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Caswell Copy Cad/Zinc plating kit

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OKAY! I just stumbled onto this thread....where do I go to buy one & how much is it?

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You might go directly to [URL deleted...Please use the Caswell ad banner at the top-right part of the forum. That way the forum (me) will get a small percentage of any sales. Many thanks, Basil]

Interestingly, I've uncovered a European distributor too now.
 
Tony, The main home page for Caswell seems to be down, but they have an ebay store if you just can't wait. Just punch in Caswell Plating and wiggle your way to their store. Jack
 
Well, I'll have to wait until their site comes back up...coundn't find the kit you're talking about on their ebay store.
 
Better yet, click on the Caswell banner here at BCF! The site appear to be up and running now.

Just found out that Caswell is considered an affiliate sponsor at BCF. If you click on their ad and then buy something, a small percentage of the sale will go to BCF.

Cheers,
John
 
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Better yet, click on the Caswell banner here at BCF! The site appear to be up and running now.

Just found out that Caswell is considered an affiliate sponsor at BCF. If you click on their ad and then buy something, a small percentage of the sale will go to BCF.

Cheers,
John

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Thanks John! Yes folks, we are an affiliate for Caswell (and also British Parts and Fasteners and Tire Rack) so if you make a purchase from any of those three after cliking on their banner here, we get a small fee. While the fee is small, it does add up after awhile. In fact I recently received enough from the affiliate programs to pay for a full month of server space for the forum.

I had started a new thread asking about their Copy Cad system and someone posted the link to this thread which I had forgotten about, so I'll just continue with this thread.

From the pictures it looks like the Copy Cad system does a nice job if the prep is done well. A couple of questions:

1. The largest part I will need to plate is my brake servo which is in two halves, the larger being 8 inches in diameter and 4 to 4.5 inches deep. Will the system accomodate a part this large?

2. Is the solution reusable? After you use the system, do you just pour the solution back into a bottle for storage, or just keep in in the bucket, or doe you have to dispose of it (and I'm assuming it has to be disposed of in a special way?)

Thanks,
Basil
 
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Will the system accomodate a part this large?

Is the solution reusable?


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Basil,

An 8" servo will barely fit into a 2 gallon bucket and there would be no room for the zinc plates. You would need to find a more suitably sized plastic container that the servo would fit into, leave room for some space between the plates and the part and cover your the servo with 1.5 gallons of solution (if you want to use the 1.5 gallon kit). A slightly larger bucket or tray may do the trick but you could experiment with water first to find the right size container that will leave enough room and still cover the part. I've done some long parts by plating one end, turning the part around and plating the other end but did get a mark in the middle which took some steel wool to blend. I plan to find some long narrow trays to use when I plate things like the seat slides.

I calculate an area of 200 to 225 sq. inch for your servo. Caswell recommends 1 amp per 40 sq in although others recommend 1 amp for 20 to 30 sq in. That means you need 5 to 8 amps to get a good plate. The 3 amp rectifier I use is too small. You would need a larger rectifier or use a 12 volt battery with a series of RV light bulbs to control the amps (they go over this in the manual).

The solution in completely reusable. As long as you don't contaminate it with something (and even then you can run it through charcoal to revive) .. it will last a long time and do not normally require replacing. I just close the lid on the bucket to store. According to Caswell, the Copy Cad solution is not considered hazardous waste. When disposing of it, they say to flush with plenty of water to thoroughly dilute and disperse the solution (on the other hand, their bright nickel, copper, copy chrome and chrome solutions contain heavy metals and there are special procedures and chemicals used to remove the metals before disposing)

Hope this helps,
John
 
Hi John,
I think somewhere in the Caswell manual, they talk about using a vertical tube to plate long parts. You set your anodes just below the surface of the plating solution and slowly lower the part past them. This should get rid of those marks.
The city I live in has a Household Hazardous Waste site that I take all my gunky chemicals and spent spray cans to.
 
Hi Greg,

I remember reading that and it makes sense for long items. The main downside I see is having to cut the anodes to fit into the tube. With the long tray you could put the anode on each side and move the anodes for good coverage. I also like the stability of a long horizontal tray vs. upright tube.

Cheers,
John
 
Ok, I'm pretty sure at this point that I'm going to go with the 3 Gal. kit just to be on the safe side. That leaves the issue of an affordable power source. I was looking around on the net and came across this little jewel that is DC 0-12V and 0-12Amps adjustible for $179, which seems like a reasonable price (I'm not doing this for a business, just want to plate a few of my own car parts so can't see sinking a lot of $$ into a higher-end unit.
Extech 382222

Does this seem like a suitable PS for the task?

Basil
 
My only question would be: what does <font color="red">(no constant current mode) </font> mean? Can you set the amps for the size piece you’re plating?
 
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My only question would be: what does <font color="red">(no constant current mode) </font> mean? Can you set the amps for the size piece you’re plating?

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I think that it means that both the Voltage and the Amperage are variable and that it just doesn have any mode with a constant currant. But I think adjustable is what I want since I would have different amp requirements at different times depending on the sq footage being plated.

(Someone correct me if that's wrong).

Basil
 
I just looked at the manual for that power supply (Extech 382222). It seems to have only one adjusting knob. When you turn it both the voltage and current go up. I think you want to have independent control of both values. What say you Mr. Loftus?
 
Excellent observation. I have shot them an email and asked if both are adjustable independently.

Basil

UPDATE: I just checked the manual myself and it looks as if They are not adjustable independently. For a piece as large as I will be plating, I estimate I need about 5-6 Amps, which would be right at 5-6 volts on the curve. I guess the question is, does the voltage matter that much or just the current? It looks to be a somewhat linear relationship with this unit.
 
Hi Basil,

5-6 amps at 5-6 volts should work fine ... Caswell recommends using 6 volt batteries when using the battery method of power supply. I just watch the amps when setting the power level.

Cheers,
John
 
When setting up both the 1% nitric acid solution and the blue chromate solution for dipping how much of each is needed? 1 liter? 5 liters? I recognize the answer is "enough to dip the parts". I was simply trying to find an idea of how much you're using. Also does acid normality matter?
 
Click on one of the banner ads from the BCF and go to caswell's site.

Not to divert info from this site, but they have a very good database for technical questions!
 
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I was simply trying to find an idea of how much you're using. Also does acid normality matter?

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Hi Mcguijo,
I have the 1 1/2 gallon kit from Caswell so I use the same sized, 2 gallon buckets for the Nitric acid and Blue Chromate dips. I can take the parts that were just plated from one tank to the next and ensure complete coverage. I have not concerned myself with acid normality. That would be a good question for the Caswell technical folks.

Cheers,
John
 
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