wallifishrmn

Does anyone know how to duplicate te yellow color of the cadium dichromate finish on parts such as the headlight vacum canisters WITHOUT sending to someone to have them replated. Can this be done with some kind of chemical dip or paint?

NMT1957

Eastwood sells a three part kit. Basically its three spray cans of paint. You apply the Gold base, then a Red mist spray, then a Green mist spray. Its kind of "hit and miss", I didnt like it. I used it on my front brake caliper bracket. ill be watching to see if theres anything else out there on the market.

7T1vette

The 'gold' color with the paint method doesn't look anywhere near the plated gold color. But it still looks better than a corroded steel can or one painted black.

corvetteload

How to duplicate? Spend some money............................
http://www.detailplating.com/zd.htm

wjsullivan

As mentioned, Eastwood sells something. It is pricey and the results seem to be hit or miss.

I went to Murray's and bought a can of the 'gold' paint. They sell a gold and a chrome. I used it on my headlight actuators and it actually looks pretty good. Good enough for a cruse night to not catch any flack from anyone, not good enough for NCRS or Bloomington Gold.

So if you are looking for cheaper than a replate, and cheaper than the eastwood setup, it works great. I'm happy with it.

Richard454

You might want to look at this....

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/zinc.htm

Richard

Alan 71

Hi W,
I painted my wiper door actuator and headlight actuators because of the $$$ involved in having them re-plated.
I first paint them bright silver because when you're finished you should still see some silver showing through, because the actuators were cad plated with a dichromate wash.
I then dust on a little copper (not gold) in most areas but leaving about 10% with no copper (especially near the crimp), then a tiny bit of green in a FEW areas and a tiny bit of red in a few areas. The few areas where there are both red and green get a bluish tint.
ALL the paint must be VERY thin so you don't see any paint build up.
I think it can turn out VERY well but if a person knows what there looking for they know it's paint and not plating.
It's not a perfect answer but $$$???
Regards,
Alan

Paul L

For the headlight actuators the rattle can on the right is fine. But not for carb work.

70454Convert

Caswell Copy CAD + yellow chromate. Did this an about 1 hour. Worth every penny.

71coupe454

Hey I have not looked into it too much but from what I have seen you can replate that stuff your self. Have to buy some kind of power supply and the chemicals/materials but it didnt look too bad. Somebody in here mentioned doing it with a battery instead, and what I believe they were saying, one of those blocks that are attached to boat motors. I dunno, sounds interesting and I'd like to be able to redo all my stuff. I have my engine compartment completly stripped out and am about to start cleaning parts and deciding what I can do. I'm not looking to get judged but I would rather be able to plate all that stuff instead of painting. Just last night I watched this on "how its done" but they were doing some kind of nasa aerospace parts or something and had a more complicated process.

Alan 71

Hi 70454,
About how much $ does the Caswell Copy-Cad set up cost?
Thanks a lot!
Regards,
Alan

70454Convert

Copy CAD 1.5 gal kit $150
Yellow Chromate $31
Power supply 5 amp approx $125 (I Got mine on e-bay)
http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/zinc.htm

I am doing a staged resto as time allows. Commercial platers usually have a minimum to plate bolts/ nuts/ etc.. I can do these as each part of my resto requires in about 15 minutes per batch. My 5 amp supply is just adequate for the wiper door actuator. Larger parts require more current.

dar322

chromate is one of the banned environmentally unfriendly finishes. Europe, China, Canada, and California have all banned many matls such as chromate, lead, nickel. the list gets bigger.

Frogday

This looks really interesting, I might have to give this a try.

Solid LT1

I have a good local plater where I take my parts to and get batches done for $65-100 in 2-3 days turnaround time (I prep them first.) I tried the Eastwood plating kit years ago and wasn't happy with the finishes, too dull. Cad plating is VERY HARD to find nowadays but Zinc Type I (silver) and Type II (gold) is pretty easy to locate if you live in a large urban area.

hunt4cleanair

And that's reasonable given the cost and time to do a caswell kit for one-tiime application. But "local" is key here.

Alan 71

Hi 70454,
Thanks.
Regards,
Alan

wallifishrmn

I'm going to try the Virginia Vettes Gold cadmium paint for $5.95.
Thanks

Jim71Vette

Any one have pics on how Virginia Vettes Gold cadmium paint "looks"?

1971Coupe

I called Virginia Vettes yesterday, the guy said up front, it's basically a gold paint and
will not give you the cad dichromate look, but the gold color is close.

Look up plating guys in your neighbourhood, I found someone to do mine for $50.
That's what he said over the phone, but also said to get others to have theirs done
to split the cost.