69' Wiper/Headlight Vacuum Canister Metal?

[Rick Curry]

I am going to attempt to re-plate my vacuum canisters that have been painted black. Does anyone know what the underlying metal is beneath the original cadmium plate? I assume it is a zinc plating ferrous metal but I'm not sure. If it is zinc, I will strip the paint, do an acid etch and yellow chromate dip. Has anyone else attempted this?

Thanks,
Rick

[Gary S.]

Re: 69' Wiper/Headlight Vacuum Canister Metal?

DOn't know directly but have you tried a magnet?
Gary

[Rick Curry]

Re: 69' Wiper/Headlight Vacuum Canister Metal?

Definately Ferrous! Not sure of the plating? Zinc or Cadmium?

[Patrick H.]

Re: 69' Wiper/Headlight Vacuum Canister Metal?

Dichromate dipped for that nice gold-like appearance.

If you just don't want them black, try stripping of the paint with paint stripper, and see how good they look. If the finish is poor, then you can still have them plated. New and/or reproductions are available at just over $100 each, so don't spend too much cash on them.

Patrick

[Chuck S.]

Re: 69' Wiper/Headlight Vacuum Canister Metal?

Rick, I have done it...use zinc. Cadmium platers are hard to find, cadmium will probably be more expensive, and NOBODY can tell the difference. The yellow dichromate dip is required for originality, but most platers that do zinc will probably have a di-chromate tank in their plating line

Using acid to remove the old plating will give you the best match to the original finish. You can also bead-blast the old plating off, but the result will be a textured matte finish where it was originally smooth; it's not objectionable, just not original. Since the plating is only fractions of a mil thick, it will not fill the texture left by bead blasting. BE SURE to use small rubber plugs to positively seal any tube connections; you don't want the acid INSIDE the actuator. Also BE SURE that you neutralize the acid thoroughly (longer residence time and scrubbing the seams) and rinse thoroughly.

Also, use the rubber plugs to positively seal the tubing connections during the plating operation...you don't want the chemicals used for plating or acid inside your actuator. Mine came out plated beutifully, and none the worse for the wear on the inside.

[Rick Curry]

Re: 69' Wiper/Headlight Vacuum Canister Metal?

Thanks Guys!

[Jeffrey S.]

Re: 69' Wiper/Headlight Vacuum Canister Metal?

Rick:
I have replated several of these using the Caswell "Copy-Cad" and yellow di-chromate system. I used small corks that fit inside the tubes to seal them while letting them be plated. The results were excellent. The key was to get a power supply to deliver a sufficient current at a low voltage. Hope this helps.
Jeff

[Roberto L.]

Re: 69' Wiper/Headlight Vacuum Canister Metal?

Hello, when I bought my car a decade ago, or so, I found the actuators black painted (as everything else in the engine bay...) Removed the paint using a paint remover, with care... the actuator's finish behind the paint was very good looking, even the ink stamping is showing.

Roberto, NCRS #30019, RMC