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arts
Addicted Member
You might as well go with Zinc plating, very inexpensive and (usually) easy to find. Check first what the prep requirements are for refinishing though, as some shops will not deal with parts that are Cad plated.
Most plating shops that are still doing Cadmium cater to the aviation industry. Don't know if they still do it, but we have a local shop that used to offer stripping and Cadmium re-plating of the fasteners used on vintage British cars and motorcycles. The owner was a fan and a member of the club
I once fab'd a batch of replacement muffler support brackets for my collection of Norton Commando motorcycles. I then handed them off to my buddy, who worked at either Pratt or Bombardier at the time, I can't remember which. Unfortunately, I forgot to specify the process; they came back yellow Cad, instead of white. DOH!
Most plating shops that are still doing Cadmium cater to the aviation industry. Don't know if they still do it, but we have a local shop that used to offer stripping and Cadmium re-plating of the fasteners used on vintage British cars and motorcycles. The owner was a fan and a member of the club
I once fab'd a batch of replacement muffler support brackets for my collection of Norton Commando motorcycles. I then handed them off to my buddy, who worked at either Pratt or Bombardier at the time, I can't remember which. Unfortunately, I forgot to specify the process; they came back yellow Cad, instead of white. DOH!
Lavane
Lunatic Member
If i5s just the bottom plate, why go with cadmium? I've only oy ran across cadmium plating once. In many cases it acually zinc, etc plating. I don't stress on bottom plates. I just paint them. What is this bottom plate off of? Cadnium hasn't been used for a long time. The last time I ran across the stuff was on a very old tube radio chassis. I have seen old zinc coatings with a thick fluffy coating.
Lavane
Lunatic Member
That too. A pair if Warfedale W90's I had, the pots were covered in the white stuff. They were nickel plated.
Pio1980
AK Member
Very odd!
Lavane
Lunatic Member
It sure looked liked nickel plating. The parts that were still shiny looked like nickel. It was white, not yellowish.
I use the Caswell plating kit for CAD like work.
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arts
Addicted Member
Caswell makes very good stuff, and bonus for me, they have a division here in Ontario, Canada
Reyhifi
Well-Known Member
I been checking their stuff out. I done nickel plating at home, for small stuff.
Reyhifi
Well-Known Member
The whole idea, is to get something similar (looks). The yellowish look, is very specific. Almost every vintage piece I own has that finish somewhere.
Reyhifi
Well-Known Member
I know what you mean, I did a lots of cad plating on my car restorations but that was years ago. But I'm also in California, where anything like that is pretty much gone, including chemical stripping.You might as well go with Zinc plating, very inexpensive and (usually) easy to find. Check first what the prep requirements are for refinishing though, as some shops will not deal with parts that are Cad plated.
Most plating shops that are still doing Cadmium cater to the aviation industry. Don't know if they still do it, but we have a local shop that used to offer stripping and Cadmium re-plating of the fasteners used on vintage British cars and motorcycles. The owner was a fan and a member of the club
I once fab'd a batch of replacement muffler support brackets for my collection of Norton Commando motorcycles. I then handed them off to my buddy, who worked at either Pratt or Bombardier at the time, I can't remember which. Unfortunately, I forgot to specify the process; they came back yellow Cad, instead of white. DOH!
The cad plating thing is half science and half art. It took me sometime to get the right hue on the yellow cad. Here is a picture of the clear.
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Reyhifi
Well-Known Member
Most platings, are some kind of crazy alchemy, wizards and so on.
arts
Addicted Member
That looks pretty darned good.
Essay
Active Member
If you are lucky, you might get a chromating that has a yellowish colour (I don't know what the regulations in the US/canada say these days, but in the EU, it is forbidden outside of aerospace applications).
Cadmium is very toxic stuff. I would not go for zinc plating for the risk of Zinc whisker growth. Nickel plating sounds like a good idea if a shiny colour is OK with you.
Cadmium is very toxic stuff. I would not go for zinc plating for the risk of Zinc whisker growth. Nickel plating sounds like a good idea if a shiny colour is OK with you.
Reyhifi
Well-Known Member
I was checking out their cad kit, I already use the nickel stuff. The whole kit is a bit pricey, but I think I have enough stuff to make it worthwhile.
I think that the "CAD like" kit is just an additional solution, you still do the nickel plating portion, then the dip in the Cad solution. The art portion is how long to dip in the "Cad like" solution determines the amount of color. I also use the Clear Blue solution when I don't do the yellow cad.
Reyhifi
Well-Known Member
Wow that looks great, like most finishes preparation is everything. But I will do the Caldwell system for the "cad". Mostly likely next year, after I get some projects in order.
If this is only for aesthetic purposes, Eastwood sells a kit that is not true cadmium plating. But if done correctly, it sure looks like it. If I remember correctly, the process requires three or four different color spray paints to achieve the look. Classic car restorers use the process to do the power brake boosters on old classic cars to look like original cad coating.
