Hood latch / catch plating?

[RobTwin]

Hi all

We're looking at getting the Satellite's hood latch / catch mechanism plated (clear zinc, or zinc & clear, seems to be the correct finish, looking at various places on t'net) but aren't too sure how well it would work if it gets plated without first dismantling the assembly

Dunno how easy it would be to take it apart and then put back together, but dont want to get it plated 'as a whole' only to find the individual parts dont rotate or pivot properly cos of the plating, or even that the plating all flakes off after the first time the hood gets closed

Anyone else had any success getting this assy replated?

Thanks in advance

[autofetish]

Im off to the platters on Monday.
What they told me on the phone was that say a door lock

They could plate it a one part.

The nylon bushes in the lock would be fine(eg window runners wheels ect)

There do 2 x types

Hot galvanized. In a bath of metal heated to 430°c

or with electrics

-to part + to a zinc plate all in a bath of magic liquid.

The zinc plate dissolved and sticks to your part.


interesting to know what other know

[autofetish]

And they said if i sand blast the parts first it would be cheaper to plate so i have

[RobTwin]

Thanks Will. Sandblasting would no doubt be a benefit before plating, esp as it looks a right pain to rub down, what with all its nooks & crannies!
Shame we havent got a sandblasting booth of our own

Question still remains - to disassemble or not to disassemble

[Dave999]

don't think zinc plate can flake, well not like chrome can

zinc chemically bonded to the base metal then dliberately made Zinc rusty for want of a better term by a passivating process
the zinc rust type is dicated by the passivating solution
and being a type of metal salt or rust it doesn't rust....magic


chrome is plated onto about 5 layers of different metal plateing on the base metal
its protection properties are more akin to painting just longer time scales before corrosion breaks out

breach the chrome and the oxygen and water gets in and plays havoc with whats underneath like water under paint...the chromes alright but ya bumper is Bananarama!

breach the zinc and the chemical reactions that cause rust are held back until the Zinc does its white fluffy rust thing first

i.e sacrifical coating


its a bit like bolting a zinc or aluminium block to a boat motor
salt water eats it first and that chemical reaction causes a little current flow in the surface of exposed iron and steel which stops the vast majority of rusting till the zinc or aluminium is gone....which is why your curent catch is just peppered with minor rust spots each the center of a hole in the zinc
rather than covered in a uniform layer of the orange scourge

Dave

[RobTwin]

Thanks for the lesson Dave


So if we got a hood latch assy, that has a few moving parts, plated as one item, would the plating stop it from operating properly? Or will the parts still rotate or pivot freely?

Just need to know whether to try & disassemble first...

Ta

[Dave999]

won't plate as well assembled
plating tends to shy awy from sharp edges as well

but if its just to look nice the bits that don't get plated won't be seen


do you think chryler plated then assemebled them?

or just dunked the lot in cage?? by the tonne?
i'd like to think the fomer but wouldn't be surprised at the latter

i doubt it would cause it to jam

would wear off
and if it wears off it wares off on areas that get worn i.e propably won't rust if greased.

the black passivating they used on bolts didn't stop the bolt from working...

FROST do a kit i think

Dave

[RobTwin]

won't plate as well assembled
plating tends to shy awy from sharp edges as well

but if its just to look nice the bits that don't get plated won't be seen


do you think chryler plated then assemebled them?

or just dunked the lot in cage?? by the tonne?
i'd like to think the fomer but wouldn't be surprised at the latter

i doubt it would cause it to jam

would wear off
and if it wears off it wares off on areas that get worn i.e propably won't rust if greased....

Dave

Thanks Dave, that makes sense Would rather not have to dismantle obviously!

[Dave-R]

Zinc can act like a hard wearing lubricant between steel parts so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

If it just cosmetic there are paint finishes that replicate the plated look.

[RobTwin]

Thanks Dave (#2)

Another vote for the easy-option

We were after getting it plated so the finish lasts longer than just painting it, but will prob just scotchbrite it and lacquer it temporarily while we sort out the plating.

[MrNorm]

Here is a first hand answer to your question - it will be fine! I've had door locks and hood/trunk latches plated , it won't flake off and you don't have to disassemble the parts. And it's cheap!

