Message #197744

[Strangeways]

Sorry for the delay inbetween updates.

Zinc plating has another advantage over Nickel - To remove the original Zinc plating is really easy. You can use "Jane Clean" if the part has a lot of rust or corrosion, but if there's limited or no rust, you can use a "pickle" of Hydrochloric Acid and water. It is a lot cheaper, and you can buy Hydrochloric Acid at Bunnings. Nickel Plating needs several chemicals to properly remove the original Nickel - and these are not readily available.




Follow the instructions on the bottle. Dilute and place in a plastic container. ALWAYS wear protective Eye gear when diluting. You can then drop parts in that need to be stripped.





This is the lock down receiver for a Gottlieb. Professional platers won't plate these in Nickel because of the moving parts. But I wanted to experiment with Zinc with my setup.




The bubbles is the reaction between the Acid and the original plating. You know the bath is still good if you see this reaction. No bubbles = No more reaction. Need to mix a new bath.









You can change the plastic container for different sized parts. I do this often. This part took about 20 minutes to strip the original plating, and it removed most of the corrosion. I then place it in the "Jane Clean" for an hour and it was ready for the next step.

Here is the Tilt Assembly after being cleaned in the ultrasonic. Ready to be stripped ;






Dropped in to a different container with other parts.





The reaction has removed most of the plating. The bubbles reduce in volume. These parts were stripped in 20 minutes;