The Zephyr Zone

This is my tank set up and a few bits that I actually could be bothered to take before and after pics of. Start small because if you contaminate the solution it has to be dumped, you can use an old plug in power pack that kicks out 1 amp, just cut the jack plug off and connect crocodile clips, the 6 volt battery charger on slow is better for larger tanks with lots of parts being plated. The vid in the link above just explains the theory, I have just about perfected it now so any questions give me a shout.

I've just watched the vid again and he uses copper wire to suspend his parts in the vinegar/nickel solution, DO NOT DO THIS, use only titanium wire because the vinegar will eat away at the copper and add copper to the solution and contaminate it.
He also does his vid in what looks like his kitchen, in a cold shed with a large tank I use a 300 watt fish tank heater to get the solution to 30 degrees as it won't plate very well if it is cold. Plating also works better with agitation in the solution so in my large tank I have a cheap Chinese fish tank wave maker, in my small tank I used to stir it with a big spoon, but that gets old really fast. Make sure that nothing suspended in the tank touches anything else, especially the negative and positive wires, common sense I know but it happens .
The patio/Mortar cleaner will completely eat through zinc/galvanise/aluminium even though it is roughly only 22% acid, it will also eat through steel if you leave it in too long. I only use the Patio/Mortar cleaner outside in an old coffee jar or a glass baking dish with a sealable lid for when I've finished with it. The Patio/Mortar cleaner gives off hydrogen gas??? when metal is immersed in it so its best to only ever use it outdoors and put the lid on when you have finished using it.
A pair of Lab tongs is ideal for placing items in the Patio/Mortar cleaner, don't be tempted to just drop things in because it will splash and you don't want that stuff in your eye. An old plastic tub with water and a couple of big spoons of Baking Soda mixed in should be kept next to your Patio/Mortar cleaner (acid) and when you remove the parts from the acid dunk the parts in the Baking Soda tub to neutralise the acid.

ZoneAdmin wrote:Looks great What do you need to do this?

Admin, would this be better moved to the "Ongoing Projects" section then I could do a total run through from start to finish? I was only answering your question and I didn't mean to get carried away with my replies. Maybe more of the owners would be interested in the process if they aren't already doing it themselves.

Hi Shedman, thanks for the detail info, I’m sure others will be interested in this as well. I’ll see if I can move it on the weekend.

New MOT on my C4 today. A rather pathetic 52 miles in the last 12 months I really want to do better next year…
I took my 10 year old grandson for his first outing on a bike before I went home.

The weather was pretty good yesterday so I went for a 76 mile ride with my son-in-law, he was test riding a Honda CB1000R and then an Indian FTR750 from a local dealer (both 2021/2 models and way too modern for me).

I went on my C4 and when I came back I did an oil and oil filter change while the engine was nice and warm.

same here in the USA ,, Sunshine and in the 70's, took the 1200 kawasaki out for about the same mileage. I needed a break from my 550 rebuild.
Gene from Jersey

Good weather today and two trips, one to Brecon this morning and then one to Crickhowell late afternoon, total of 141 miles. That is a record for one day on this bike The clutch is slipping at around 6000 revs, so that will need looking at…

Went to a family birthday party yesterday on non-highway roads, was a lovely ride of some 140km, bit chilly in the evening though
Starting her up is still an issue, fires on two cilinders for a minute or so, no clue why yet...

Spent the afternoon trying to bleed the rear brake. For some reason its not happening.