zinc anodes turning black....

[68goat]

I wonder if someone could tell me why my zinc anodes are turning a blackish color. They seem to plate good yet, but are dark towards the top half. The bottom half of the anode is nice and silvery.

Thanks for any info.

Rick

[KCV6]

This is normal for zinc anodes. They produce small granules of black smutt during the plating process. This is what the annode bandages are for. Personally I bought some fine filter annode bags, as the bandages don't prevent the really fine stuff from getting into the solution, so I find I don't have to filter my baths as often.

Just give them rinse and wipe over after each plating session first in hot tap water (don't cut yourself the edges get sharp) then a rinse with a bit of distilled. I just give them a light spray from a spray bottle with the distilled water and pat them dry with a clean cloth and store then in a zip-loc bag.

Cheers Mark

[68goat]

Thanks for your reply.

Rick