hard chrome plating

[dcarter]

high gang, this is dave carter, i have your tripple chrome set up. my question is about hard chrome plating. my son has a cr80 motor that we run in his custom built quad. the cylinder for this quad has had a cast iron sleeve put in it. i was wondering if i could hard chrome plate the cylinder? also i was wondering about plating the skirt on the piston. can these be done. will they work well together if both are plated. please note that this is a two stroke motor so the oil and gas are mixed for lubrication comes in with the feul. i know the piston is aluminum and i have the zinate treatment from caswell. any suggestions on this subject would really be helpful. please note that the cylinder when it comes from honda has a nickelsil coating put straight on the aluminum and when it is messed up you either throw it away or sleeve it. this is why i am wanting to try the hard chrome on the cylinder i have. thnaks dave

[mcaswell]

Hi Dave:

Your plating manual contains instructions on hard chrome plating.

Pistons are a common application for hard chroming, so yes, plating these would be beneficial. Note that your current Triple Chrome Plating Kit set-up is for decorative chrome plating and would require that you alter the chrome solution, or get a second chroming tank, in order to hard chrome plate.

You\'d need to make sure the part is grease-free and stripped down to the base metal. Zincating would be required if the part is aluminum.

[dcarter]

so would it be okay to plate the cylinder and the piston both. will the hard chrome waer well against each other? my thinking is that if both surfaces are plated and since they are running with an oil and gas mix there should be plenty of lubrication to keep the two from gaulding. i did not know if hard chrome could be run against hard chrome. thanks for the quick reply. p.s. the powder coat gun i purchased form you is working great , i did some small parts for a friends quad and he loved them. thanks again dave
Hi Dave:

Your plating manual contains instructions on hard chrome plating.

Pistons are a common application for hard chroming, so yes, plating these would be beneficial. Note that your current Triple Chrome Plating Kit set-up is for decorative chrome plating and would require that you alter the chrome solution, or get a second chroming tank, in order to hard chrome plate.

You\'d need to make sure the part is grease-free and stripped down to the base metal. Zincating would be required if the part is aluminum.[/quote]

[mcaswell]

Yep - having the two parts hard chromed is fine.

[cn216jw]

New to site...lots of great info, Thanks! I'm not sure I'm posting by all the rules but here goes. I also want to Hard Chrome a cyclinder from a Susuki RM 125. It is cast auminum. Is there a difference between cast aluminum and plate aluminum as far as the plating technique? I would probably bore it out 10 or 20 thousands then get an oversize piston to match OR plate the piston too as described above.
What kit(s) do I need?
Brush or tank?
how thick will it plate and how long?
If I can brush, I can get it where I want it but how thick will it be each pass?
Thanks, jeff