rust prevention

[frank horton]

is there any kinda home use rust prevention for small steel items..
thinking along the lines of Zinc passivate.........??????
and before u say go to a platers......
I live in the boonies 50 miles from the nearest town and got no hope of getting it done prof.......and really there's not enough to make it worth the bother.......
just a thought.......
will look on the net but there are so many nutters........
ta.......have a good weekend.......

 

[galooph]

Gateros Plating do various kits, but I've not tried them. I think some members on here have though.

 

[Burdekin]

It’s a lot of faf and then easy for things to go wrong. I’ve only done plating on small stuff, I posted some info here a few years back will see if I can find it.

 

[Burdekin]

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/diy-electro-plating.43293/#post-478679

Some info from a mate with regard to his pre-plating cleaning process.

Cleaning Solutions
Isopropanol IPA
Sodium hydroxide (caustic soda – heavy duty drain cleaner)
Hydrochloric acid (brick cleaner)
Tap water between each cleaning step.

Pre-Cleaning Process
If the part is already zinc plated, rusty or heavily soiled, do the following.
Clean parts in thinners to remove grease, underseal etc.
Clean part in hot water, washing up liquid and baking soda, then dry.
Soak the part in hydrochloric acid until the solution stops fizzing.
When the fizzing has stopped, all of the old zinc / cadmium plate will have been removed. Now wash the part in water. Inspect and check for rust. If there is rust on the part, put it back into the hydrochloric acid. Inspect every 30 minutes or so. Don’t leave it in any longer than necessary. Wash the past in water each time you remove it.
Once you have completed the above, lightly wire brush the part by hand. This will remove any residue from the process above. Again, wash in water. Now you can move to the Cleaning Process.

Cleaning Process
This is the important bit.
Wash part in Isopropanol IPA, then water.
Wash part in Sodium hydroxide then water.
Wash part in hydrochloric acid (max 2 minutes) then water.
If water will not bead on the job, it is clean. If water does bead on the job, clean it again. Look up the Water Break Test to get an idea of how to check surface cleanliness.
When water will not bead on the job, it is ready for plating.

 

[Wildefalcon]

Cold spray zinc rich paint? I use zg90 under most stuff.

 

[Farside]

30% phosphoric acid solution. Let dry overnight and a)either rinse it off with water and let dry or b) paint straight over it when dry.
I was doing a) for years and it worked well, but last antenna bracket I forgot to rinse the thing before painting, it's been up a couple of years and there's no trace of rust and the paint's still on.
This was on some well-rusty 1" box, too.