Cad Plating?
 

I have a few small parts for a motorcycle thing I'm doing that are originally Cad-Plated.

Do you have experience with Cad Plating vintage parts? Is it worth the hassle, etc.? Is it still available (environmentally, etc.)?

I've powder-coated and sandblasted, media blasted, vapor blasted about a million parts, but I've never had anything plated at all, so I'm looking for your comments.

Thanks!

There are places on line that advertise plating services. I used a local place and they did a great job. I've also tried those DIY kits from Eastwood and the plating was too thin.
If you sen the parts out make a list of everything you send them, lay them out, and photograph them. Send the photo with the parts to make sure you get everything back.

Good inverter, and quality chemicals will result the best result. Small batch dyi isn't cost effective.

Around here, I had to find a place that was "grandfathered in" for my 911 parts some years back. They still did Cadmium for smaller parts in a tumbler, but my 930 rotors were too large so they were plated in Yellow Zinc (as I recall)...a bit different, but I honestly couldn't tell a difference then or ten years later.

I think I was missing a couple of original nuts from the ziplock baggie full...something to consider too.

Cadmium plating was heavily restricted with the acceptance of Directive 2002/95/EC (also called RoHS-1). There are still some companies "grandfathered" but that number diminishes each year. Most shops are restricting the process to only military and aerospace applications now.

That being said, I have been using Chem Processing for my cad plating needs.
Cadmium Plating | Chem Processing, Inc.

If the part does not absolutely have to be Cad, then I usually opt for a zinc plating from RMF. RMF also offers several other processes that are widely used in automotive manufacturing.
Roy Metal Finishing | Certified Electroplating Jobshop | Zinc and Zinc Alloy Coatings for Automotive and Aerospace

would you pick zinc over nickel?
thanks

What are the parts made of?
Will they be painted or left bare?

It's small steel parts like . . . brake arms, brake rod, shock absorber mounts, assorted little bolts and nuts.

I'm just at the point where I'm considering plating these last few parts or leaving them a bit vintage looking.

thanks!

Back in '71 I worked with a fabricator to bring a 1951 Kurtis Indy car to the street. He was fanatic about using cad plating for things. Hated chrome. Not sure I ever heard him talk about zinc as an option. After his intensity about it, I was surprised over the years that more people didn't use cad plating for their projects.

Last time (tears ago) I tried to get something cad plated here in Cali, it was not available. I ended up getting the parts yellow zink plated. It definitely looked shinier with a more yellowish tinge, at least to my eye. Even the last time I had a couple of little items chromed, the company sent them across the boarder to Mexico. It's getting to where the government is not allowing any type of that kind of process.

Zinc and Cadmium are both a whitish silver metal. Neither is yellow unless they have had a hexavalent or trivalent wash after the plating process. You can also get a blue-ish wash. The various washes add a very thin layer (a few microns) of conversion to the surface as an extra deterrent to corrosion.

Good reading here:
Cadmium vs. Zinc vs. Nickel Plating Comparison
What is the difference between Cadmium & Zinc Plating

^ good reading. Thanks.

I'm guessing that you want Cad to replicate a factory finish?

I think it's really hard to replicate the pale yellow of factory Cad. Most come out too yellow.


I've only had parts anodized (love it) and powder coated (durable), not Cad. You might try to track down Doug Bray. He has stuff Cad plated all the time. Or I can track him down for you. He is in So Cal, I think near northern LA/ Rancho Cucamonga area and his Cad guy is near there.

From what I've seen at my local plating shop, this is usually a difference between a hexavalent wash and a trivalent wash. The trivalent is much more lemony.

Unfortunately, my local shop said that after 1Q15 they would no longer be doing the hexavalent due to wanting to meet "greener" guidelines, and get the EPA and OSHA off their ass.

https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/hexavalentchromium/
https://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_General_Facts/hexavalent_chromium.pdf

Yes, basically. Everything else is super clean, so I'm just debating if I should attempt this step, or just clean the parts up really well and let it be.

Thanks again!