Hood latches, pins, hood hinges is it cadmium or zinc? If Zinc, what is clear zinc?

 

Depends on the year. If its C2 (63-67) it was Cad clear or Cad 1 , a silver type finish. (not Cadichromate) They were not zinc plated like hardware store bolts.

Boyan

 

I read up a lot on this topic when I was doing my antique harley. I think it is hard to get cad done anymore, specifically in do it yourself kits. Everything I read said you could zinc plate and buff to a cad like shine. (for the silver, not gold cad).

I think eastwoods sells a kit, but get a lot of extra plates....they go pretty quickly.

 

I send all my plating to Steve at Detail Plating
if I dont like how they turn out - he has always made them right !!

 

Hardly any midyear parts were cad plated. The drawing specs gave the suppliers the choice of cadmium or zinc, and cadmium was FAR more expensive; business was based on piece-part price, and that made the choice pretty simple.

 

I agree with John. Most people can not tell the difference between cad and zinc plating, and Zinc does not have all the environmental baggage that cad does. If the plater is good, he can make Zinc appear just like cad. Most cad is slightly dull grey and not at all shiny, but you can make zinc look exactly that way as well. I do all my own plating, and can create any look from bright and shiny, to dull and grey, by just varying technique.

Most zinc done today is treated with Chromate to make it more durable. There is a clear chromate, which imparts a clear, slightly blue cast to the parts, and this is the bright shiny finish that you see on most nuts and bolts today. Yellow chromate is also used, and it imparts a gold tone with kind of a rainbow effect in places. The same chromate treatments are used with cad finishes as well, but the yellow chromate is the most prevalent finish, because the color gives a good indication of the level of treatment. The darker the finish, the more durable the plating. The chromate combines with the metal zinc or cad, to form a zinc dichromate or cadmium dichromate finish on the surface of the plating. This finish makes the plating way more durable.

If you really want Cad plating done, look at places that rebuild Aircraft propellers. It is one of the few applications, where you are not allowed to substitute zinc for cad. I have my radio cases re-plated with cad, at Jordan Propeller in San Antonio. C1 radio cases have leads soldered to the case, and you can solder easily to cad, but zinc is hard to solder to.

Regards, John McGraw

 

So is the process that would make the zinc look correct called Clear Zinc?

 

Clear zinc would probably be too shiny and bright to be correct appearing, but is only of a concern if judging is in your immediate future.

Even this shiny zinc will dull down over time. If you ask your plater to make the parts slightly less shiny, I am sure that he can accommodate you.


Regards, John McGraw

 

Thanks, so far I can only find Yellow Zinc replaters here in Canada. So still looking for someone that can do it. Any estimation as to cost to do both pins and latches for a 63?

 

Even yellow zinc is fine, as long as the plater shortens the time that the parts are dipped in the chromate. The depth of color is dictated by the amount of time they are dipped. A short dip time will yield a very slight gold hue, that is quite acceptable. I use yellow chromate in my shop, and you will see a lot of original Corvette parts with that slightly gold hue, especially C1 cars.

Most shops have a minimum charge that is in the $75 range, so it is to your advantage to take as many parts as possible to maximize the value. You can take them window tracks, hood support and the like, and probably still not exceed the minimum charge. Zinc plating is not the labor intensive process that chrome is, so you can do a lot of stuff for $75. This minimum charge is the main reason that I set up a plating tank 10 years ago, just to do my stuff.

My advice would be to drill out the rivets in the hood hinges and hood support before replating and replace them after you get the parts back. The spring washers under the rivets will usually fail if left on the parts for plating, because of hydrogen embrittlement. The completed plating will look way better as well. Most often, these rivets are getting loose anyway, and the spring washers have lost a lot of their tension.

Now, with all this being said, new reproductions are fairly inexpensive and very correct, and you can avoid all the hassles associated with restoring yours. After you sell your old parts on Fleabay, you might come out ahead!



Regards, John McGraw