wax

[constrand]

i read that waxing a part will keep it shiny longer especially in the engine bay
what kind of waxs are people using ie karanuba, theres some blue stuff at walmart i was thinking about trying.
but the question comes from a complante from a customer the had yellow circles on his part after about a week of use. this was on 2 of the 3 parts

[KCV6]

Most car waxes are ok, there are some specific metal waxes, but these can be pricey. I use Mr sheen as it is cheap and works fine providing the plating was fine.

You will find that with time the copy chrome will get better once you have your techniques all sussed out. Once you have your setup giving a bright mirror finish from the tank the "staining" will not occour. I have found that if the part comes out with any hazing at all, no amount of polishing will prevent it from tarnishing/staining with any water contact. The minute my parts start to show signs of hazing as they dry (usually starts in low crevices), I heat my solution to about 180F-190F and filter it through a carbon/charcoal filter to remove all detergents, brighteners and peroxide build up. I then put in new brightener and plate a corogated test piece which pretty much always comes out perfect.

Cheers

Mark

[constrand]

is the heating on the filter real necessary(dont have a heater).
and on replacing the brightener, just add another full bottle(does the filter take out all the brightener from solution).

at a car show i noticed most under the hood chrome parts have a clear coat on them would a thin .01" coat of vht work with copy chrome instead of the wax protectent

[KCV6]

The heating is fairly important, but you may get away with just filtering. How do you heat your copy chrome normally, or do you just run it ambient?

Don't add the full bottle, always plate a test piece and then only add enough brightener to suit your plating needs. 10ml will plate about 5 amps for an hour.

I have considered clear coating parts, but have not tried it yet.

Cheers

Mark

[constrand]

yea i run it at abean temp. but thats about 90deg in texas
ill let you know how the clear works out

[KCV6]

Will be interested is hearing how the clear goes. I am going to try some translucent urethane 2 pac candy paint over some of the recent bits I have done.

Mark