Two caveats:
Firstly the plating will either not get to or only poorly get to parts that are 'hidden'. So on a latch there is usually a part of the metal which slides over another metal part. If one is covered during the palting then it won't get fully plated. I'm not sure there is really anything you can do about this other than disassemble the latch (=not worth the effort and result). As long as it is plated in the position it is usually seen in there won't be a problem. You may find a line across the part when you pull back the latch and look at the bit underneath. It depends on the gap as well. So - if this applies, just make sure you get it plated in the position you want it to look best in. Or talk to your plater, I guess in theory they could plate it twice - once in each position. Regardless, it is really not a big deal.
Secondly if you blast it you will find the plating reflects the blasted surface - i.e. sand or even glass beading will leave a 'matt finish' to the metal, and it will still be there after the plating. So it will not look like the natural metal, if you care about that. If you do, then degrease it and let the platers handle it, they need to prepare it for plating in a bath which will get rid of rust etc anyway.

[Anonymous]

Rob have a spare latch assy if you want to try it out on a spare one before buggering up your original?

[MrNorm]

There you go, I went through my pics and found a before (as delivered to plater but without spring) and after pic.

I would not worry about messing up your original, the worst that can happen is you get it replated. Just be sure of what finish you want and what you will get from the platers. Usually their standard 'clear' or 'silver' zinc is not exactly 'correct' for our cars - too shiny/bright. This did not bother me as I'm not going for 100% 'correct' just something close. If it bothers you then make sure you see what you will get.

Also, again I stress that whatever surface finish you deliver it with is what it will come back with. The plater can get rid of rust but if it has affected the surface finish then the plated part will still show that difference. If you really car about that (on one or two parts I did - e.g. not door latches but a hood latch probably yes) then find a way to get a finish you like. Best tip I have is to glass bead then polish with superfine steel wool to get as close to original finish as you can.

My 2c

PS - the latch is not as shiny as it looks in the pic. And in case anyone points it out or is interested, the correct finish for my latch (71 Chall) is actually 'brown zinc'. IIRC I did actually get this replated in black zinc.

[RobTwin]

Rob have a spare latch assy if you want to try it out on a spare one before buggering up your original?

Thanks Bob, might take you up on that Will prob just borrow it tho and use it as-is while ours is away at the platers. I'll let you know...


Do you know what yours is off tho? I dunno how they differ from year to year, model to model?

[RobTwin]

Here is a first hand answer to your question - it will be fine! I've had door locks and hood/trunk latches plated , it won't flake off and you don't have to disassemble the parts. And it's cheap!

Two caveats:
Firstly the plating will either not get to or only poorly get to parts that are 'hidden'. So on a latch there is usually a part of the metal which slides over another metal part. If one is covered during the palting then it won't get fully plated. I'm not sure there is really anything you can do about this other than disassemble the latch (=not worth the effort and result). As long as it is plated in the position it is usually seen in there won't be a problem. You may find a line across the part when you pull back the latch and look at the bit underneath. It depends on the gap as well. So - if this applies, just make sure you get it plated in the position you want it to look best in. Or talk to your plater, I guess in theory they could plate it twice - once in each position. Regardless, it is really not a big deal.
Secondly if you blast it you will find the plating reflects the blasted surface - i.e. sand or even glass beading will leave a 'matt finish' to the metal, and it will still be there after the plating. So it will not look like the natural metal, if you care about that. If you do, then degrease it and let the platers handle it, they need to prepare it for plating in a bath which will get rid of rust etc anyway.

There you go, I went through my pics and found a before (as delivered to plater but without spring) and after pic.

I would not worry about messing up your original, the worst that can happen is you get it replated. Just be sure of what finish you want and what you will get from the platers. Usually their standard 'clear' or 'silver' zinc is not exactly 'correct' for our cars - too shiny/bright. This did not bother me as I'm not going for 100% 'correct' just something close. If it bothers you then make sure you see what you will get.

Also, again I stress that whatever surface finish you deliver it with is what it will come back with. The plater can get rid of rust but if it has affected the surface finish then the plated part will still show that difference. If you really car about that (on one or two parts I did - e.g. not door latches but a hood latch probably yes) then find a way to get a finish you like. Best tip I have is to glass bead then polish with superfine steel wool to get as close to original finish as you can.

My 2c

PS - the latch is not as shiny as it looks in the pic. And in case anyone points it out or is interested, the correct finish for my latch (71 Chall) is actually 'brown zinc'. IIRC I did actually get this replated in black zinc.

Thanks Gavin, just the info and explaination I was after

And without easy access to a bead/glass blaster, it will be handy if it's best not to blast it.


Can I just check about the finish on yours tho? Do you have a good source for correct finishes on these parts? I scoured the 'net and checked on 'For B Bodies Only' and deduced that ours should be clear zinc, or possibly zinc & colour, but havent found anything conclusive.

I know yours may be different, being an e-bod, but when you said your correct finish is brown zinc, it got me thinking again....