Charlton:
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I read that you should NOT use brightner if you're going to use a Chromate
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I haven't tried a real chromate w/ the brightener (plan to soon), but I can confirm that the brightener is NOT COMPATIBLE w/ the "Zinc blackener", which is an "oxide" conversion:
Blackener photos
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If I can't use Zinc brightner with chromates, will the chromate "brighten" the part?
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That depends on the chromate. Some impart their own brightness characteristics, while others don't (essentially remaining "neutral" to the original zinc).
Caswells yellow chromate does brighten to it's own degree. Here's a sample piece done w/out brightener:
A
larger image here.
The final "brightness" of the part also depends on the pre-plate mechanical finish. A polished part will come out quite a bit brighter than a bead blasted part.
And finally, and acid bright dip makes a difference. And here, 1% nitric acid is the cats meow.
Initially I had been using muriatic, then sulphuric acid bright dips, but noted that most commercial operations used nitric. Nitric acid is very difficult to come by, but I finally got some, after 6+ months of trying.
The difference between nitric and other acid bright dips is like night and day!
Sean