Listers,
I have a little information to pass on and also a question.
One of the items on my Christmas list was the Eastwood zinc plating kit. I
have to say that the kit works as advertised.
Over the weekend, I removed the pitted and rusty covers from the flasher
relay, overdrive relay and overdrive switch. The flasher relay is made from
very thin stock so I lightly sand blasted to remove rust from the pitted areas
and then blended the areas as much as possible by sanding. The overdrive
relay and switch covers are quite thick and can take quite a bit of sanding
without problems. I just made sure that I didn't remove the stamped markings.
I followed the recommended procedure for plating which only takes about 4-8
minutes per piece. The plating initially comes out as a frosty silver
surface but can be easily buffed. I used a dry paper towel to buff the surface
to
a shiny satin surface that resembles the surface of modern aluminum relay
covers, the surface can be further buffed with polish to a shiny metallic
surface.
My question to the list is what surface condition was on the original covers
when new?
As far as the rest of the mechanism, I cleaned the insulating board with
carb cleaner and wire brushed the rust from the connector strips and associated
hardware to a bright finish. I then masked off the areas that would make
connection and sprayed the outside of the insulating board and metal connectors
with clear wheel finish.
I am very pleased with the finished results. I am also glad that I checked
the replacement value of the pieces AFTER I did the finishing, otherwise I
may have not been so cavalier in taking on all three pieces at once.
TIA for any info on the original plating surface color/finish.
Gary Bouffard
1960 BN7
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