SC brake restoration, when ready to be plated?

[MRCarrera]

Hey all,

Back again with another question:

I have split my calipers and am wondering how much more to clean them and if you got any tips regarding cleaning them before they are send off to be plated. Is sand blasting them an option too?

See picture:

[MRCarrera]

[Flynt]

They're plated nickel then yellow zinc. If they're really corroded, the nickel may be compromised and the zinc plating may not look great (spotty).
I'd tape up the mating surfaces and bores and blast with glass bead. Clean with soapy water or degreaser and send to plating.
RIBE M9 bolts aren't available, so hopefully they're in good condition. You can do those in black oxide or black zinc (I prefer zinc)

[Peter M]

Originally Posted by Flynt

They're plated nickel then yellow zinc. If they're really corroded, the nickel may be compromised and the zinc plating may not look great (spotty)....

I think you'll find they only need to be zinc plated and then treated with a yellow passivate.

An alternative preparation treatment would be to vapor blast (glass bead and water slurry). This would avoid the need to mask the machined surfaces but would still provide a clean surface ready for plating.

[Dpmulvan]

Originally Posted by Flynt

They're plated nickel then yellow zinc. If they're really corroded, the nickel may be compromised and the zinc plating may not look great (spotty).
I'd tape up the mating surfaces and bores and blast with glass bead. Clean with soapy water or degreaser and send to plating.
RIBE M9 bolts aren't available, so hopefully they're in good condition. You can do those in black oxide or black zinc (I prefer zinc)

They are not plated with nickel. And don’t bother cleaning them yourself it’s a waste of time and energy.

[Dpmulvan]

Calipers need to be blasted, then they need to be polished with a soft brass wheel or other method that doesn’t use compound. Plating will be dull if you skip polishing.
They are then dipped in a hot degreaser for 20 minutes and then rinsed, plated with zinc, rinsed, acid etch, sodium dichromate, rinsed and hung to dry.