Nickel plateing kits

[big specht]

I'm wanting to redo a bike and renickel plate some of the bolts that do not come in the kits. What is a good plating kit to get and any pointers on getting a good finish.

[knappyfeet]

I'm wanting to redo a bike and renickel plate some of the bolts that do not come in the kits. What is a good plating kit to get and any pointers on getting a good finish.

I've used the Eastwood zinc kit which is really easy.....doesn't cost a whole lot..... and quick. But.......it's no where near as good as the copycad Caswell system. However the Caswell kit....to work correctly needs other things outside of the kit like a tank warmer and more importantlyand costly a good power supply. But the difference is enormous.

Caswell has also chromates that gives that added color like olive, gold and my favorite...blue. If your going to use it a lot or for a good restoration..... look no further than Caswell

[big specht]

So you have used the caswell kit before? What did you have in everything to do it correctly. As for useage im not sure how much it will get used after this bike. As for the Eastwood kit how did the plating hold up?

[knappyfeet]

So you have used the caswell kit before? What did you have in everything to do it correctly. As for useage im not sure how much it will get used after this bike. As for the Eastwood kit how did the plating hold up?

I have both kits now and have used them both. Up until 3 years ago I've never plated an item in my life.

The total cost for the Caswell system would probably be around $800. Me and a buddy went half on the system to replate a large amount of Bultaco fasteners.

Depending on what you are going to plate and what amount I would recommend the 1.5 gal kit, a power/rectifier supply (a must), at least 2 batch heaters (a must), about 6 to 8 buckets, chromates of your choice and some other stuff. There is a little learning curve but you will get it. This system gets a real close finish to original.....but it's way more money and more prep.

The Eastwood system is way cheaper and way easier to use. The plating is good but not Caswell like....so there is the difference. When I was first learning with the Eastwood system I learned that if you plated 3 quick times vs. 1 longer time it is much more durable. It's very easy to use for a quick plating project than the Caswell.

link to my thread for the Eastwood kit for the first time......and some pics with the Eastwood kit.

http://www.caferacer.net/forum/technical/24229-zinc-plating-kits.html

249402 249403 249404 249405

[big specht]

I think I would like to start out small to see if this is somthing I would like to invest some money into. So as for the Eastwood kit would it have enough voltage/amperage to do a swingarm bolt as of now that's the biggest thing I can thing of that I plan on plating

[knappyfeet]

I think I would like to start out small to see if this is somthing I would like to invest some money into. So as for the Eastwood kit would it have enough voltage/amperage to do a swingarm bolt as of now that's the biggest thing I can thing of that I plan on plating

You could do the ends of if like I did on mine or you could add another battery for 4.5V and drop the entire bolt........or maybe the 3 Volts would work......you would have to play around with it to see how it would work.

There's a few videos online with guys doing it with batteries.....different size items.....different amount of batteries, etc.

It's a good step in my opinion to start off the Eastwood kit. It's easy to use.

Here is a couple of pics from my first attempt and an attempt at doing a sprocket with too little power.......I was learning. It left it with this "dull anodized" look that I just left alone. It looked good for the application but was a total plating fail.

249416 249417

[big specht]

Yea I would be good with just doing the ends of the bolt too. Ok I will order that kit. If I need anymore advice I will get ahold of you thanks