[pnoeth]

Josh,

I am also new at this so what I have to say may or may not be of any help. I am plating clear zinc and my problem so far has been that the parts are not shiny. But I have not had any problem with water marks. My process is the same as yours except I have been using 33% sulfuric acid to remove residual rust from the parts before plating.

After the parts come out of the zinc bath I spray them with distilled water and dry them right away with a paper towel. I don't get any finger prints or unusual marks. I am not chromating. As I have said, my problem is that they come out dull, looking somewhat like cad, and I use a wire wheel or buffing wheel to polish them. I've done that immediately after plating or a day later, the result is the same either way. The parts are bright and shiny after polishing (although that is not the look you are after). I've had some done for over a week now and they are not showing any signs of white corrosion.

I wonder if you can get the look you are after by washing the parts using a 3M pad with detergent and water to buff off the watermarks. That might not make the parts shiny, leaving them looking more like cad.

The parts I am plating are under hood fasters and brackets. Since they are not going to be on the engine proper, I am coating them with clear lacquer (Eastwoods Diamond Clear) to protect them. It comes in both gloss and matte and once it is applied you cannot tell it's there. Hopefully that will keep the finish looking nice for a longer time than the uncoated raw zinc.