[lintmann]

Thanks Sean,

I do have the original formula. I confirmed this with Jim Caswell because I thought that this was my problem. And yes I am using the brightener.

So you say not to adjust the voltage. Should I then turn it up to 30 volts and let it adjust itself?

I think you hit the nail on the head by saying that I need more current! I guess I really under estimated my power supply requirment as I will need to plate one part that is just under 120 sq". I used the formula in the manual of 1 amp per 40 sq" but I see, and you confirm that that is way off! How large of a power supply should I need to plate something in the range of 120 sq"? ...or say a 4bbl carb? What brand and size power supply are you using? The one you see in my pics are basically what Caswell sells but with a different name so I assume that it is the same internaly. When I bought my power supply Caswell USA was out of stock but little did I know that Caswell Canada had some...found that out after I bought mine off of ebay. I am getting warranty on the one I got from ebay and they will let me upgrade so I'm trying to decide on how large of one I should get.

I used the fizzing as a guide quite by accident because that was when things worked the best. I tried calculating surface area but unless it's a basic shape I don't know how to do it and very little of what I have is a basic shape...the wiper motor housing in the pic is as basic as it gets for my stuff. From what I understand, commercial platers don't calculate surface areas either because of the complicated parts and the time required to figure out the surface areas. They just turn up the current until it slightly fizzes as well. I just figured that if it works for them that it should work for me but maybe not. Maybe it is still plating but I just don't realize it because of the lack of fizzing. What problems can I get into if I use fizzing as a guide? So far I haven't had any problems but then again I am very new at this and have LOTS to learn!

In regards to polishing...if the part is plated with enough current, is polishing nessecary? The reason I ask is because I experimented a little with some of the smaller parts by putting a very low current(.5amp) through them...so low that they were not fizzing either. I was trying to simulate the dull grey coating that I get when I try to plate larger items. After 5-10 minuites they to looked terrible, just like the dull grey wiper motor housing. Then I turned up the current until they fizzed and you could actually see the dullness going away and nice bright zinc either forming or being uncovered and the dullness went away. This to me would be the prefered way to plate something because polishing is not alway practical like say on a Quadrajet Carb!

Thanks for your quick reply and help so far Sean...I really appreciate it!

Greg