your never done learning new things,
and you can never know enough..........

Here is an article from the 356Registry - which I'm a member,
and you should consider joining for the excellent publication.
The body of the 356 is built up from metal plate, box sections, and very simular construction techniques, and many of the same vendors
that we use.

this is in the current issue:

Cadmium Plating Tips
Credits to Ron Scoma, copied from the 356talk list
Call it what you will, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Anal Retentive, being a craftsman, or just plain having no life; this is what I did to Cad plate stuff.


Get a list of all items to be plated (thanks Maestro)

Find the parts in the Bucket O' Stuff and count the items.

Soak in orange cleaner to somewhat degrease, rinse.

Soak in Carb Cleaner to really degrease, rinse.

Soak in Muriatic acid to remove prior plating.

DON'T let the acid come in contact with aluminum (tin foil) trays, I'm not sure why you shouldn't but the end results were very bad. You may not have a screaming S.O. shouting "where's the checkbook, I need to increase
your life insurance ?" but still, even without that bonus, the effects were pretty bad. Neighbors in the unit next door were curious also...

At this stage you have parts free of grease and oil.

Blast with a 50/50 combination of 180 grit AO to even out the surface. (I used barrel blasting for the fasteners).

Chase all threads.

Blast with the equivalent of 280 grit glass to produce an even sheen for the Cad.

Bring to plater. You have already identified a plater that;
will do Cadmium 1 or silver Cad,
will do Cadmium for you,
you can afford,
will not lose most of your parts.

To do a bucket (a gallon paint can or so) of fasteners (2 complete engines), 6 fuel lines, 3 crank pulleys, 3 generator pulleys, 2 generator cases, 4 valve covers, 3 dipsticks, etc., etc., etc., was $200 cash in the Chicago area. All-in-all,
not too bad for the upgrade in cosmetic appearance in my opinion. Add that to a little powder coating, a little epoxy coating (heater boxes and fan), a little VHT (muffler system) paint and you have a pretty nice looking engine. Do not plate heat treated (black) fasteners.

Final Tips:
Cadmium can be removed by muriatic acid (better to plate and remove, then not plate enough).

Everything must be oil and grease free.

Parts will be lost, have extras.

Surface preparation is next to Godliness (repeat 10 times).

DON'T BLAST ANYTHING THAT WILL COME IN CONTACT WITH THE OIL SYSTEM
and BE NICE to the plater. You will forget to bring him that one bolt that will be out in the open necessitating a return trip. You don't want another minimum order charge...
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I know people like Bill Williams has mucho experience
in this topic of plating - maybe Bill will add his list of names and contact information to complete this thread.

C.D.
_________________
1976 BMW 2002 #2743711(sorry I sold it 12/25/06)
1986 BMW R65 650cc twin 19k miles
1964 BMW R27 250cc single 15K miles
2002 BMW 325xiTouring 29k miles
1984 MERCEDES-BENZ W123 300D Turbodiesel-188k miles fein-DIESEL