First, I’d like to thank the forum members for the excellent information and support. This really helped me get started a few months ago and I’ve since had excellent plating results. I have a few nagging questions and haven’t found answers by searching the forum, so I figured I’d just lump ‘em in here (please excuse me if some seem obvious):

1. I currently have one anode on one side of my tank. I plate for 8 mins then rotate the parts and plate for 8 more. It seems that I achieve almost 360 degrees of coverage during the first 8 minutes. I was under the impression that the anode has to ’see’ the area to be plated in order for the plating to happen. I any case, I figure the extra time helps insure a thick enough plate and good coverage.
a. Does the plating travel ‘around’ the part of is this just a super-thin coat that appears properly plated?
b. Does this mean that detailed parts with nooks and crannies have an inadequate amount of zinc on them?
c. When I calculate the amount of current needed to plate a part, I assume I should use 1/2 of the overall surface area in my calculations, yes?

2. I have a larger tank and plan to use 2 anodes (one on each side of the hanging parts. I assume 8 mins or so total will do the trick?

3. I’ve read that I should use strips of zinc to hang the anodes but I’ve been using brass wire with no problems. Is that OK? I’m guessing it present a problem with anodes opposite each other?

4. I’m in the process of assembling a replica of seanc’s excellent basket plating setup (still gathering a few parts). This will save a lot of time when doing nuts, bolts, etc. but I’m concerned about freshly chromated parts rubbing together. Has anyone yellow chromated a basket of bolts? I figured the fresh chromate might get scuffed up as the parts move around in the basket during chromate dipping and rinsing.

5. I add a little brightener (less than 1/2 teaspoon) to the plating solution after every 25-35 or so square inches of material plated. Does anyone have a rule of thumb for this?

I may add a few more questions to this thread as I think of them. Thanks again.