Electroplating Kits

[Kev]

Has anyone used these kits? are the results good enough for a restoration. I was thinking of getting one to try.

[Eric]

Don`t waste your money others may differ.

[malc87]

Don`t waste your money others may differ.

Im with Eric , unless you have plenty of free time, and are worried about loosing ultra parts (H1R for example ) then just give it to the platers.
For me its one of the cheaper services in restoration you get charged for.

[Hal]

Coincidentally, here is a current conversation on the US board saying positive things....

http://kawi2strokes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=8241

[Wolfie]

I'd recommend the Caswell kit, I found it dead easy to use, I had some very good results and my entire S1c Zinc was done with it, however in later years it started to wilt, I have bought another but not used this one yet.

There will be other discussions on here if you do a search.

[Rab]

I have used the caswell and gateros kits, I have had much better results with the gateros.
But I can tell you that after many many attempts, my quality is still a bit hit and miss, I have done zinc, copper and nickel, for some reason the zinc seems to be the hardest to get right, I have sworn never to do it again several times, then finally decided to have another go. The gateros kit seems to be more forgiving and produced some really great results with really bright plate, but still sometimes have unexplained balls ups with it.
I dont buy kits now, as once you know what is in them you can buy the components individually on ebay and some stuff you will be able to buy from any hardware store.....
Another thing is, everything around the plating bench rusts like mad, don`t attempt it in a small shed with valuable parts in the vicinity. I am lucky enough to have plenty of space at home, and thought about getting another wooden shed just to do the plating in, the chemicals used must be handled with care, you will need acid etches and pickles for cleaning and pre-plate dips,chromates for colouring and secondary processe, alkaline and caustic baths for cleaning and a bead blasting cabinet is very useful. I have spent a small fortune on all my kit, if I had of known at the start how much it was going to cost, and how much time it takes to produce good results, I honestly would say that I would not have bothered trying to begin with
Rab

[Eric]

I bought the Gateros kit and had mixed results. I could not understand how in the same solution I could get one good finish and another absolutely crap. I had to find out for myself if the kit was any good but Gary Clarke had posted on here sometime before when this was discussed ,that he had had one and it was crap and he bind it. I should have listened to him.

[Wolfie]

I'll agree with everything in the locailty rusting like fook... it's almost as if they sacrifice their life for your zinc plated items..