I'm getting close to a point where I need to start thinking about having hardware plated and figure it will be a good "while watching TV" task to sort all the doodads. The thought of dumping all these nuts, bolts, and other goodies that I have carefully bagged and labeled into a bucket for the plater is intimidating. Wondering what system others use to help sort parts when they come back all shiny. Part of me thinks I could just catalog the specialty stuff and use the PET to figure out which common nuts and bolts go where on reassembly. What do you do?

Also, anyone have a mail order plater they can recommend? I may have found a plater in Billings, 100 miles away, but haven't called. Info I have is bare minimum, (name, address, phone number), no idea what services they offer. Google street view shows an old crusty building with no signage.

Just google zinc platers in your zip code...
or call any local restoration shops in your area
ask them where they get theirs done.. They will usually tell you.
There are “ experts” out there you can send everything to
that advertise on some of these sites, but they charge a whole
lot of money...

Take a pic of the part with part number and/or specs and then dump it into a bucket. Make sure you know a head of time if the parts need to be blasted clean.

Lots of platers in my area have gone out of business so call a head if you have a 100 drive. Might just want to ship in a priority mail box.

Yeah, did that. You get two hits and one of them is in Florida. The other (100 miles away) does chrome and other fancy stuff, but not zinc. I asked them if they knew of any zinc platers in Montana, and they said no. I found a listing for this place in Billings, but the phone number has been disconnected. And yes, prices for the mail order places I've found are pretty insane. There's a customization shop nearby that I left a message with, but don't have much hope of finding anything in my zip code, area code, or state. Montana is a big state with few people. We just passed the 1 million population mark a couple years ago. That was a dark day. We don't have fancy city things like restoration shops and Porsche dealers... thank god.

Eric Shea at PMB does a lot of plating. If you are going to send it out, he might be able to help.

Take photos, measurements, and lots of notes. Typically they'll dump it all in the same batch.

Brent,

It looks like there is a easy way to do DIY Zinc plating. Look on UTube.

It just takes a small battery and some Zinc metal. Some Washing powder?

After you can dip them to get them the gold look. I have a couple of parts on my sway bar that where not plated and I am going to try. You can make a vibrator cleaner as well.

Now most people would send them out but you may want to try. You could run them in super small run so you do not mix them up. I ordered the stuff to make the gold finish wash and I will have more than I need and can send you some. I got ¼ Lb on the way. Zinc I have coming but may use it all up.

Bob B

Interested in this. I did the washing soda electrolysis of rust thing. It worked. I need to plate some tranny parts and have a decent batch Im working on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy6u2kikAA4

Look at this. The gold part is different but super easy.

Bob B

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGT20ghWMZA

Easy to make vibrator cleaner for parts first.

AS most guys on this board are very thrifty this can work or buy one for cheep at harbor Freight.

Cat Litter media cheep and everywhere.

Bob B

Definitely use one of these and start a spreadsheet (or just some paperwork) that details what size came from where.
Camera and photos are a great help for later as well.

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Hi Bob, I love that guys videos. I've watched most of them. When I first started this project scoping out what was ahead, I looked into the various DIY plating solutions, and got really excited when I saw that one. Then I started thinking about the size (brake calipers) and number of parts I'd need to do for a whole resto project, and the Copy Cad system making more sense. But once you add a power supply, you are into about $300 to get started. I think I should revisit that Utube method and see if I could just scale it up enough to do a brake caliper. Have you tried it on anything that large? Might still be pretty cheap and probably just needs a larger container and maybe a bigger battery. I haven't ruled out the copy cad kit either. Being able to do it myself has a lot of advantages and looks pretty fun too. Like you said, being able to control batches to keep parts sorted would be a huge plus. What kind of fumes are involved? Wondering if this could also be set up as an evening leisure task thing. It would still be nice to know my options for sending the whole batch out to make the comparison though. End of the day, I'm a CSOB so will go with the cheapest practical option, but if the cost gets close, I'll go DIY every time!

Raynekat, great idea. I'll definitely pick one of those up. I've been meaning to get one anyway, but it never crossed my mind for cataloging parts.

That's a good thought. I'll probably reach out. He is practically "local."

Ive used the copy cad system for years with very good success. If you have a lot to do it isn't the fastest but works well in small batches. I had 12 caliper halves done by a plater in minneapolis that did a wonderful job for the minimum charge which was $50. I think it is called eco plating.

I think this guy does some outstanding plating - I've been disappointed many times if I brought in a bucket of parts to be plated so I've learned the value of a plater who gives individual attention.

http://tru-6.com/plating

Here is a thread with some of his work:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911...ng-service.html

Yeah, he showed up here a few years ago..
I’ve been waiting for someone to bring him up..
Good luck there...

I've used Shaun with Tru-6 exclusively on my build, and am completely satisfied.
It's not always the fastest and for sure not the cheapest, but it is always done to perfection.

And yeah, that's where Shaun excels....in his preparation of your parts before they go to plating.

Some samples below:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Tru6 does nice work..

I had all of my hardware done locally it cost almost nothing to get done.. There is also a kit you can buy to do it and we have that kit at work.. Cazwell I believe the name is.. Cost about 100 dollars or so.. Instructions suck but it works..

yes it is Caswell they have DIY kits for about every plating you want.

I have not done any plating locally for a long while. Used to use a guy here in Dayton that plated parts for the Space Shuttle. He was ubber cheap as he was making bank on Goverment Contracts. So he would just toss the bucket full into a tank batch. Jon Lowe told me about him, he would do CAD and Zinc. Also did all the backing plates for my gauge kits.

There is always the risk of some parts falling in the vat and never coming home...

Take lots of pictures before you drop them off.

Great input here guys, I really appreciate it. Like I said earlier, I seriously looked at the Caswell kits and haven't ruled it out. But they start at a little over $200 and don't include a power supply. If you follow their suggestions on a power supply, add another $100. Then there will be yellow chromate and other add-ons. So start up costs are significant. It sure would be nice to be able to plate at home, but I'm not sure it makes sense for a one-time restoration.

I don't have much of a cost comparison though. Anyone care to share about what they've spent to do a car's worth of hardware? Particularly interested in Raynekat's experience since that's a service I might consider. But I'm I missing something, or does Shaun just prep the parts and then take them to his local plater? I also looked up Eco Finishing in MN. I might give them a call.

Shaun does prep the parts and works very closely with his plater. Supposedly has spent hours and hours on getting the correct look, iridescence, shine, etc. He does both yellow and clear zinc, along with re-anodizing. It's just not as simple as dropping the parts off at your local plater if you want stellar results. Each part is hand wired not tumbled, so there is a lot of labor involved. It's not cheap. Shaun photographs each and every part that comes in so you don't lose anything. It's not even close to inexpensive. That will likely scare you off quickly. But I will say you get what you pay for.

Finishing and plating service in Kenosha Wi is who I used ..all the local restoration guys uses them. It wont cost more then 100 dollars. If they quote more just send the hardware to me and I will drop it off there..

It would have to already been prepped though..

Awesome! Great info. I'm not going for a concours finish here and will be driving this car in all kinds of weather, so a perfect finish will quickly be ruined. I'm just looking for good corrosion protection and a nice "new" look. I'll check out your plater Ben, and may give you a shout. The nice thing is that everything should be cheap to ship in flat rate boxes.

I've been trying to clean parts as I go, but more to do. I guess I need to get busy cataloging and consolidating so I can get some quotes.

Thanks for the help everyone. Couldn't do this project without this community!

I have 2 - 20 gallon buckets of nuts, bolts, screws, latches, catches and small parts to be plated. I have to go the economy route.