work on the zinc plating. The results are very satisfying, re-zincing everything brings a resto to another level.

Looking at the snail cams it is hard to tell if spotting near the centre is pitting in the steel or specks of zinc build-up. If it is Zinc, lowering the amps a little will stop this.

It is necessary to adjust the amps according the the surface area of each job though. A very light fizz on the copper wire the job is hanging on is the easy way of judging this. There are a few surface area calculators on the net if you want to be more accurate about adjusting the amps.

Steve

[David Lahey]

Hello David,
Great job on the plating. But I can't seem to find your mailing address to send my parts to you. OR
Did I miss the "How To section" with plating at home?
Or is that to follow?
Thanks Brian

No probs doing plating for you Brian. Plating is the easy bit. The hard bit is preparing the parts.
I think Steve did the "How To section" already in his postings showing his newly redone TLR. I think he explained things a bit better than the instructions that come with the kit did too.
That Bultaco you were riding in the photos looked pretty glitzy to me already though or are you working on something else?

[David Lahey]

Hi David, nice work on the zinc plating. The results are very satisfying, re-zincing everything brings a resto to another level.

Looking at the snail cams it is hard to tell if spotting near the centre is pitting in the steel or specks of zinc build-up. If it is Zinc, lowering the amps a little will stop this.

It is necessary to adjust the amps according the the surface area of each job though. A very light fizz on the copper wire the job is hanging on is the easy way of judging this. There are a few surface area calculators on the net if you want to be more accurate about adjusting the amps.

Steve

Thanks Steve. The spacers in the centre of the snail cams do look a bit funny, but in this case it is just because the steel was pitted and I didn't bother skimming the surface to get rid of the pits. I have had that issue with specs of zinc sitting on the surface with some of the other parts. It's fun learning as you go with it. Another mistake I made on some other parts was to have the piece being coated too close to the surface (air interface) of the electrolyte. Another was to have the end of a long bolt too close to the wall of the plating container. I'm loving this. Can you tell?

[brt650]

I'm going to start restoring my 1977 yZ125 soon. And zinc plating at home(mine or your's) could be a great option.
The bully is shiney and keeping it like that is taking some serious time.
Will you be coming down to our last meeting of the year? It's now on the 14th of November.It's a great place to ride.
Hope to see you there.
Brian

[David Lahey]

I'm going to start restoring my 1977 yZ125 soon. And zinc plating at home(mine or your's) could be a great option.
The bully is shiney and keeping it like that is taking some serious time.
Will you be coming down to our last meeting of the year? It's now on the 14th of November. It's a great place to ride.
Maybe even Sharvie will turn up with the new baby.
Hope to see you there.
Brian

I'm limiting myself to one trip down to you guys per year so unless I win the Lotto before then I will be staying close by to home that weekend. Yes Sykes at Martindale is fabulous - I especially like watching the mad riders launch out flat like a pancake off that huge rock. It makes me feel relatively sane. I have been raving about the place since last November to anyone who will listen. I'll see if I can find a photo of you riding there

I did find this photo of Mal leaping off "that" rock in 2006