DIY electroplating

tzmike
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tzmike
Edited Date/Time 6/14/2021 2:43am
I see zinc and nickel as anodes used for the process.
The engine hardware (case bolts) in particular would use nickel to bring the stock look ? I have seen zinc used in many you tube videos and they look like they have the gold type finish.
I would be correct in using nickel for a stock look ?
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soggy
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soggy 6/6/2021 8:27am
6/6/2021 8:27am
I think you are on the right track.
tzmike
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tzmike 6/6/2021 10:23am
6/6/2021 10:23am
The stock needed is pennies for either zinc or nickel.
God knows I have 40yrs worth of bike hardware and the vinegar, salt and a couple batteries can't be more than 20 bucks total.
If anyone has done it and can save me the experimental time, I would be totally down with that.
Otherwise I'll do it and reply with my results
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andrew kaos 6/6/2021 2:01pm
6/6/2021 2:01pm
watching this post to see what you come up with buddy, i tried and failed miserably, i bought a nickel kit, prolly worked out about 250 in dollars, and no matter what i tried, i just carnt get a good enough finish for what i want, i tried with the etching stuff, bead blasted, alloy oxide etc, tried diffrent temp, amps voltage and just failed, i wanted to do all my original bolts on my 2003 yz 125 i have owned from new, so when you crank it, please do share what you know


FWYT
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FWYT 6/6/2021 10:25pm
6/6/2021 10:25pm
I tried it and while it was fun to do and learn about, the results were ehhh at best. And believe me I did my damndest to get things clean and followed instructions closely.

For big stuff like linkage bolts or whatever, I would send it out to a proper plating shop. But for hardware like case bolts, save yourself a ton of time and get the Nickel Wurks stuff from Spec Bolt.
https://specbolt.com/nickel-wurks-bolts-2/
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timobijnen84 6/7/2021 1:47am
6/7/2021 1:47am
I looked into doing it myself but i brought all this stuf to a local plating company and they charged me 30 bucks. They basically throw everything in a basket and if it fits in 1 basket you pay 30 bucks.

The dull spots on the axles are from being rusted bad before plating.

All these parts are from 2 different bikes.


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tzmike
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tzmike 6/12/2021 5:03am
6/12/2021 5:03am
Can't beat 30 bucks. Damn. Real close to factory finish. I guess when you give it to the pros you get a PRO JOB.
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tzmike
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tzmike 6/12/2021 5:09am
6/12/2021 5:09am
Just looked at Specbolt
The absolute way to go.
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timobijnen84 6/14/2021 2:43am
6/14/2021 2:43am
tzmike wrote:
Can't beat 30 bucks. Damn. Real close to factory finish. I guess when you give it to the pros you get a PRO JOB.
Especially if you think about the way they looked before. Half off these bolts are from an 82´ street bike.

On the left is before i cleaned them and on the right are the clean bolts before zink plating.

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