I had my silver cad plating redone on the booster and M/C cap about 14 months back and dang if they aren't both getting fairly tarnished - looks like the platting is getting dark, splotchy places in it. Shouldn't this finish hold up longer ??
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Re: 1963 PB booster plating
Frank, dampness and humility will cause the finish to get damaged. last year I was working on a friends 63 and it was raining out with the garage door open the dampness in the air caused a lot of damage to his plated parts under the hood and it was a tuff lesson learned.New England chapter member, 63 Convert. 327/340- Chapter/Regional/national Top Flight, 72 coupe- chapter and regional Top Flight. -
Re: 1963 PB booster plating
Are you sure that it didn't get zinc-plated?Comment
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Re: 1963 PB booster plating
It is the correct silver plating - but I'd have to break out the invoice to confirm zinc vs cad; however I would expect either metal plating to hold up better than what is on these parts..Comment
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Re: 1963 PB booster plating
Frank I had my booster rebuilt & zinc plated about 3 years ago , sill in the box & looks the same as the day it came back. Also my garage took about 1 in of water after a heavy rain . plenty of dampness in there !
BobComment
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Re: 1963 PB booster plating
Recently, I had a plating company in Orlando do both zinc and cadmium plating for me on parts of a 1961 Corvette. It included zinc for various body and mechanicals, and cadmium for the fuel injection linkages and various brackets, etc. All of these pieces have lasted very long and still retain their luster and bright finish. They are either installed on the FI unit or in boxes waiting for assembly. Some are sitting on a shelf exposed to the air. I believe the quality of the plating process has much to do with the parts longevity. The company I chose to do the zinc and cadmium plating supplies parts for the aerospace industry. I feel their quality of work has played a big role in the longevity of the parts they plated. They were expensive, but I feel well worth the cost.
I think many of the rebuild services that plate these parts should disclose HOW and WHERE they get the parts plated. If they're doing it themselves with a zinc plating kit in the basement, I would think the quality may not be as good as the professional shops. I would ask any vendor to supply this information and ask about the quality of their plating process.
As a side-note.....
15 years ago I restored my wife's 1972 E-Type V12 2+2. The engine was a quagmire of plated parts, originally both silver and yellow cadmium, as specified in the JCNA Judging Manuals and historical date. I learned my lesson about zinc plating then and it's ability to withstand the elements. I decided to do my own zinc plating on many of the silver plated parts. Mistake.
I bought the Eastwood Zinc plating kit. At first I was successful plating many of the original hose clamps and small items. Original clamps were hard to find and quite expensive as they were also use on Ferrari. I prepped and plated many of the clamps and had them in waiting in plastic zip lock bags while restoring the car. Over time the clamps began to tarnish and turn dull. Some even began to develop surface rust. This was probably caused by my inability to properly clean and prep the parts and my inexperience. I gave up.
I decided to keep them all in their bags and bought a complete set of reproductions instead and take the deducts. Those have outlasted the originals I replated. I then decided for all of the other items requiring plating to use a different approach. I went with various "coatings" to finish off all of the plated parts, including bolts, nuts, washers, pipes, etc, using a silver cad and gold cad product. I even used the "gold cad" coating on the hardware and brake booster and all plumbing requiring those finishes.
RichComment
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Re: 1963 PB booster plating
Its just a little ridiculous as the faux cad three-part paint kit (red, green and gold rattle cans) from Eastwood that I used to simulate plating on my '67 Chevelle booster and '61 male hood latches looks like the day I applied it years later. So the fake paint has held up better than the genuine plating? That's just great...
Maybe when I get the booster and M/C cap replated some day I'll hit them with some satin clear coat for longevity..Comment
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Re: 1963 PB booster plating
Yes, the Eastwood golden cad 4 part kit and their Silver cad product as I used on the V12 in 2000 when I restored it was a good choice.
Before....
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After....
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First drive after restoration. She was happy. (both she's)
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These photos taken in 2008 the year we had it judged at 3 JCNA events in Florida with a 99.615% average and the appearance is still quite similar today minus some additional fading of the gold cad finishes, mainly due to lots of driving around the state.
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Re: 1963 PB booster plating
Don't forget the date stamp on a 63 booster.............
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Re: 1963 PB booster plating
Guys,
Understand zinc plating is a sacrificial plating. The idea is it protects the steel at the expense of the zinc.Comment
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