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Looking to have my hood hinges phosphate plated gray. They dont need rebuilding just a plating. Any recommendations on who does this and their experience?
scrappie,
I had mine done by JH Metal Finishing in New Britain, CT. I am very pleased with the results and they are very reasonable. I would imagine you could ship them, just as reference they would be about a 2hr drive from Framingham.
Looking to have my hood hinges phosphate plated gray. They dont need rebuilding just a plating. Any recommendations on who does this and their experience?
There's the usual suspects that do hinge rebuild. I'm sure they'll just plate them if you ask. That's probably the route to get the best quality job on the first try.
Otherwise, you can start calling any local metal plating company and see who has a phosphate tank and who's willing to do a small job. Time or money, pick one.
Originally Posted by Greg Rogers
Why do this? Just curious....
Makes them pretty. Plating does better at getting into nooks and crannies than paint and provides decent rust protection. You can paint the hinges with a phosphate-like paint, but then the instant you start to lower the hood you see the unpainted parts of the hinge. Minor, sure, but we're not exactly sane to begin with.
I've used this place near me, www.gunblack.com. They're really set up well for such work. They've done OEM work for transmission gears and gun parts. But also enthusiastic about restoration work. They are located in Interlaken NY (Rod Serling of the Twilight Zone lived there).
I took the springs off and made this little jig from angle stock and 3/8 thread rod. Hooked the springs into the angle stock holes and turned the nuts to expand them, then had the whole thing phosphated. When completed I slipped 1" O.D. thick nylon washers between each turn of the springs so they stayed expanded when I took them off the jig. Then just placed them on the hinges, closed the hinges further expanding the springs, and all the washers simply fall out. No fighting trying to stretch that spring like I did prior. I need to do this again and photo the method.
I do my own now. I would offer to do them but I don't have a tank setup for something that size. The tank I do have large enough I don't have enough solution to fill it. I had the ones on my W-30 done by Sparky's carbs and they turned out great!
These were not always consistent on the shade of color either. I have seen a few originals that were a little darker than others.
I've used this place near me, www.gunblack.com. They're really set up well for such work. They've done OEM work for transmission gears and gun parts. But also enthusiastic about restoration work. They are located in Interlaken NY (Rod Serling of the Twilight Zone lived there).
I took the springs off and made this little jig from angle stock and 3/8 thread rod. Hooked the springs into the angle stock holes and turned the nuts to expand them, then had the whole thing phosphated. When completed I slipped 1" O.D. thick nylon washers between each turn of the springs so they stayed expanded when I took them off the jig. Then just placed them on the hinges, closed the hinges further expanding the springs, and all the washers simply fall out. No fighting trying to stretch that spring like I did prior. I need to do this again and photo the method.
I always leave the springs on the hinge when I plate them. That way the solution gets between the spring coils.
Yup, just leaving the springs on the hinge may make a lot of sense. The idea of the angle iron frame I was attempting to describe was to crank the nuts on the 3/8" threaded stock and expand the spring so that the chemical conversion (phosphating is not an electro-plating process) will happen between the turns. I took the springs off because the hinges need some straightening. May have been able to do it even with them on.
I do my own now. I would offer to do them but I don't have a tank setup for something that size. The tank I do have large enough I don't have enough solution to fill it. I had the ones on my W-30 done by Sparky's carbs and they turned out great!
These were not always consistent on the shade of color either. I have seen a few originals that were a little darker than others.
Thanks Eric, I thought about it myself but its finding a stainless steel container big enough is the problem.
I just started doing a little of this with my dad. He is the third generation to make syrup on the farm and I will be the 4th if I actually take it up. He is making between 30 and 50 gallons a year. Sure is easier than it was in my Great Grandfathers day. We still have hundreds of buckets from back when he was doing it. We have pictures of when he was pulling the wagon with horses to gather all the sap.
This is a part that I just done. I have found that different metals will be darker than others also. I think it is partly depending on how pours the metal is.
This is a part that I just done. I have found that different metals will be darker than others also. I think it is partly depending on how pours the metal is.
All metals will not plate the same as you said. It depends on many variables such as hardness, metal content etc. . I have plated a ton of parts over the years and have perfected different ways of doing it. The best way to plate hinges is by using muriatic acid to clean them. It's better because no matter how good you blast them,you can't get behind the over lapping parts to clean. The key is to clean the hinges by chemical hot tank dip to get all of the grease out. Then proceed to the acid cleaning and the plating process.
All metals will not plate the same as you said. It depends on many variables such as hardness, metal content etc. . I have plated a ton of parts over the years and have perfected different ways of doing it. The best way to plate hinges is by using muriatic acid to clean them. It's better because no matter how good you blast them,you can't get behind the over lapping parts to clean. The key is to clean the hinges by chemical hot tank dip to get all of the grease out. Then proceed to the acid cleaning and the plating process.
Scrappie if you haven't made a decision yet about your hinges consider Don Webb at Plymouth Plating, Plymouth, MI. He shipped my grey phospate plated hinges back to me and I had not paid him!
When I asked why, he told me the customer does not pay until the customer sees his work and is satisfied. With shipping, the two hinges and two springs were $165. Fast turn-around too.
An unnerving aspect of my plating job was the return trip back to me. It took the USPS 7-weeks to make the delivery. I ran the tracking number each day, and I thought for certain I would never see the hinges again; out of the blue they showed up at my delivering post office without any movement record since leaving Detroit. What a surprise to see my hinges again!
