bill3302

:Hi I need to have my hood latches plated any one know of some one that dose a good job and how much? Thanks Bill

BLee

I have had 2 sets done by Steve Gregori in Calif. and was very happy with everything I've ever sent him.

http://www.detailplating.com/

Pilot Dan

Steve does excellent work. Pilot Dan

bill3302

Thanks, I spoke to him and said he uses Silver Zink. OK for NCRS?Bill

Greg Gore

Zinc does not look at all like cadmium. The cad finishes we are primarily interested in are commonly called either clear cad or yellow cad in the industry. Clear cad has a silvery appearance. Cadmium is getting harder to find due to increased regulation. Many shops will attempt to sell you zinc instead because they took out their cadmium tanks.

JohnZ

Yes. Most parts like that gave the supplier the option of zinc or cadmium plating, and zinc was a LOT less costly, so that's what they used; hardly any parts were actually cadmium-plated in production.

bill3302

Thanks To all, Bill

LT1driver

listen to johnZ

John McGraw

Zinc looks EXACTLY like Cad if it is done right. You can make either one bright and shiny or a dull silver depending on the amount of agitation and whether you use a brightener in your plating bath. both of them can be post-treated with either clear or yellow chromate. I have been doing my own zinc plating on restorations for many years and have found you can replicate any look you wish by changing the process.

The one item that I still send out to the Cad platers is my radio cases. There are several areas where leads are soldered to the case and it is almost impossible solder well to Zinc, but Cad solders like a dream. Luckily, I have a propeller repair facility near me and they all still use cad plating.


Regards, John McGraw

Greg Gore

I just had around 100 parts plated a week ago at Stratford Metal Finishes in Winston Salem and this is the third job I have had done there. Plant supervisor Frank Tant quoted my job when I brought it in and personally went over each piece with me for an inventory count and identification of the finish on each part. It turned out I had mostly cadmium with a few pieces of zinc. Frank showed me the difference; zinc has a blue hue to it and cadmium does not.

If the part originally had cad plating I would feel like I ruined it if I used something else. I realize not everyone is as **** as I am but it is how I do things here.

http://stratfordmetal.com/finishes.html

http://stratfordmetal.com/facility.html

I drive to Winston Salem to get Cadmium because we can only get zinc here in Charlotte. Local plater told me the reasons he took out his cad tanks; maintenance intensive, expensive and increased regulations which means zinc is cheaper to do. The reason I personally deliver my parts to the plater and pick-up finished work is to head off the remote possibility of an inventory mix-up or a lost shipment.

Neglected to include the cost. Total for the job described above with about 100 parts was $225. Since I was getting two different finishes I also had two set up charges. If your job is much smaller expect a lower cost accordingly. If I remember correctly a previous all cadmium job with about 40 parts done a few years earlier ran $65.

If you contact Stratford Metal Finishes about plating work ask for Frank Tant and mention you were referred by me and Frank will personally take care of your job because he knows how picky I am. I am not connected to them in any way, just a satisfied customer.

Regards, Greg Gore

bill3302

Hi Greg I just spoke to Frank Tant. He asked me what finish I wanted, is it the Clear that is the correct for the female hood latches? Thanks for all your help. Bill

Greg Gore

Do you have any original plating remaining on your latches to identify? I want to say clear cad but I don't know if they were all the same. It is possible some were yellow cad if there was more than one supplier. We need JohnZ's advice on this one to let us know if they all had the same finish.

JohnZ

I've never seen a known-original midyear with anything but silver zinc female hood latches.

Bill32

Anyone tried the Eastwood DIY home kit? I'm considering it mostly for bolts.

John McGraw

Caswell is a better choice then Eastwood. Even then, it is a process that requires quite a bit of learning to get great results. I have a medium sized tank for doing bolts, hinges, latches and the like, but it probably took me close to 2 years of regular plating before I got the results that would consistently meet my standards. There are so many variables in plating and you have to be very **** about keeping good records to be able to repeat a process that works well.
Caswell has people to call when something is not working right that can help get you back on track. The owner is also a plater and is great asset. They also have a users forum where other people share their tips and tricks.

Regards, John McGraw

65air_coupe

I used the Caswell kit for many parts on my car, those hood latches included. I've been very happy with the results, considering my lack of experience. I chose to clear powder coat many things so they retain their luster.

As John said, documenting what you do is important as results are often hard to duplicate.

postalpete

I just got my parts back from this company after being cadmium plated.
The parts look just like zinc and the price wasn't anywhere near as bad as I thought it was going to be. Had a ton of bolts and parts like hood catches and hood props and Z-bars wiper motor and dozen horn relay covers.

Aero Propeller & Accessories, Inc.
9616 Jeffco Airport Ave., Hangar 44
Broomfield, CO 80021
Phone 303-469-1749 or 800-525-8756
Fax 303-465-1254

Give them a call I think you will be please at how easy they are to work with. The turn around was less than a week.
Pete

TroyPyles

All of the GM parts drawings I've seen call for cad or zinc plating - supplier option.

Greg Gore

If I was building a hotrod where originality didn't matter I'd choose zinc because it has a brilliance closer to chrome and it would look better on something customized. Cadmium on the otherhand has a more of a dull silver appearance. IMO, cadmium looks better than zinc in OEM applications because zinc looks cheap. Because appearance is important I bet OEM suppliers preferred to finish their parts in cadmium for that reason.

Bill32

Thanks for the replys on DIY, I've been on the Caswell website so, if I do it, I'll go to them.