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copy cad plating kit
hunter55:
If any of you other carb nuts are using this plating system, what are you using for a power source?
If my calculations are close to being right, I'm going to need something that will put out around 20 amps.
Shark Racer:
I'm guessing 20A for the main body?
Small parts don't take a lot.
The main body and airhorn are zinc die cast, you may be able to clean it up, etch it in acid and go straight to the copy cad without putting a plate coat on. It will be more of a shiny metallic if you add a top coat of plate.
hunter55:
Shark, thanks for the response. I think your idea of not plating the main casting is worth trying on an old core and just dipping it into the chromate after glass bead blasting and an acid etch. I'll probably try doing it both ways just to see how I like the finished product. After some additional research I've decided to power the plating tank with a 6 volt tractor battery and control the current with various wattage light bulbs. the Caswell site has a pretty good tutorial on this method and it appears this method gives you good control of the process from very small batches to larger ones. It will probably be a couple of weeks before I get all the stuff and get it together, but I'm really looking foreward to playing with it and perfecting the process. I was the manager over the plating shop at Boeing Wichita about 35 years ago, but never really had much interest in the process at the time. Doing it in my shop (Barn) seems a whole lot more fun.
Shark Racer:
I've heard strong recommendations for soda (baking soda) blasting on these carbs.
Make sure you scrub the carb good with a degreaser before the acid bath, or you'll get some light spots.
hunter55:
Shark, are you saying the soda works better than glass beads to eliminate the light spots? I've been really impressed
With how nice the glass cleans stuff up, but if it's not as compatable with the process I can change it out.
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