Zinc Plating vs Powder coated or Something Else?

[Jonathan816]

I was wondering what peoples thoughts were on having the inside shelves and such zinc plated or powder coated.  Or would you recommend something else?

Easier to get things powder coated now a days, but what's the advantages and disadvantages?

[SIGNGUY]

I used to use Zinc Plating the shelves and bottle stack shoes where the bottle sits before a vend, but have switched to powder coating.

the zinc would look awesome at first but after exposure to the cold and moisture it starts to breakdown and looks chalky and gross...

Powdercoating has been the way to go for me over the last few years and so far still looks great!

[jholmgren]

I am a huge fan of powder coating.  I just coated the suspension arms on my Spitfire a week or so ago at my friend's house.  They look awesome.

The only place I could see PC being less desirable is where you have very tight tolerances.  Most powder coating places I've seen put it on pretty heavy.

Just had the rack on my Glasco slider powder coated - it looks very nice and should last the lifetime of the machine.  I had to farm it out because it was too large to fit in my friend's oven.

We all love old-school stuff, but sometimes new-school is simply better.  I have to believe if powder coating were an option back in the day, that's what they would have used.

Jim

[Jonathan816]

Is there any particular color to do the shelves that stands out more? Or just a gray/silver?

[Blind1968]

I used the silver hammer tone, came out very nice.

[burnt mind]

Thanks for asking this question.....i just posted a similar one myself and then noticed this post from today.....my questions are answered.

[Pat Pixley]

I started out spraying my own stuff with  hammer tone but now I powder coat the tank & all shelves and everything inside .
color is ultra chrome and clear coated.  the Jacobs tanks are a haze gray

[Jonathan816]

So what do you do with the springs in the sliding shelves?   I'd imagine you can't paint them...  can you find replacement springs to get a new look?

[MoonDawg]

      Suppliers on this site sell the springs.
The wheels should come off the shelves before powdercoating though.

[SIGNGUY]

You have to drill out the rivet on the wheel on the shelf and you can put it back on with a special bolt sold by Funtronics... springs and such are also sold by the suppliers.. often times you can clean them up on a buffing wheel as well.. or easy enough just to replace them.
the slides i powder coat as well...

[BrianS]

Powdercoating looks great on the shelving and bottle stack trays.  Also the bottle stack faceplate looks good with powder coating as well.  Do a search on offgassing, there are a number of threads on it on the site. I ran into it with my first powder coating experience and its a lesson to avoid.  With proper treating of any galvanized surfaces you can eliminate the issue.  I ended up using a muratic acid bath to pretreat my stuff - I believe credit for the tip goes to a post by Signguy (John) - and it yielded great results.  Once you pick up your first batch of powdercoated stuff you will be glad you went that route.

[Jonathan816]

Thanks for all the info, I really appreciate it all.

[Pat Pixley]

There is also a powder coat primer  made to stop the off gassing , and they also make a forgiving powder coat for offgassing .
they are coming out with new thing all the time in this field.

[Jonathan816]

Anyone know what on average it should cost to get all 10 shelves of a VMC 110 done?

[jholmgren]

My guess would be around $150-$200 or so, depending on where you live.  I just had my Glasco slider rack blasted and coated by a local shop, that cost me $100.  Shelves are pretty flat and easy to work on so labor shouldn't be too bad.

Jim

[Jonathan816]

My guess would be around $150-$200 or so, depending on where you live.  I just had my Glasco slider rack blasted and coated by a local shop, that cost me $100.  Shelves are pretty flat and easy to work on so labor shouldn't be too bad.

Jim

Lord, my guy quoted me $26 a shelf... in ultra chrome and clear coat...  trying to price around....

[SIGNGUY]

Yeah Id shop around ...
I'm paying around 75-100 Cash for parts for one machine
which is all bottle shelves, shoes, backspine,cabinet and face plate

[Zerbie]

I used to use Zinc Plating the shelves and bottle stack shoes where the bottle sits before a vend, but have switched to powder coating.

the zinc would look awesome at first but after exposure to the cold and moisture it starts to breakdown and looks chalky and gross...

Powdercoating has been the way to go for me over the last few years and so far still looks great!

Signguy, is this what you're calling the bottle stack shoe?

[Jim]

Zerbie,

The part circled is a bottle gate and should not be sent to a zinc-plater unless he knows exactly what he is doing or else the process will destroy these ! ! !
The roller pins should be removed prior to and restoration process utilized on the bottle gates...

[Zerbie]

Thanks Jim! How are the roller pins removed? Do you buy new roller pins (assuming they're available for sale)?

Is the bottle stack shoe that Signguy mentioned the same part as the bottle gate? What do you do with the arms? Powder coat, re-zinc (if needed), polish up, etc?

[Jim]

Thanks Jim! How are the roller pins removed? Do you buy new roller pins (assuming they're available for sale)?

Is the bottle stack shoe that Signguy mentioned the same part as the bottle gate? What do you do with the arms? Powder coat, re-zinc (if needed), polish up, etc?

They can be carefully hammered out using the correct size punch. The rollers themselves can be cleaned as they are stainless steel.
Uncertain what John is calling a "bottle stack shoe"...

[Zerbie]

I got all the roller pins out utilizing an 1/8" drive pin punch. It fit perfectly in the gate & in the roller pin and didn't mushroom or damage the "pins" that hold the roller pins in the bottle gate. I then documented how the springs would go back on and down the bottle gate with attached arm are stripped down.

What is the proper way to restore whats left of this assembly? (2nd pic)

Thx!

[Jim]

What is the proper way to restore whats left of this assembly? (2nd pic)

Thx!

That could be an open-ended question...
One restorer's position is to carefully drill out the shoulder rivet to separate the two components, technically three if you wish to count the swivel at the other end.
Include the block bar and attached block bar link in with other parts to be zinc plated. The bottle gate can be wire wheel cleaned/polished and buffed to nearly chrome finish and left as is to naturally color age back to gray Or clear coat to retain the nice polished finish.
Hopefully helpful...

[Zerbie]

Very helpful - thanks Jim!! 

[Zerbie]

Jim,

I was able to find replacement bottle gate shoulder rivets from Soda Jerk works....but they or Funtronics did not have the rivet for the other end of the arm. If I disconnected the bottle gate from the arm, would it be feasible to take the arm and keep the swivel piece attached on the other end of the arm all as one piece to get zinc plated and/powder coated?

 

[Jim]

Yes, leave the "swivel piece", the block bar link, attached for zinc plating. The goal is to remove the bottle gates as they are made from different metal and will not survive the zinc plating process.

[Zerbie]

Thank you once again!