Do It Yourself Zinc Plating

[onformula1]

Milner's Do It Yourself Zinc Plating Thread-

Many of the guy's on this forum that know me well, know I try to perform most mods to trikes, bikes, quads, MTB's and hot rods myself, but there are a few things that I have sent out in the past which includes- Zinc plating, Chrome Plating, Anodizing and Hard Anodizing.

I don't chrome enough stuff, plus I don't think it is feasible on a DIY level. I am collecting the items needed for a DIY thread to Aluminum Anodizing and Aluminum Hard Anodizing. After researching, testing and reading my old high school Chemistry A textbook, I jumped right in.

Up next is my DIY Zinc plating how to-
Here are the items I used, bought or had laying around the shop, plus the costs.

X2 99.9 percent pure zinc ingots- EBAY $7.11 shipped (These worked so well I ordered more)
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1 gallon of white vinegar- $2.12
1/2 cup of epsom salt- .88 cents (Save the extra salt)
1/2 cup of sugar- free, I stole it from my wives baking cabinet
1 plastic container of Sun triple clean laundry detergent- $10.00 (I used only the container & lid) I don't use this brand, but the container is primo and this stuff does clean gear pretty good.
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1 scrap piece of 3/8" mild steel round bar- free
1 piece of 3/32" TIG welding wire- free
2 small hose clamps- free
Several pieces of solid copper wire- free
1 piece of red electrical wire- free
2 electrical alligator clips- free
1 aquarium air pump with 1 check valve, 1 tee fitting and 2 three foot lengths of silicone tubing- EBAY $8.95
1 battery charger- free
1 power strip with a ON/OFF switch- free
1 brass wire brush- free

Total on supplies- $31.83 including tax & shipping. If you don't have the things I had laying around I think you would be at about $50 bucks, everyone has a battery charger right?

Assembly of the tub- I dumped the soap out and washed out the tub, then drilled X2 3/8" holes near the top with a step drill and slide the rod bar though the hole and hose clamped both ends this is where the cathode is hung with copper wire along with the negative battery charger clamp, then I drilled X2 3/32" holes on the top toward the side and slide the TIG wire though and bent over the ends to hold them in. This is where the anode is hung from with copper wire along with the alligator clip attached to the electrical wire then the other alligator clip attaches to the positive side on the battery charger.
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I used a power strip with a ON/OFF switch since my battery charger does not have one.

The cathode is the item/items being plated.
The anode is the plating stock (Zinc ingots)

To make the plating solution add the vinegar, epsom salt and sugar and mix it up, then hang the zinc ingots from the copper wire on the TIG wire side. Let it sit for 48 hours the vinegar will eat up the zinc and create the solution the salt helps conduct electricity and the sugar is the brightener to make the zinc shinny.

After 48 hours add in the 2 silicone hoses in the solution, hooked to the tee fitting, then a single hose and the check valve to the aquarium pump and turn it on to mix the solution by bubbling- this will allow for a more even plate.

***Make sure your parts are very clean, free of rust***

Hang your parts in the solution by copper wires and turn on the battery charger- 6 volts, 10 amps & 12 volts, 6 amps both works well. Higher amps will make the plating flaky. Let them sit for 10 mins. then remove the parts (They will be a grey/black flat color) and brush them with a clean brass wire brush while they are still wet then wipe them off with paper towels, I dipped them three times with a cleaning each time. To get the polished look the parts can be polish with a Scotch Brite pad or my favorite is a polishing wheel with a loose buff and blue polishing compound. If you wait to long between dips or before polishing and they dry they will have a grey/black zinc oxide coating on them, re dip them if that happens.

Before pics-
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After pics- (This was my first shot of plating)
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Let me know if you have any questions.

[torker]

This is a great write-up. Step by step. I have to try it this way, mine is not even close.
Question, how many parts can you do with one bath/solution?
Thanks for sharing.

TORKER.

[Jmoozy27]

That's pretty sweet and simple. Thanks for the tutorial. Let's see some more pics.:naughty:

[onformula1]

This is a great write-up. Step by step. I have to try it this way, mine is not even close.
Question, how many parts can you do with one bath/solution?
Thanks for sharing.

TORKER.

I plated a mix of 6 spring collars, spring retainers and preload collars at one time and still had room for more.

The bath is still good after a week and still eat's the crap out of the zinc ingots which means the vinegar is still working fine, plus once the solution is suspended with zinc you can reuse it.

I have about a 5% zinc ingot loss so far. (Probably less)

The tub is large enough to zinc plate anything I would want to plated except maybe a rear axle for that I was thinking about using a long rectangular tub that stores sell as storage for Christmas and Birthday gift wrap. I run extended aftermarket axles, so I doubt I will ever try.

