cadmium plating

Maybe Dogger or Tydog will chime in. They have a good place they've used recently.

Scott, just about any local plater can handle that. When I did all my 78 Cr250 hardware,i had a local shop them do it in gold cad and it all came out great. That shop had a minimum charge of $ 135 (I think) and my basket of bolts,nuts,washers,brackets ,2 axles and swingarm pivot didn't come close to exceeding the minimum cost, so I threw in other shit laying around the shop like misc countershaft sprockets and an entire 240 piece metric bolt kit(for future use). I like dealing with local guys for stuff like that ,just in case there are issues,much easier communication. And amazingly enough,I don't think anything was missing!! And there were a gaggleful of pieces. By the way Joe, I need to PM you on a couple of PVL ignitions---its nearing time,lol

Just let me know on the PVL's.

Hard to find cad plating here locally in Texas. Lots of zinc but cad seems to be on the way out. Not sure what the difference is.

That's true. The guy at the plating shop did seem to like zinc more as well. Apparently Cadmium is far more toxic than zinc and the finishes are very similar he told me. They did some zinc for me too and I couldn't really tell any difference. Ok ill email you on the PVL's shortly..

It's yellow zinc plating. http://www.yellowzincplating.com/default.html did stuff for my KX, cost $40 plus shipping.

Depends on the year of the bike and how accurate you want your restoration to be. If the bike was built in the '70s through the
very early '90s, the bolts are Cad plated. Anything newer would have Zinc plating.

Cadmium has been banned as a toxic substance in many states, so it's hard to find somebody that will do the work, and even
harder to find somebody competent enough to do a good job and not lose your parts in the process.

There are some differences between Cadmium and Zinc plating starting with how it looks. White Cad (Silver), has a duller
finish than bright Zinc. Cad with Gold Chromate has an irredescent finish unique to Cad. Here's a picture of a restored air
box for a 1979 CR250. Look closely at the bolts and door hook to see the finish I'm talking about:



Here's another picture from the same bike showing a mixture of White and Gold Chromate Cad plated hardware:



In addition to the obvious difference in look, Cadmium plating is more durable than Zinc, and will hold up better when subjected
to harsh chemicals or the elements.

If you are interested in Cad plating, PM me and I will hook you up with the name of a good shop to do the work.

dogger

The link I posted does small orders. He only did the shock hardware and axle plates for me. Everything fit in a small flat rate box.

Dogger is correct on the cad, especially the toxicity part. Many aerospace facilities still plate with it but I cannot speak to small operations. Sorry
I have been using Parker Metal Finishing in Greensboro North Carolina, for gold and silver zinc. I usually talk to Robert Parker and I have been very pleased with their quality and turn times!!!!! I will advise that he does not take credit cards though.
I believe that he has a $100 minimum batch. Just fyi, that will do about two complete bikes worth. I have been using the "buddy plan" for a batch, just ask my buddies

Hearn Plating in Ohio

Resurrecting an old thread here, I"m restoring an 89 kx 250, and I do see some hardware plated in this yellow zinc, some bolts appear to be black or dark brown & some appear to be sort of like ktm bolts with the dull grey finish, does anyone have an idea of what Kawasaki used the yellow zinc on? I can see the shock collars & some linkage bolts possibly? Did Kawasakireally use three different types of plating back then?

I usually walk in the back door and ask if they want to make some beer money for the weekend, that gets them interested. If you intend to use them often (and they are good) a box of beer goes down well in keeping them sweet.

They stopped doing cadmium plating in the 70s I think, the next closest looking is satin chrome, thats what they plate micrometers and verniers with.

Bright zink is much more silver than cadmium plating.

my zinc and nickle guy is a cash only, walk down into the cellar where the fumes make you think your skin is going to come off, pay in advance will be done tomorrow, which is usually about two weeks! i always want to take a shower before getting in my truck after leaving there