cad plating versus zinc plating

[ssl78]

what is the difference between cad and zinc ? Do they have the same apperance? I have been using cad plating on my dust shields and caliper mounts, but there is very few places that still do cad. I was told a lot of people are using zinc instead of cad. What do you guys use. I was told the diffence between the two was that cad resists rust better.

[68z302]

I believe that zinc plated items will give you a silver finish on your parts. you can buff zinc plated parts to get a shine or use fine abrasive to tone it down.
Cad plated parts give a more yellow/golden colored appearance.
There has been recent discussion about zinc plating dust shields. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Bill Pritchard]

Zinc plating can be done in different 'colors'. I have had stuff zinc plated in silver, yellow, and black.

John, you're right, very few places left to do cad plating. Ususally only large industrial platers, due to having to deal with all the EPA regs as cad is more hazardous.

[ssl78]

Yes Bill you are right you can get dofferent colors, most bolts and screws are zinc plated and have standard colors for different applications. Blue for metric green for a ground on electrical connections etc. There is no noticable difference in zinc and cad when done. Does anybody sell a home setup to zinc plate. I know Eastwood does but it looks to small to do any thing but nuts and bolts.

[Enoch]

Howdy all, this is my first post here. First I'd like to say how much I enjoy this site. I don't have much available computer time, but the majority of it is spent here. Thanks to all those who take the time to run this site.

Now on to my reason for posting. Cad plating can be had in diffrent colors the same as zinc,ie:black, yellow, silver (also called clear)among others. Now the diffrence in aperance. Cad has a soft-semi shiny finish. Depending on the surface prep, final wash and drying by the plater.(Glass beading gives a softer dull finish and hot tank and acid wash gives a brighter unalterd finish) Zinc tends to have a much brighter, shinier finish. For example most hardeware store nuts and bolts are zinc sometimes with a blue hue to it. And finally durability Cad will out last zinc many times over. Most military specs. call for cad over zinc in part to longevity factors.

Hope this helps.

[CamarosRus]

This company http://www.palmetto-omnitek.com/Palmetto/index.htm sells phosphateing chemicals for the do it yourselfer....The MANGANESE(Iron) phosphate is used for fasteners and many brkts whereas the ZINC phosphate is used for hood hinges, hood catch etc.....I have seen the results firsthand and its absolutely first class......Chuck S

[JIM]

ENOCH; GREAT ANSWER! MOST PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW JUST A LITTLE MORE.ZINC PLATING LIKE CAD PLATING WAS SIMPLY APPLIED TO KEEP THE PARTS FROM CORRODING BEFORE THEY WERE INSTALLED.THEY DIDN'T COLOR ALL THOSE PARTS TO MAKE THEM PRETTY JUST PROTECT THEM UNTIL THEY WERE SOLD.ZINC WAS RESERVED FOR SCREWS, NUTS , SOME BOLTS (LIMITED), AND PLUG SHIELDS WHERE APPLICABLE.THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF CAD PLATING. THE MOST COMMON IS ALKALIDE, WHICH IS WATER BASED. THIS TYPE IS AVAILABLE JUST ABOUT EVERY WHERE. THE LIFE SPAN OF THIS EPA FRIENDLY PLATING IS ONLY A COUPLE OF YEARS AND IT CAN BE REMOVED WITH NORMAL CLEANERS. IT COMMONLY HAS A MORE TRANSPARENT LOOK ,SORT OF LIKE YELLOW CHROME, THAT YOU WILL SEE ON A LOT OF CARS.THE OTHER TYPE IS WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY USED ON YOUR CAR WHEN IT WAS NEW, THAT BEING CYANIDE CADIUM IT HAS A SLIGHLTY DEEPER YELLOW WITH A TOUCH OF PINKS, GREENS AND ORANGES RUNNING THRU IT. THIS BY NAME AS YOU GUESSED IS CAUSTIC AND DEADLY, IT IS RESERVED FOR MILITARY APPLICATIONS , WITH ONLY A HANDFULL OF COMPANIES MAKING IT AVAILABLE FOR THOSE APPLICATIONS.THIS TYPE OF PLATING OFFERS 10 TIMES THE LIFE SPAN OF ALAKIDE, HERES AN EXAMPLE. A BOOSTER REPLATED IN ALAKIDE WILL STRIP IN AN ACID TANK WITHIN A MINUTE, AN ORIGINAL OR CYANIDE PART WILL TAKE OVER AN HOUR TO REMOVE THE CAD. ITS NOT HARD TO FIGURE THAT ONE OUT, SHORTTERM, LONGTERM, THE COST IS THE SAME. MY COMPANY OFFERS CAD PLATING OF BOOSTERS, BACKING PLATES AND CALPIER MOUNTING BRACKETS AS WELL AS SMOG PARTS AND DIVERTER VALVES USING THE CYANIDE TYPE OF PLATING. SOME OTHER NOTES, YOU CAN ABRAISE SILVER CAD(CYANIDE) TO INCREASE THE SHINE WITH EITHER STEEL WOOL OR SCOTCHBRITE WITH OUT REMOVING OR DAMAGING IT. THE SURFACE PREP IS THE KEY TO THE REFLECTIVITY OF THE PART. GLASS BEADING AND SAND BLASTING DAMAGE AND DESTROY THE FINISH. PITTING CAN BE REMOVED BY FILING, SANDING AND POLISHING LIKE CHROME PREP , EXCEPT YOU DON'T HAVE COPPER TO FILL THE IMPERFECTIONS.BECAUSE THESE PARTS ALL NEED SOME ATTENTION AND IT IS ALL DONE BY HAND, THE TURN AROUND TIME CAN BE LENGTHLY SOMETIMES, BUT THE FINISHED PRODUCT IS A KNOCKOUT. OUR PARTS GRACE THE ENGINE COMPARTMENTS OF DAILY DRIVERS ALL THE WAY UP TO LS-6 CONVERTBLES.FOR MORE INFO YOU CAN E-MAIL US AT [email protected] THANKS