[onformula1]

Here is my idea for nuts, bolts, washers and screws. (I have not tried it yet, I use all new Honda CR hardware) It is out of a Berryman's carb. chem dip one gallon tank, cleaned up it should work and I would give it a shake a few times for even plating.
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I forgot a picture of the EBAY aquarium pump.
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[bkm]

Great write up and even better results.

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[oscarmayer]

Awesome work sir! Always impressive as usually!!


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[John_Neary]

I need to get my rear axle redone at some point, might pester you for some tips on doing it. :)

[onformula1]

I need to get my rear axle redone at some point, might pester you for some tips on doing it. :)

I have not tried a axle, my tub would have to be much longer, I do know that plating shops (Maybe not all of them) tumble large round parts like axles.

I do know this, if I try it I would use a old stock axle for a guinea pig and not a priceless axle like yours. :lol:

[knappyfeet]

Nicely done.

I've used both the Caswell and Eastwood kits........Caswell being superior in results and superior in cost.

I've always been a little scared to try to mix my own stuff but your results are inspiring. Thanks for the info.

[newby200x]

Glad you posted this.. I was just getting ready to buy materials this week so I could try it out on my fasteners.

[ps2fixer]

This for the write up! I have done a little research on this in the past with a little more technical details but less of the critical details that you cover such as the photos!

From what I remember, there is a calculation for surface area to be plated and amps for the "ideal" speed/time. I'd say an axle would take atleast 2, maybe 3 anodes hooked together to spread out the power source, and either run a larger power supply, or 2-3 of them and keeping the anodes not shorted together. A battery charger isn't required, anything that puts out power works great. Lots of people have used computer power supplies, but the process is slower. The old black box plugins for phones, routers, etc work too, you just need DC power. I don't remember if Voltage mattered or not, laptops and printers use 17-36v, so that might be a bit too high.

Someday I'll get into zinc plating, it seems simple enough and the results are generally great vs what you start with.

[just ben]

I have done axles and yes you do need a few anodes to get even coverage. One thing to keep in mind is zinc is not a decorative coating, it's a sacraficial coating to protect the steel part. To keep the parts looking pretty spray the with clear acrylic laquer. I have done a lot of plating but my bath used zinc chloride and i have had a hard time finding it in the past few years at a reasonable cost. The bath I used the parts came out shiny I just had to dry and clear coat them.

[DohcBikes]

Excellent thread. Thank you for the information onformula1. This should be stickied so it can be found easily.

[ps2fixer]

I have done axles and yes you do need a few anodes to get even coverage. One thing to keep in mind is zinc is not a decorative coating, it's a sacraficial coating to protect the steel part. To keep the parts looking pretty spray the with clear acrylic laquer. I have done a lot of plating but my bath used zinc chloride and i have had a hard time finding it in the past few years at a reasonable cost. The bath I used the parts came out shiny I just had to dry and clear coat them.

Ever thought about making your own zinc chloride? I didn't read into it much, but it sounds like you just need zinc + hydrogen chloride which I'm sure you can buy locally, shipping however is unlikely as it is a fairly strong acid if I remember correctly. Of course before you do anything, read and learn how to handle the chemicals safely and what the dangers are.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc_chloride

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_chloride

Pretty sure the plant I worked at in the past used Hydrogen Chloride, since I remember the "science" building people talking about HCL which is the chemical name for it. Also it is half of the formula to make aqua regia for processing gold from gold plated material. Got to love the random science learning when I was just a computer tech talking to the chemists =).

[onformula1]

This for the write up! I have done a little research on this in the past with a little more technical details but less of the critical details that you cover such as the photos!

From what I remember, there is a calculation for surface area to be plated and amps for the "ideal" speed/time. I'd say an axle would take atleast 2, maybe 3 anodes hooked together to spread out the power source, and either run a larger power supply, or 2-3 of them and keeping the anodes not shorted together. A battery charger isn't required, anything that puts out power works great. Lots of people have used computer power supplies, but the process is slower. The old black box plugins for phones, routers, etc work too, you just need DC power. I don't remember if Voltage mattered or not, laptops and printers use 17-36v, so that might be a bit too high.

Someday I'll get into zinc plating, it seems simple enough and the results are generally great vs what you start with.

I tested this first in a much smaller scale using a Mayo jar here is what worked for me and somethings that did not.

10-12 oz. of pure Zinc worked great with 1 to 1 1/2 gallons of solution, I did try more and I didn't see anything different.

During my small scale test I tried a AA battery and X2 AA batteries with poor results, using a lot less Zinc.

The batteries are 1.5 volts each, so 1.5 & 3 volts did not work well.

