[Spridgets] Pretty in zinc part 2

[Dean Hedin]

Here is my DIY zinc plating recipe:

WARNING proceed at your own risk.   Please wear gloves and goggles while handling the chemicals.
Whatever you do with the information below is your own responsibility.
Remember AAA  "Always Add Acid"  when combining acid with water.

This recipe makes about one gallon.   This solution can be used over and over for a very long time
as the zinc anode is what is consumed during the plating operation.

1) Get an ingot of zinc.  West Marine sells a variety of them for use as sacrificial anodes on boats.
    I got a long one which was about 8 x 2 x 0.5 inches that I later cut into half.  This was $16.
   You can probably find it cheaper elsewhere.   Length is important if you need to plate
    long items, like the bugeye bonnet stays.  This ingot will probably last you forever.

2) You need to first dissolve some of the zinc into 1 quart of 30% Muratic Acid to the point of saturation.
    Ace Hardware and other places sell Muratic acid.  The zinc combines with the chloride in the acid to
    make zinc chloride.

    This is the dangerous part.  It must be done outside away from potential ignition sources as quite a bit of
    noxious fumes and hydrogen gas is generated.   Be careful not to breath the fumes.
    I did this by placing the ingot into a 12"x9" Pyrex cooking
    dish and slowly adding the acid in small portions.  I would then wait about 15 minutes for it to fizz down and then add a little
    more....wait for it to fizz down....add a little more...etc...   Once I got a quart in the dish I let is sit overnight.
    You can then bottle this up into a plastic container and set it aside.

3) Next, in a seperate jug, dissolve a 1/4 lb block of Sal Ammoniac (ammonium chloride) into three quarts of distilled water.
    Sal Ammoniac is sold at stained glass supply stores like this one:
    http://www.globalsgs.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=222

4) Now slowly combine the quart of saturated zinc solution to the 3 quarts of sal ammoniac solution.

More steps to follow...