The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Zinc plating - carb parts

I'm curious if anyone has had carb parts zinc plated when doing a carb overhaul? Or any other small parts zinc plated? Thanks Don

The guy who used to make the Demon brand of carbs used solid zinc to prevent porosity. I don't know of any one plating aluminum with zinc although I can't think of why it would not work. The usual issues with plating would come in to play including environmental ones. Carb parts are small and precise and that might be a bigger issue. Might be a good idea to save a pitted body. No one is making them any more. Any thoughts out there?

Be VERY careful with this.. I had an experience I am almost embarrassed to admit.. I had barrels of steel parts zinc plated and in that batch was carb parts. Turns out, when I got them back, they were all MELTED and unusable. The metal they used for the roch b's are NOT compatible with the normal zinc process.

If you find a way to plate carb parts, let me know!

I am referring to replating the original steel parts and screws that were originally plated. Not the body of the carb.

Should be no problem with the steel parts but you will get to chase all threads with a die to make them fit. Learned that the hard way too. Why I bought my very first tap and die set. Thank you Orange County plating. About 1971. That should make some one smile. I just had to have some chrome on that old Harley, Just had to.

When we were still restoring carbs, we used original type finishes on all of the carburetor components, since 1974.

Jon.

SO if you want your carb body plated, where do you go? The pot metal they use melts during the normal plating process, so there must be something I am not telling the plater. What do I ask for?

I really don't want to resort to Eastwood Carb paint. Maybe its just me, but putting paint on a gasoline management system just doesn't compute.

Zinc alloy bodies were NOT plated!

http://www.thecarburetorshop.com/Carburetorfinishes.htm

Jon.

I don't think you can get anything with a Chromate finish anymore.

There are some DIY plating kits that use zinc to simulate chromate.

www.caswellplating.com

http://www.caswellplating.com/electroplating-anodizing/zinc-plating-kits.html

The layer of plating is not up to what you would get with an industrial process... but it should work.

Lots of youtube videos on it.

So if the original roch carb isn't plated, you can just polish the finish back to its original glory? Im confused.

Here are two links found from a search:

http://www.sparkyscarbs.com/plating.htm

http://www.brakeboosters.com/services.htm

If you check them out, please let us know what you learn.