Gold CADIUM Plating on Rotors
09-11-2006, 09:13 AM
#1
Gold CADIUM Plating on Rotors
i was wondering if anyone had any experiences witht that plating on rotors. Is it like anodizing (penetrates the metal and goes deep inside) or is is just like paint and will eventially come off as you use the rotors. and most importantly, would it look ricy? i mean the whole thing is gonna be gold... thanks.
09-11-2006, 11:02 AM
#2
did some uber research and answered my own post. after reading this i bet your guys will think twice about buying Cadmium Plated rotors...
SOURCE: http://www.cnczone.com/forums/archiv...p/t-14072.html
jcolley10-19-2005, 05:59 PM
Wanna know the real deal?
Here's how I learned the hard way. I made a few new machinist friends a month or so ago. One of them introduced me to the widow of an old retired Navy Warrant Officer. This guy was a master machinist and did wonders restoring old Norton and Indian motorcycles and the like. Being an old die hard, he preferred to do things the way they were done originally. Like Cadmium plating all the bolts and such.
From what I researched, the plating process is fairly simple, but the primary chemical involved is Sodium Cyanide. Take about 4oz. of Sodium Cyanide and dissolve it into about a gallon of HOT water. Don't get anywhere near the fumes (google sodium cyanide if you don't know why, it's what they used to use in the gas chamber). Then, this is the bath for the plating process. Easy right?
Now, fast forward 20 years or so where this 5 gallon bucket of liquid Sodium Cyanide has been sitting in the garage, long forgotten. After he passed on, his friends came over to the house to help her sort through his belongings and price a lot of his machinery supplies so she wouldn't get ripped off. They look under a workbench and see a white five gallon bucket with a lid and an ominous skull and crossbones on it. "POISON, SODIUM CYANIDE". Everyone sort of backed away and tried to figure out what to do with it. Afte calling around to numerous waste disposal sites, we were a little miffed that people would not take this stuff. Too hazardous. In fact, when we called the local Department of Health and Environment whatever office, they hung up on us. Twice.
Looking into a commercial solution for proper waste disposal, we were asked the exact address of the substance as they would cordone off the route the truck would take and have a HAZMAT team escort it. We didn't bother to ask what the charge would be, just said thank you.
So, more research googling the stuff yielded a web site with instructions on neutralizing it.
You need pH test strips and chlorine test strips, a gallon or so of lye (Red Devil Drain cleaner), about 5 gallons of chlorox bleach and probably at least a gallon of concentrated Sulfuric Acid. Nervous yet? Use the test strips and get idea of where pH is. Dilute the lye about half and half with water and add this to the Sodium Cyanide to raise the pH above 10.5. Chlorox is about 5.5% Sodium Hypochlorate. At 5.5%, you need at least 2 gallons of bleach for about a gallon of sodium. This will produce a violent reaction as the chllrine neutralizes the Cyanide and converts it to Cyanate, which is benign. Once the bubbles stop forming, wait a day for the reaction to complete. Now, the cyanide is neutralized and it is safe to bring the pH down to something that won't eat your pipes. Dilute the sulfuric acid 1 to 1 with COLD water (also a violent reaction...lots of heat) and add it to the mix VERY CAREFULLY. This is the most violent (and the coolest) chemical reaction I have ever seen, so be very careful. Then, once the pH is back below about 8.0, you have a nice group of five gallon buckets to pour down the drain.
Chemical gloves, goggles, and a organic vapor cartridges on a face mask are a must and forced air such as SCBA is preferred.
I have no idea whether or not the cadmium plating is worth anything, but I can tell you from experience that the byproduct is an absolute pain in the **** to get rid of. If Sodium Cyanide comes in contact with any acidic solution it reacts violently and releases Hydrogen Cyanide, a poisonous gas used in World War I as a chemical weapon. The neutralizing process is something I took on myself, after much dissuasion from the chemical engineers in my family. I would never consider making more of this stuff, especially since it cost over a hundred dollars in chemicals just to neutralize another batch. The Air Force base here no longer uses this process on landing gear components for the same reasons.
I may be a little biased, but I am not an environmentalist either (I work in nuclear power plants).
Just my .02
Jim
I am cool off Cadmium rotors now...
SOURCE: http://www.cnczone.com/forums/archiv...p/t-14072.html
jcolley10-19-2005, 05:59 PM
Wanna know the real deal?
