Been away for work for a week and been tackling a few house jobs so haven't had really any garage time since last update.

I got back today though to a good amount of packages so I have things to keep me going now. Looking forward to the long weekend coming up!

Before the work trip I decided to try my hand with zinc plating, I watched a few videos and saw that a guy was getting great results with just a battery pack and some anodes and the bright gold chemical. Jane kits had a sale on so the anodes and gold wash was less than 50 bucks, the rest I had laying around - apart from the battery caddy and batteries, which was like $15 from Jaycar.


 
My first attempt was one of the random pinto engine bolts, I cleaned it up and gave it a crack and the zinc stuck really well. The gold not so much. I think I need to figure out a way to heat up the gold solution to get it to bond properly.
 

 
I put a bunch of salt in there too - maybe a bit too much but I'm sure it will dissolve by tomorrow, I currently have the anodes just putting ions into the water right now.


 
I want to give the old front hard brake lines a crack tomorrow to see how they turn out, should be a fun little experiment. 

Someone on the forum was doing the zinc plating at home but can't remember who that was..
It's something I want to try .

Also going back to the Urchfab escort which is painted in midnight, I got a email from him as the car is going to be raffled off

Ok so low and slow, that must be what I am doing wrong, its 1.5 amp batteries. I ditched the salt solution and dropped the amount of vinegar and added in a dash of bicarb for this next attempt, I currently have the bonnet catch release spring in and I was gonna give it 30 minutes, i'll give it 2 hours and see how it comes up.
 
Might invest in a cheap bubbler!

Ok I think I'm getting the hang of this, I had the bonnet release spring in for 4 hours today in my new and improved bucket.


 
Four hours was too long, towards the end zinc started to gather on the part but it wasn't actually stuck to it - it started to go a little dark in spots and when I took it out you could see the excess build up in those areas, I think that is the sign to take it out when you see that starting to happen. 


 
I took this shot about half way through, I think this is the exact moment I should have pulled it out - it looked great! But the excess wasn't hard to deal with, just some metal polish and a brass wheel and it came straight off and this was the final result.
 

 
The pictures don't do it justice, it's a lovely satin silvery zinc finish, plenty of coverage and nice and even. I've got a few more bits on the go now and when the brightener arrives I'll do the bonnet catch and put them side by side to see what finish I like the best. 

Oh and todays bucket had only about 750mm of Vinegar, about 6 liters of distilled water and only a dash of Epsom salt, maybe like 50 grams tops. Seems to be the perfect amount, the anodes are staying nice and clean and I had the best results with it so far.
 
Here's the next batch of bits bubbling away.

I wish I had room for another car, would definitely love to have a panel van to tinker away on too.

If i wasn't on a two house block I would agree. My neighbors would probably be a bit upset if I blocked the driveway with another project , I keep going back and forth on getting a storage unit but that's money I could be spending on this car!

So I think I have decided after doing the bonnet spring - super stoked on how this part came out and the almost satin silver finish ties in with my direction for the car perfectly.


 
This is what it looks like fresh out of the bath and dried, not much to look at right? Really dull and not nice at all. Well once you hit it with some metal polish and the brass wheel it completely transforms the part - also you can see the dark staining in this shot from where it starts to gather on the part after "too long" in the bath.
 
This is the finished product after a polish!


 
For a home job I honestly am so happy with how it turned out, again the pictures don't do it justice and for the small initial cost I now can electroplate pretty much everything I want to on the car at my own leisure.

And it wouldn't be a good post without a proper before and after - well I didn't take a before shot of the spring but the secondary latch was in exactly the same condition so here you go!


 
It looks so good in person! Guess what part is next .

martymexico
Rocker cover ??

Haha no the bonnet catch! Rocker cover will get powder coated when I'm ready.