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!

Still dialing in the process with the electroplating, went and got a cheap aerator from BCF for $19, I'm in to this just under a $100 so far and I think once the brightening agent arrives I'll be able to get some good results!


I did the heater bulkhead passthrough piece and had it in for almost 4 hours and it got plenty of coverage, it came out dull though so needed a little buff before it came up as you see in the pictures below.


 

 
I don't think having bi-carb in the solution is the go, it gathers into a sludge on the zinc electrodes so i took them out and gave them a wire wheel. Tomorrow I am going to try just vinegar with a pinch of Epsom salts and see how this piece comes up a second time round.

With the cleaning process I am currently putting it through the glass beads in the blasting cabinet, then wire wheel, then into degreaser, then rinsed and wiped down with paper towel and into the electro bath - I think the dark stain down the bottom on the front is potentially where I handled it with gloves, so I might skip the wipe down.
 
I'm having a blast with this - its great fun!

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.

Nice going Mark the silvery shine looks good , I will definitely do some anodizing on my next project which I'll start on in Jan ( a 78 orange panelvan) but won't be a full hammer down as I've got the mk1 and the rally pack to focus on

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