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Zinc plating removal - any easy method ?

notenoughtoys

Plastic
Joined
Jul 19, 2004
Location
Uxbridge Ontario Canada
Anybody have any helpful hints as to how to remove that cheap (zinc ??) plating found on every lag bolt in Home Dumpot these days ?

I'm working on recreating a wartime display, and the bright shiny finish of the only lag bolts I'm able to find is a little too futuristic for my liking.

Ideally I'd like to chemically / electrically strip the bright plating off and just go with the exposed steel look.

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Reid in Uxbridge Ontario
 
I use muriatic too,but do it outside,and keep anything associated with it away from your naked steel machine tools.It's very hard to really "kill".I rinse the parts off thoroughly,and heat them up with a torch to drive off any remaining chlorine.Baking soda and water doesn't seem to really make it.P.S.The acid can make its way through a never-opened plastic bottle,and you will eventually wonder why everything is getting rusty!I mean the fumes get through,no actual wet leaks.
 
The rust removal compound called Naval Jelly will remove most plating if left on the item long enough(1-2 hours)and then take soap and water to remove the residue.
 
Vinegar, phophoric acid metal prep solution, orange juice, anythin acidy will do. I use Jasco Metal Prep in small amounts (just to cover) and let it sit for a few hours. It leaves behind a black "parkerized" looking finish that goes well with old stuff and it's corrosion resistant.
 
I've used Muriatic which works fast, vinegar will do it a little slower but without the nasty fumes. If you also want them to look old throw them in a fire which will burn it off and give them a distressed look at the same time.
 
It's funny, I've tchnically 'wasted' 3 weeks mulling this problem over, now it's only a couple hours after posting on this forum I've got a half dozen great responses !

REALLY appreciate you guys taking the time to help me.

Reid
 
Muriatic acid is fast, cheap, and highly effective. I always use a small platic bucket and put an inch of water or so in it, then at the acid. Always wear eye protection and add acid to the water and NOT the water to the acid!!
 
Use muriatic acid with water as above (Jackalope). Then rinse the part well with water. Then immediately place the part on a hot frying pan (nothing in the pan but the part) and drive off ALL the water. Oil it immediately after it cools to where you can touch it. A.T.
 
I'm with the "something acidic" crowd. PLEASE, whatever you do, don't burn a zinc coating off of anything. That's a really fast way to give yourself a nasty case of heavy metal poisoning. Zinc, in particular when inhaled, will make you very ill and can kill you pretty easily. See this site for a prime example of this which caused the death of Jim "Paw Paw" Wilson a couple years back.

There is at least one warning sign though. If all of a sudden everything tastes "sweet", run to an emergency room and tell them what's up.

Be Safe,

-d
 
I use LIME AWAY and you can buy it at any local hardware store. I just use it for small steel screws that have been zinc coated.
 
I agree with the glass bead or sand blasting method but the battery charger and salt water is a good bet also without the problem 0f fumes to worry about - Powered Wire brush is also effective Then color them with a torch for the age effect -
 
Does taking off the zinc coating like this require some sort of corrosion resistant if kept indoors in a humid climate?

My method has always been to simply burn it off and then lately I've been spraying on a matte clear coat. However, before that I was only using WD-40. I haven't seen any rust yet without the clear coat but I live in a dry climate. I'm curious how they would survive in a humid climate like the Southeast.
 








 
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