[Spridgets] Pretty in zinc part 2

Linda Grunthaner grunthaner at gmail.com
Sat Apr 18 05:00:34 MDT 2009


Holy Cow Dean, I'm getting nervous just reading this. It turned out great
but I hate using toxic chemicals. But I am very impressed at your results.
Lin

On Sat, Apr 18, 2009 at 12:01 AM, Dean Hedin <dlh2001 at comcast.net> wrote:

> 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... _______________________________________________
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