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Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
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for Metal Finishing 1989-2024
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Masking my CZ Shadow for Plating
Q. Decided to customize my CZ Shadow 2 and I've been in the process for almost a year, now. I decided to go with a black nickel finish with a flash copper undercoat.
My question here is: what sort of masking would work best to get into all the intricate nooks and crannies of the frame and slide while also keeping the flash copper from dissolving it into solution? I tried Elmer's glue and that certainly did not work. Luckily, it was a small test piece.
Derek Peltier- Seguin, Texas
September 20, 2024
A. Hi Derek
Re. your question about masking material: components can often be dipped in molten wax to protect whole areas, but in your case this may leave you with needing to remove the wax from the areas you wish to plate. There are, of course, companies like Maskcoat LLC [a finishing.com supporting advertiser], who specialize in offering proper materials for masking.
Out of curiosity, what is the material of construction that prompts you to want to deposit a flash of copper before the black nickel? Have you enjoyed any success plating onto this substrate to date? Always practice on scrap before putting anything of value at risk.
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Q. From my understanding, the flash copper works great to fill in small imperfections.
Derek Peltier [returning]- Seguin
September 22, 2024
A. Hi again, Derek.
Plating doesn't fills imperfections, but it is sometimes possible to "mush buff" -- i.e., do copper plating, then buff it in a way that it will help squeeze some copper into small imperfections.
The term "flash" is usually not used to refer to heavy plating but to very thin plating.
Good Luck!
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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