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I wanted to start a new thread on this so here goes. First, what is the plating on our hardware that has the golden yellow color and rainbow hues if you turn in the light....
09-19-2012, 04:45 smedley For the LAST time......cadmium plating disappeared with rare exception in the late 50s.
The plating on late 50s 356s and all 900 cars was zinc, repeat zinc!! This has been reinterated by several 356ers and 911 guys who have consulted platers and metallurgists. Lew Morman, long time PCAer, autocrosser and concour guy....AND metallurgist for Champion Sparkplug set me straight on this back in the 70s.....all of the platers since then that I have worked with in Indianapolis, Chicago, and now Sacramento have confirmed this.
The plating used on fasteners is an industry/DIN thing not Porsche.
Later 356s had silver or "clear" zinc. Sometime in the late 60s the industry started using a phosphate wash which coated the zinc yellow/green. We see this transition when Porsche made their supply orders for the 900 cars, and they stated receiving yellow zinc. It is well documented among the 356 crowd that yellow started appearing more on '65 C cars. Conversly, early 900 cars had some left over clear zinc.
The rare exception? Recaro had all of their slider rails and levers done in real silver cadmium. Again, I had professionals in the business verify this. Those of you who have worked on or dismantled cars know that the rails and levers on these early cars show more corrosion and "chalking out" of the plating......which is why the industry went away from cadmium.Mark Smedley
'59 VW Typ I
'69 911T 2.7
'86 930
'04 GT3
'16 Boxster GTS
'08 MBZ AMG CLK 63 Black Series
Just got off the phone with Alonso, the GM of Sonic Plating Co Inc in Santa Fe Springs. He said he works with a BMW restoration shop that sends him work almost daily and he has parts from five 911's in the tank today. He is very familiar with what we are looking for.
I still want to see it with my own eyes, but it sounds right to me. He said I could bring him everything I could pull of my car for a job lot price around $150 but he did admit that he doesn't set the price and I'd need to talk to someone in the office.
So I reached out to Sonic plating and Alonso is still there. I sent him the photo below and explained it was 1990 Porsche 911 hardware and I was looking to match the original finish. He responded with zinc plate yellow. He said minimum lot charge for this which is $100. I could plate much more but I have nothing else to plate. A lot of my hardware is still in very good condition. I am sending my stuff off tomorrow and will report back how it goes. I hope others can share who they use to plate their hardware.
I got my parts back from Sonic Plating. Overall they were very responsive. I got charged the min $100 lot charge which meant I could have done many more pieces I think. They don't offer easy online payment methods. My advice is to send your Check to them in parallel with the parts so it ships right when it is ready if you are in a hurry. Took them about a week but delayed another week for me to sort out payment over the holiday weekend. Alonso and Eddie were responsive to all my requests.
Here is the AFTER photo. Fuel rails and fan housing straps look great.
Most of the places I've dealt with in the past either east or west coast offer a minimum charge for a certain weight amount , most recently
Burbank Plating offered $200 minimum for 100 pounds I think the limit was , my stuff was only 25 lbs.
They had gone up from $100 minimum last year.
Most Cadnium plating places have either ceased to operate or only offer clear , yellow and silver zinc coatings ...Bert
I'm setup now with my parts cleaner (20 gallon harbor freight special), ultrasonic cleaner, my sandblaster, and my Cerakote setup. Powder coating (local) and now Yellow Zinc plating are now outsourced. Throw in my Dremel and old corded drill with a wire wheel.
Many of my parts after ultrasonic cleaning I just left alone. They look like faded yellow zinc but still with the rainbow sheen on them.
What brand sonic cleaners are you guys using.. how big are they (in other words, how big of a part can I put into one?) What fluids are used in cleaning? Are some cleaners/soaps/solvents better than others? Adjustability? Frequency?, Heat options? Thanks in advance! Jack
Cleaning fluids are water, or water and dawn soap, or Simple Green HD (the purple stuff), or Simple Green Extreme Aircraft Cleaner. You can use glass jars inside and put more potent stuff in there. I wasn't looking for a tub of stuff I have no way to dump. I am on septic system so I don't need more "chemicals" than necessary in my garage. Simple Green stuff seems to be working great. Not the Green stuff the isn't long term safe for aluminum.
Yes the normal simple green is not ok with some metals...and exacerbated by the ultrasonic- ask me how i know...but the hd purple stuff so far has been good. And it also breaks engine oil and greases fairly well.
I may buy a smaller ultrasonic as well. They are kind of a no brainer now that they are so cheep...
I have a local friend who does Yellow and black Cadmium plating. Unfortunately he will not do it for just anyone as he is licensed to still do it for military application and does it for me as a favor.
Not that the Zinc is no good and sorry to be a downer on this but Yellow cad was what was originally used by Porsche. Zinc looks Ok for a while but doesn't hold up. The cadmium is the sacrificial barrier that keeps the parts from corroding. The zinc will just add color but will not hold up as well.
I use a harbor freight tumbler or Northern tool either is the same product. Polishing the parts is critical prior to plating. In your case your cad plating was still in good condition so the zinc just brought back the color. Most likely the cad was not effected. In the future try to find a place that does yellow cad IMO.
These were parts I started with:
Some of them after degreasing. in my ultrasonic cleaner and the first round of tumble blasting
Finished product after yellow cad plating
. Although side by side they look the same the yellw cad will last a long time the zinc a few years tops.
05-12-2020, 06:45 PM
Yellow Zinc Plating Services
