A bit of zinc plating!

So i own a couple of RD125 ypvs's and i have completely restored one which has taken a long time to do! black and red 1987.

Well when i say completely restored are they ever! i mean i'm still spending money on it to this day i mean it's amazing how things keep needing restoring or replacing i bought the proper nuts n bolts for it, well the ones that were not meant to be on the bike that is, and they just don't last or seems this way the green passivated finish comes off quite quickly from some of the parts as well as the bolts and they end up looking a dull grey! well mine did, so i invested in a zinc plating kit, quite a good one too, and learnt how to plate and passivate the parts! and so i started plating at a good rate and did some cracking pieces up like the clutch actuator arm i was sick of trying to protect this thing with almost everything i could get my hands on paints, bluing, lacquers, but no way was this working so i stripped it and zinc plated it with a clear blue pass and it came out incredible i was over the moon now all i have to do to clean it is a bit of soapy water and comes up fantastic every time!

So i am constantly looking at what i will do next on her! so the grab rail bolts are getting an hour in the plating bath and iv'e done one tonight and it is looking good but it takes a bit of work to do the job! like first i had to get the brass wire brush flywheel to clean the threads and give the dome a polish but hard to get the green pass out of the hex key hole but pushed on and eventually got it out! on to the buffing wheel to really policy it even the threads! as the more you clean and polish the parts before hand then the better the plating and end results! then in to an alkaline solution and scrub with a toothbrush then rinse with water, acid salts to really get rid of all existing plating! took about 1 second, that's how thick the existing plate was, err!!! anyway then in to acid pickle rinse then in to the plating bath...for about 1 hour, constantly moving the electrolyte around the piece for even plating to occur the solution should be kept moving by storing or fish tank pump! i have this and it's good, then once time is up rinse then asap in to the clear blues passivate this is a dip and you only have to dip for 2-3 seconds the rinse and let dry completely which it is doing right now so i will see what it is like in the morning! slightly worried it will out shine the grab rail and look stupid hope not as these bolts will last for bloody years, this is the second set as the others looked had it after only a few years!