Champ54

True, I found using a solution of household bleach and about 20% hydrochloric acid worked very well. Took about a week soaking in it to totally clean the tail light garnishes back to the original clean shiny plastic factory finish. Bleach on it's own showed some signs of removing to old chrome and the copper underneath it but would not totally clean it. Adding the acid solved the problem.

I decided to do it myself because I could be in control of the final result. Also, I have had pars lost by the professional platers in the past. In the case of the 1974 260Z if they loose a part it could be very difficult to replace it. The Yellow Chromate was as follows: 200 grams Sodium Di-Chromate crystals (purchased on ebay $20.00) 2.6 litres de-ionized water (super cheap auto) 15 mls sulphuric acid.(local battery supplier) After zinc plating dip the item in the chromate for about 10 seconds then a quick dip in de-ionized water as a rinse.(just a quick dip - don't slosh it around or you will wash off the chromate) If you want a darker or richer yellow colour give it another quick dip in chromate (5 -10 seconds) then in the rinse again. Hang it up and let it dry. Don't touch it until it is completely dry. Best to leave it for 24 hours. I have re-plated parts such as the fuel cap, fuel filler pipe, bonnet catch, door locks, door lock striker plates, most of the specialized bolts, nuts, and washers, hand brake mechanism, under bonnet brake and clutch pipes, and dozens of small brackets and fittings. I also stripped all the metal parts off the internal heater/air con system and re-plated them. Some are yellow chromate and some are silver zinc finish. I am using a Caswell Zinc plating kit but the Janes is probably just as good and cheaper. I have some of the Janes zinc anodes and they are cheaper than the Caswell anodes. In my case I am re-plating everything that was originally plated. Some parts are yellow chromate and some (like the door locks) are silver zinc. Janes and Caswell have a blue chromate solution that also works very well and produces an excellent silver finish with a very slight blue colour in it. The Janes is much cheaper and makes a greater quantity.( If I could work out how to attach pics to this thread I would post some.) You need the chromate dip on the zinc as it is the protective coating for the zinc.

I have considered the spray chrome. There is a spray shop in Toowoomba uses the Hydrographics system. I contacted him and he wanted around $250 to spray the tail light garnishes but he said it was a polyurethane paint and would only give the appearance of about 95% chrome. There are several places that sell the system and if you have the necessary skill and equipment to spray it you can do it yourself but it will still cost around $250. However, this system does look good.

Hi Fellow Z Car owners, I am new to the AUSZCAR forum and this is my first attempt at posting a topic so I hope I get it right. Has anyone here tried to do DIY electroplating. I am currently fully restoring a 1974 260Z 2+2 that is a full rotisserie restoration and I have been restoring all of the zinc fittings, nuts and bolts. What I am also trying to do is re-chrome the plastic tail light garnishes. I have had excellent success with a Caswell DIY electroplating kit with the zinc plating as well as copper, nickel, and chrome plating metal parts but have had some difficulty getting the system to work like they claim with chrome plating the plastic parts. The Caswell Copper Conductive Paint does not work well at all as it has almost no adhesive qualities even when I tried it with an adhesion promoter and I have tried some other alternatives with some moderate success but still not good enough. The Caswell Silvaspray is far too expensive at around $475 for 250 mls to use as the conductive coat on the plastic so I am looking for anyone that may have tried a cheaper alternative with success. I don't want to try the Caswell Silvaspray because their Copper Conductive Paint did not work well at all and it was around $80 for about 250 mls and I have doubts as to weather the Silvaspray will work as well they claim. The Caswell Zinc kits work extremely well as does their Blue Chromate but their EcoPas Yellow chromate does not work at all and only produces an iridescent blue finish. I have also tried the Janes Bright Gold Chromate and it also works very well. I also have a recipe I found on the internet for Sodium Di-Chromate and can perfectly duplicate the original yellow chromate finish on parts like bonnet catch and many other parts. I am interested to find any other forum members that might have tried to do the DIY Chrome as the professional chrome platers quoted $280.00 each + GST just to re-chrome the tail light garnishes. (ouch) Thanks, Barry

Being new to this forum and not familiar with the shorthand can someone please tell me what Wtb means?

Hi, I have 2 RH and 2 LH guards from 2+2 's. All have some rust but are repairable. I also have a Rare Spares rust repair panel for the lower rear sections for RH and LH. 1 set of guards has been fully sand blasted and etch primed ready for repair. I'm looking for $150.00 each including the rust repair panels that cost $100.00 each on their own. Phone number is 0407 728 976 Regards, Barry

I took some close up photos and when I enlarge them on teh computer screen I can now see that 2 of the very fine wires from the induction coil are broken. I think the problem is that only 1/2 of it is working. I don't think this can be repaired.

Hi, Thanks for your excellent post on how to repair the 260Z electronic clock. I have tried to repair mine but the best I can get is it will pulse when connected to the regulated bence power supply set at 12 volts. I have replaced all the capacitors and the transistor but nothing seems to get it going. I have even tried re-replacing the transistor as I thought that maybe the heat from soldering may have damaged it so I was very careful to heat sink it during the solder process but I still get the same result. If it tap the positive lead on the terminal at about 1 second intervals I can almost get it to clik over the mechanism but it wont keep going. Do you have any ideas as to what might be the cause? Also, can anyone tell me how to change details in my profile on this forum. I cannot find any access to it. Thanks,

They can be re-skinned by the Dashboard doctor in Melbourne but at$550.00 plus freight both ways it gets very expensive. Much cheaper to repair if you can get the products to do it.

Hi Everyone. I'm new to this forum and not used to using them so I am finding it difficult to work out how to do things. What I am trying to do is find an Australian supplier for the following products. I am wanting to restore the padded dash in my 260Z 2+2 that I am currently doing a complete rebuild on. 1. Dow "Great Stuff" Insulating Foam Sealant (either spray pack or gun tube) 2.SEM Bumper Repair I have found some SEM products in the Zoxoro Australia online store but they don't list the above 2 products. I have tried, Repco, Auto Barn, Supa-Cheap Auto, Bunnings, Mitre 10, Automotive Paint and Panel equipment suppliers, and searched widely online but I can only find them in the USA and freight is about 3 times the price of the product. Any assistance would be appreciated