I was told that before about plating with too many amps, but I constantly test the amperage when plating. and the plating does look good except for the coppery looking coating that buffs off. I am an electrical engineer, and getting a proper current is the one thing I am pretty sure of.
When I dipped the part into the zincate to coat the aluminum part, I dipped it in there with it hanging from a copper wire. I used the same wire to hang the part from in the plating solution. So I guess you could say I zincated the copper wire the same way I did the aluminum piece I was trying to chrome.
After an hour, I took it out of the plating solution, the copper wire had was chromed, but was flaking off. The chrome flakes on the wire was what I called crystals. It was like it tried to plate the copper wire, but nothing stuck, and I could wipe the chrome flakes off the wire with my fingers.
Hope that clears things up. I don't know what happens to copper when you dip it in zincate, probably isn't good. And I can't tell if there was some kind of reaction between the copper and zincate with the aluminum
When I need 1 amp, I use 250 milliamp bulbs, but when I check my current, it shows I am pulling less. So I add more until my meter shows the current I need, not always what the bulbs show. Don't know if that is a problem.
thanks alot,
kenny
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