During any restoration there comes a time when parts need refinishing. Most restorers try to do as much spannering as possible, some have the facilities and skills to paint but most of us elect to contract out plating, after all it’s a cheap as chips. If you don’t have a zinc plater locally or have had parts lost or damaged in the past you might want consider doing the job yourself.

POTMETAL. MAZAK. ZINC DIE-CAST.............the words that brings tears to a platers eyes and groans from his mouth. Its the metal from hell!

Pot-metal is a slang word for a zinc based alloy that was used to form most of the trim parts on cars and motorcycles up into the 70s and in some countries beyond that time. Zinc in itself is a little difficult to plate. Then add 40 or 50 years of sitting in the weather, low current density areas that collect the rain, snow and pollution and you have a recipe for hair loss when you try to plate it! The only thing that can make it worse is if you happen to be working on a part that came from a Chrysler product that had a 12 volt POS. ground. That set up turns all of your trim into anodes! (I know, I have a 55 Dodge)

I bought a Zinc plating and Blackener kit from Caswell Europe with Yellow Chromate, to duplicate the original finish on the bolts and brackets for aesthetic and corrosion resistance.

Zinc plating takes around 30 - 40 Minutes stiring electrolyte every now and again to remove the bubbles off the parts. (You can use one of the Caswell air bubblers - Caswell comment) The power supply current is set to 0.9 volts and amps adjust automatically. Once plating has finished its rinsed in water.

So some of you know a few months back I posted here saying what a stupid thing I'd done to store my Browning Medalist in it's case which was damp. It stayed in the safe for two weeks and when I got it out I saw the barrels were spotted with rust from top to bottom!

Some fine grit paper and oil quickly removed the rust but the bluing had gone on every spot, leaving the barrels mottled with silver.

I found a company on the net that specialise in products for various coatings/finishes to metals. After a long chat with the owner he told me that he is actually a chemist and he makes these products

The work was carried out on professional premises as the lift allowed good access to the car and allowed for better photographs.

We used a small compressor to spray Fertan Rust Converter into the chassis members.  Some of the cavity wax was sprayed by compressor and some was sprayed directly from the 500ml aerosols.

As we manufacture and sell them we used our own Fertan spray guns and Fertan endoscopes for inspecting the inside of the chassis and voids.  Standard guns / extensions would work perfectly well.

As an allotment holder, I'm slowly building up the capacity to store produce during glut years, and for several months before use.  Correct and safe storage requires good equipment, and in Britain that was synonymous with 'Kilner Jars'.  The jars and rings I prefer are 'Kilner Jars' from pre-1940 jars to 1970's jars. Bought second hand, their metal screw ring's conditions can vary from completely rusted over, to moderately tarnished.

If there is any loose rust then that is gently rubbed off, and the rings soaked overnight in a citric acid based solution (Caswell SD-COMSCALE 650), that cleans/converts the rust, leaving the metal rings undamaged.

Any rings left with previous plating and/or passivated surfaces are further soaked in a caustic soda based solution (Caswell SD-Anodise and Chrome Stripper)  to strip/clean them up, before being rinsed off again. Finally the rings are 'pickled' to etch and/or activate their surfaces, and plated with a Bright Nickel (Caswell Regular Bright Nickel) finish to at least 1/1000th of an inch to ensure longevity against future corrosion risks.

This vice was on the main work bench when the fire went through.  After the fire it was found on the floor having fallen from the burning wooden bench top.  It was thrown outside with the other rubbish and went un-noticed for the next 2 and a half years.

When I was looking for an item to run the test on this seemed the ideal example.  It was completely rusted and the screw and slides had seized due to the  fusing action of the rust on the bearing surfaces and would not move even when some persuasion was applied using a hammer (scientifically of course).  

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