Here's how I learned the hard way. I made a few new machinist friends a month or so ago. One of them introduced me to the widow of an old retired Navy Warrant Officer. This guy was a master machinist and did wonders restoring old Norton and Indian motorcycles and the like. Being an old die hard, he preferred to do things the way they were done originally. Like Cadmium plating all the bolts and such.
From what I researched, the plating process is fairly simple, but the primary chemical involved is Sodium Cyanide. Take about 4oz. of Sodium Cyanide and dissolve it into about a gallon of HOT water. Don't get anywhere near the fumes (google sodium cyanide if you don't know why, it's what they used to use in the gas chamber). Then, this is the bath for the plating process. Easy right?
Now, fast forward 20 years or so where this 5 gallon bucket of liquid Sodium Cyanide has been sitting in the garage, long forgotten. After he passed on, his friends came over to the house to help her sort through his belongings and price a lot of his machinery supplies so she wouldn't get ripped off. They look under a workbench and see a white five gallon bucket with a lid and an ominous skull and crossbones on it. "POISON, SODIUM CYANIDE". Everyone sort of backed away and tried to figure out what to do with it. Afte calling around to numerous waste disposal sites, we were a little miffed that people would not take this stuff. Too hazardous. In fact, when we called the local Department of Health and Environment whatever office, they hung up on us. Twice.
Looking into a commercial solution for proper waste disposal, we were asked the exact address of the substance as they would cordone off the route the truck would take and have a HAZMAT team escort it. We didn't bother to ask what the charge would be, just said thank you.
So, more research googling the stuff yielded a web site with instructions on neutralizing it.
You need pH test strips and chlorine test strips, a gallon or so of lye (Red Devil Drain cleaner), about 5 gallons of chlorox bleach and probably at least a gallon of concentrated Sulfuric Acid. Nervous yet? Use the test strips and get idea of where pH is. Dilute the lye about half and half with water and add this to the Sodium Cyanide to raise the pH above 10.5. Chlorox is about 5.5% Sodium Hypochlorate. At 5.5%, you need at least 2 gallons of bleach for about a gallon of sodium. This will produce a violent reaction as the chllrine neutralizes the Cyanide and converts it to Cyanate, which is benign. Once the bubbles stop forming, wait a day for the reaction to complete. Now, the cyanide is neutralized and it is safe to bring the pH down to something that won't eat your pipes. Dilute the sulfuric acid 1 to 1 with COLD water (also a violent reaction...lots of heat) and add it to the mix VERY CAREFULLY. This is the most violent (and the coolest) chemical reaction I have ever seen, so be very careful. Then, once the pH is back below about 8.0, you have a nice group of five gallon buckets to pour down the drain.
Chemical gloves, goggles, and a organic vapor cartridges on a face mask are a must and forced air such as SCBA is preferred.
I have no idea whether or not the cadmium plating is worth anything, but I can tell you from experience that the byproduct is an absolute pain in the **** to get rid of. If Sodium Cyanide comes in contact with any acidic solution it reacts violently and releases Hydrogen Cyanide, a poisonous gas used in World War I as a chemical weapon. The neutralizing process is something I took on myself, after much dissuasion from the chemical engineers in my family. I would never consider making more of this stuff, especially since it cost over a hundred dollars in chemicals just to neutralize another batch. The Air Force base here no longer uses this process on landing gear components for the same reasons.
I may be a little biased, but I am not an environmentalist either (I work in nuclear power plants).
Just my .02
Jim
I am cool off Cadmium rotors now...
09-11-2006, 11:59 AM
#4
Originally Posted by FriscoMaxima
i was wondering if anyone had any experiences witht that plating on rotors. Is it like anodizing (penetrates the metal and goes deep inside) or is is just like paint and will eventially come off as you use the rotors. and most importantly, would it look ricy? i mean the whole thing is gonna be gold... thanks.
The plating process add layer on top of the parts, the reason they plate the rotor is to make shure they wont rust while in transit from the manufacturer to the shop who sell it to customer. The part that doesn't touch the brake pads should last longer, but if your car see winter, it's just a matter of time before the plating fade. I had my rear brake caliper assembly being chromed process a year ago and they are still shinning.
My 2 cents.
AA
09-11-2006, 04:31 PM
#7
Newbie - Just Registered
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 247
Well I'm not a greener, so I couldn't care less if they use poison to plate rotors or anything else for that matter. When the plating process is complete, the product you receive is not poisonous, and will not react any differently than any other metal. So if it pisses you off that they use poison in the process, go hug a tree and feed a spotted owl, If it doesn't bother you, go buy the damn things.
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