Chrome plating, what should I know?

Give them one piece to test them. Make it one that's inconspicuous, explain the value of the parts involved before they start, as you'll be chasing them big time if they f-up your order.

Maybe give 'em some wheel bolts as a test. Those are easy to replace.

Dave

 

I recommend you BOGU. It's going to hurt.

 

BOGU?
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B end
O ver
G rab
U ( ur ankles?)

Just a guess....

 

At the risk of beating a dead horse...I bought the Caswell plating kit to cadmium plate the nuts and bolts. I have not used it yet and am hopeful that it will work as the plater locally is $100 bucks a throw whether it is 5 nuts& bolts or 100 nuts& bolts. I spoke to OMGJON on it and he was not a fan of the Caswell system (so maybe I wasted $300 bucks). Still I have not tried it yet. I bought the Eastwood metal blackening system, followed the directions & it did not work. I called the tech line & the guy said that if you use metal etch on it first it will work and blacken the parts. Well, I put the nuts & bolts in a tumbler and cleaned em up very well before I used it & it still didn't work. I was told that the cadmium paint the Year One sells (which is the Eastwood product) is good. I have also been told that it is no good. I am very curious if anyone has had any luck with any of these plating systems at all? Should I just bite the bullet & throw it all to the plater? The detail on OMGJON's car is really great & the plating shows off just fabulous. Are there alternatives--very curious here. Thanks

 

I just bit it, and more than once, and went to High Tech Plating in San Carlos, CA. and as usual, fantastic, great job. They also have black zinc, which does NOT RUST at all, so you can do it just right. As an added bonus, they do not lose anything and if you send/take it in separate ziplocs, it all comes/get back just as. Talk to Wendel, drop my name, he'll give us both/all, a better price. Honest, really.
I tried the Eastwood stuff, and it's a lot of fun chemistry, it does not last 24hrs. with water on it. Instant rust. Leave it to the pros. Regards, Alberto

 

Ditto, Leave it to the pro's.
I bought two or three different kits and add ons.....thought it was like being a kid again with his first chemistry set.......but brought back old memories of nothing being quite like it shows on the box. In fact it all produced such crap results that all i have left is the buckets.
Guess they will come in handy one day even though they are the most expensive buckets i have ever bought!!
Took it all to the pro, and superb results.....although i cleaned up every nut and bolt in a blast cabinet (now that was a worthwhile investment) first to ensure that the job came out right.
G P

 

Like just about everything in life it comes down to preparation. The parts need to be prepared much the same (smooth) as if you wanted to paint them. Any imperfections will show in the finished product.
Triple plating (cooper, nickel and chrome) gives the best and most durable finish.

 

I would have thought that the windshield chrome trim was unavailable?

 

I would say $2K+ for all the trim minus bumpers, and those can be upwards of $500ea. Regards, Alberto

 

I've seen parts worse off than that that were restored. If the part is unavailable it leaves you little choice.

 

I know a little about chrome

Short answer... take it to a well known, reputable shop. If I were you, I would not get too hung up on someone local... the EPA has been cracking down on chrome shops, so there are less and less of them. They essentially don't give our new licenses, and so as shops close up, there are fewer to choose from. That means if you restrict yourself to locals, you seriously miss out on quality.


Long answer.. there are two types of chrome. Hexavalent and Trivalent. Hex is the older process, it produces a more blue "cooler" colored chrome. Trivalent is the newer, (slightly) more environmentally friendly chrome that is much more yellow in color. Most people consider Hex to be a superior chrome in looks and durability. But hex is rapidly disappearing and the gov't and everyone else tries to push everyone to trivalent. Why do you care? Well, chances are the chrome on your car is hex... and if you get some of it re-done in trivalent, it may look different. Trivalent is getting better, and a high-end shop can probably get it close enough that you may not notice a difference.

People talk about "triple chrome". The way chrome is done usually is they plate copper onto the part (a thick layer of copper). Then they buff the copper to a mirror shine. Then they plate on nickel. Then finally they plate on chromium. The copper fills in the scratches and provides a nice base. The nickel is what actually shines. The chrome adds a layer of protection. Some places may use additional steps (like flashing copper over the nickel base - where flashing means a very quick dip for a very thin coat). Small imperfections can be taken out with the copper layer, but I'm talking about minor scratches. Larger imperfections need to be fixed other ways, either by beating them out and then using lead or other metals to fill in and make it perfect, then copper plating it from there. Anything can be fixed, but the question is how much $$$ you spend on labor to get it perfect.

If you want a very good job done, I would contact Chrome Masters. I don't know their #, but they are in NC or TN or something. They do a lot of high-end motorcycle work and they are pretty much the best of the best. They can look at your old parts and tell you precisely what needs done to get them looking factory. If these are expensive parts, I would trust them. I have no affiliation, other than having used them.

There is a much cheaper place in Rhode Island called D&D. Their chrome is good, but not perfect, in my experience. Then again, I am picky... I want my parts to look like liquid metal, and looking at the part in sunlight at an angle and seeing small scratches is not acceptable to me, but it may be on a bumper.

I know a few other shops, but most of them only deal with production (volume) work.

I would certainly recommend you check on what process they use (hex vs tri) and get someone to tell you what is on your parts now (most likely hex). Don't be afraid to ask for references. I would not expect any shop to do a sample for you - certainly not for free, but you could maybe send them a piece that is small and get it chromed and tell them you want to check it before investing the $$.

The other thing is to check if they can reproduce the work every time. My chrome shop (who unfortunately only does production/volume plating) has a tolerance for surface finish, color, thickness, and warranties their chrome. Their process is tighly controlled so I know I am getting 0.0005 to 0.0008" of chrome on every part. A backyard chrome shop won't be able to make it repeatable... you don't care about thickness like I do, but you want to make sure the first part looks like the last part.

That is why I would suggest Chrome Masters. They do a lot of the chrome work for the high end motorcycle shops, and they know their stuff. I know they have been slow the last year, so while they previously did not do individual customer work, they are doing it now. Be sure to explain to whomever does your chrome the importance of making sure it's done right and with care to your parts.

Hope this novel helps.

 

Sorry for the slow response. BOGU = BEND OVER (&) GREASE UP.

Plating is so damn expensive these days it just hurts. It typically represents the third or fourth most expensive part of a restoration after the body/paint, motor and interior. I think all of the EPA charges and the small number of shops left doing the work has driven the costs of quality plating into the stratosphere.

If you want a great plater and don't mind shipping your stuff to the Northwest, look up Queen City Plating. Great results and you guessed it, BOGU!

Most people would be surprised how many cars that drive across the lawn at the Pebble Beach Concours each year used Queen City Plating up in Mukilteo, WA.

Cheers...Keith