I am getting serious with the soup and steamer bins.
I have one usable one which only needed sand blasting and replating.
Another one I fitted a new bottom to with sand blasting and the need to replate.
I purchased some pure tin and try and set my self up to electrolytically replate the bins.
I also set up a acid wash ect and Low voltage DC power supply.
My plating efforts were not successful.
I got in a friend who used to do electroplating commercially.
I got my information from the the internet and you tube.
What I have learnt, is what someone does small scale on you tube, doesn't mean it will work on a large scale and on 70 year old metal.
I was using acid and with tin it needs to be a alkaline solution, heated and with cyanide as well.
5 volts DC and about 300amps would be good too.
I do not want to go stuffing around with cyanide.
Also I have learnt electroplating must be done on perfectly smooth clean metal.
A sandblasting finish will lead to a poor tin coating as the tin will only coat the high spots of the surface.
The bin I fitted the new bottom to needed to be sealed with tin and if possible the whole inside of the bin tin wiped.
It turns out acid dipping and sand blasting still will not get the old bins surfaces clean enough to do a good tinning job using heat and wiping by hand.
On copper cook ware you will get away with it, but not on old steel.
It also turns out the old bins are coated with something, but even if it is tin, the old tin is dirty and will not let the new tin take and flow.
I did end up sealing the bin with a new bottom in its lower corners with tin, but re tinning the whole inside of it was not a option.
If the bins were new ,manually heat spreading of the tin would have worked.
I still have the vegetable steamer baskets to replate and they are rusted in a way that I will not get a smooth surface or get them clean enough for tin plating, even if done professionally.
What all this means
1/ I have wasted time and money, but have learnt alot.
2/ new stainless steel replacement steamer bins and baskets are the way forward.
( I have a design in my head for new bins and baskets which I should be able to make and
look and operate near original)
3/ in the short term two steamer bins have been sand blasted and sealed etc and painted silver.
( they will be operational but cannot be used for cooking due to the possibility of the paint
coming off and going into the food.) ( the old rusty bins can be still fitted to the cooker to complete the look
of it)
The steamer pipes for the bins have been remade in stainless steel, but the stainless pipe was going too difficult to bend in a very small radius , so currently brass, but later stainless steel 90 degree elbows are now used.
I just could paint everything up like they are at the museums with these cookers in them, but I want this one fully usable in all respects and why the stainless option, even though its going to be alot of work.
The steamer bin lids have been sandblasted and painted, and as they are not in direct contact with food I should be able to get away with that...........professionally tinning of them is not possible due to the rough surface due to old age and old rust pits.
They are hard to make and the old ones with paint are serviceable.
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