Hi all,
I can tell hot dip galvanising and bright zinc plating apart (the former creates a thick, dull layer of zinc in which you can sometimes see grains, whereas the latter creates a thinner, shinier layer) but I'm not sure how bright zinc plating is achieved. Is it an electroplating process? I did a quick Google search but couldn't find the answer. Just curious...
Chris
Yes, it is electroplating using proprietary "brighteners" in the soup.
Thanks, Don. Interesting to know.
Chris
Here is a DIY kit for this process.
This includes the brightener, and it does a very nice job.
Tip: the brightener is an organic chemical that degrades fairly quickly (a few weeks) in the soup, making a muddy brown preciptate that can only partially be filtered out with coffee filters. It looks grotty, but doesn't seem to hurt anything.
You can tell when the brightener is depleted because it has a very distinictive sweet odor. If the zinc soup doesn't have that aroma, it needs another wee shot of brightener.
I've been running my bucket of zinc soup for several years, still get good results.
Sounds interesting. What kind of power supply do you use? I might try it sometime.
Chris
I use a shop-made brute-force dirt-simple adjustable electronic current regulator. A battery charger and variac will do the job too.
How much current do you need for your setup? Maybe I could use the 75 amp battery charger on my welding set if I ever get round to fixing it.
Chris
I think if you surf around the site I posted they have FAQs that cover this question. I suspect the power supply has a lot to do with the surface area of the part being plated and the distance between the anode (cathode?) and part.
I recall in Junior High School we used dry cells to silverplate pennys and copper plate dimes.
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