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Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
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for Metal Finishing since 1989
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Dent and Pits filling before Plating
Q. Hello,
I am restoring a motorcycle. Fenders, chain guard and exhaust has small dents, rust pits and low areas. Initially I thought of Bondo as filler, but with some search I realised that after Bondo the part can not be electroplated. What should be used as filler to achieve good results after plating.
I read about options like:- Lead, bronze, silver flux. The exhaust pipes do get hot, the filler should be tolerate enough to withstand the heat and not crack out.
I am a hobbyist, seeking guidance. All the inputs shall be appreciated.
Hobbyist - Chandigarh, Punjab & India
September 9, 2011
A. Hi, Ashok.
I would suggest you not plate this stuff. Consider powder coating everything but the exhaust system, and have that ceramic coated. Otherwise, you could try polishing everything down until there are no pits. My feeling is that skilled shops are hit and miss on filling pits for electroplating, and it would be months of hands-on trial-and-error before you could achieve success at it. But, yes, solder, brazing, and for critical applications (like continuous molds) even welding, are employed for filling pits.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
A. If part thickness and time (cost) allow it, Ted's advise of polishing out pits is the right way to go. Otherwise, provided pits are very deep and localized, you may try argon welding and dressing back the surface. Alternatively, if pitting is distributed all over, a thick acid copper plating will give you a soft and dense surface you can polish prior to the final plate. Remember that ferrous substrates need an initial strike in a cyanide copper or other alkaline copper bath or a nickel strike.
G. Marrufo
Monterrey, Mexico
Monterrey, NL, Mexico
Q. Hi. My name is saeem. I am from dubai. Me and my father run a small electroplating company and we are looking for metal filler which could fill any types of metal holes or spots and which can also be electroplated. Please suggest me any good product.
Thank you
- siii
August 12, 2012
A. Hi Saeem. We appended your inquiry to a previous thread on the same subject. I do not believe that there is any satisfactory filler. I believe that you must solder, braze, weld, or mush buff copper to deal with pits and holes. Good luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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