Anything under 6 volts did not work. 6-12 volts worked great.

I found that the amperage was the most important factory, 2 amps or less did not work, 10 amps seems good or maybe a bit much, 6 amps was perfect.

The power supplies you are talking about, I believe are below 2 amps I only checked out the old stuff I had laying around, so I could be wrong.

[onformula1]

Ever thought about making your own zinc chloride? I didn't read into it much, but it sounds like you just need zinc + hydrogen chloride which I'm sure you can buy locally, shipping however is unlikely as it is a fairly strong acid if I remember correctly. Of course before you do anything, read and learn how to handle the chemicals safely and what the dangers are.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc_chloride

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_chloride

Pretty sure the plant I worked at in the past used Hydrogen Chloride, since I remember the "science" building people talking about HCL which is the chemical name for it. Also it is half of the formula to make aqua regia for processing gold from gold plated material. Got to love the random science learning when I was just a computer tech talking to the chemists =).

I was trying to stay away from- hydrochloric acid in the shop, I may try it, outside someday.

[ps2fixer]

Semi-old power supplies for computers on the 12v rail generally ran 10 amp + but the resistance of the acid will lower that quite a bit. I'm guessing you're looking at the amp specs @ 110v, 2 amp = 220w/12v = 18.3a. Of course it isn't 100% efficient, and it all doesn't go to 12v, but most of it does.

I won't claim to be an expert, but from my understanding, the zinc you put in the acid gets dissolved and when you electroplate, the dissolved zinc collects on the anode(s). As this happens, more zinc dissolves. Kind of the same logic as dissolving salt or sugar in water, then somehow removing some, and you can dissolve more.

I brushed up a little on the process, and the plating speed is controlled by current flow, based on what I read, with vinegar you should be targeting 1.5-3v because vinegar does not hold much dissolved zinc and any excess power will be wasted to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen, you will see tiny air bubbles if this is happening. I don't think it hurts anything, but your wasting electricity at that point.

For the amount of power you need in amps, generally accepted is 20amp per square foot of surface area to be plated. Sharp jagged parts like a pile of bolts, should be done at lower amps and for a longer time, while flatter parts can be done at higher amps at a shorter time. If you put too much power in, you get uneven coating, or even spots that don't plate. Moving the parts around helps reduce that effect as you can't completely get away from it.

Remember, just because a power supply is rated to put out 20 amps, does not mean it will push 20 amps though the solution, there is resistance that will make the current rate drop. Simply put think of it as a normal light bulb vs shorting out the 110v wires together for near 0 ohms vs say 100 ohms (idk the actual resistance of a light bulb).

[Jmoozy27]

I was trying to stay away from- hydrochloric acid in the shop, I may try it, outside someday.

I would try sulfuric acid in the +90% range. The higher % the less corrosive it is to metal. Sulfuric does not off gas like hydrochloric / muriatic. With that being said you do not wAnt to get this stuff on you.

[onformula1]

I would try sulfuric acid in the +90% range. The higher % the less corrosive it is to metal. Sulfuric does not off gas like hydrochloric / muriatic. With that being said you do not wAnt to get this stuff on you.

Yeah, there is a lot of stuff I could try, but when a 2 buck bottle of vinegar works perfect I get the feeling I should move on to the next project like the DIY aluminum anodizing.

Plus the solution make a great Zinc vinaigrette salad dressing that is not too sweet or salty. :lol:

[ps2fixer]

Yeah, there is a lot of stuff I could try, but when a 2 buck bottle of vinegar works perfect I get the feeling I should move on to the next project like the DIY aluminum anodizing.

Plus the solution make a great Zinc vinaigrette salad dressing that is not too sweet or salty. :lol:

Well at least you can say one thing about your salad dressing.... it's high in Zinc!

[onformula1]

Excellent thread. Thank you for the information onformula1. This should be stickied so it can be found easily.

Do they do that anymore?

Thank you for the thought.

[bkm]

I just ordered my ingots, I just need to source a metal basket for nuts and bolts.

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[onformula1]

A small bread pan, step drill and a sharpie make a nice Swiss cheesed basket, also a stainer works, hung by two pieces of wire- under $3 bucks too.

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[bkm]

DIY barrel plater.
http://www.nulltime.com/zincplating/shop_setup/plating_barrel/index.html

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[onformula1]

DIY barrel plater.
http://www.nulltime.com/zincplating/shop_setup/plating_barrel/index.html

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I thought about something like that using a old windshield wiper motor (I have tried this on my fake"No computer" CNC plasma cutter setup, it worked) or a electric die grinder with a rheostat. (It works and will go surprisingly slow)