Technical Who to use for Pot-Metal Restoration ?

Thanks for the reply that's the kind of sticker shock we were expecting ....... Truly the pitting effects have to be the $$$$ part of the job.
Out of these items were any or all severely pitted or chipped before replating or just chrome worn thin? I'd rather step up n pay & have it done right the first time. Thanks Flux

 

.... and who did your plating?

 

That's a lot of ching isn't it?

 

So that's $300 each, and none of those parts are that big and only the emblems would have much detail. We still don't know if that's a 'typical' price.

 

man, I have 8 lancer flippers to plate, none of them are real rough, but at $300 each, YIKES!!!

 

Pot metal is one of the hardest to prep for plating. Even the nice original pieces could have heavy pits under the plating. Not all plating companies will mess with it.

 

It was asked, what solder to use. Low temp silver solder is good, maybe the best, but I've also used old school 70/30 body solder. As small as the repairs are you can get away with it but a wayward polisher who doesn't have the "touch" could wash out the soft stuff. It's the grit from the stick that does the work, not the rag and heavy-handed pressure. It should be sanded smooth, like to at least 240 but 320 is better. After final copper it gets finishing polish and off to plate. Worth the effort for sure but like anything else time is $$$$. A high end concours plater will get like $1,200 to do a 60s style bumper, something like a GTO. A regular bumper plater can do it for $500 give or take a few bucks. My local bumper flip shop doesn't use copper. Soft grey nickel for fill and surfacing, bright nickel to check, off to chrome. However, those shops CAN NOT do diecast or aluminum stuff. They can't even strip it as the part will disappear like magic. You get an O.E.M. look vs a flawless concours polish. In restoration the O.E.M. is preferred in my way of thinking. Good luck with your choices, but there's been a lot of plating discussion here over the last few years. Read up and get familiar, and the other "bad" part about plating is turn around time. Hardly ever goes as promised so ask for a commitment but be prepared to add a little time to it. If they say 4 weeks and it takes 5, understandable. 7-8 weeks, more, not so much regardless of quality.

 

They were pitted on the quarter glass to the point where it looked like bubbles had "popped" on the surface. But the other parts had normal amounts of pitting and wear. I will take pictures this weekend of the final product. It's Been 3 years since I had them done.

 

Thanks Highlander, I have silver solder and am comfortable working with it. That's what I will go with. If I fill the pits, I can metal finish them. I was kind of nervous doing it on pot metal, but hey, its not black magic.

 

Just get it stripped, then drill the holes, then have it copper plated. After copper you do the solder work. Not too much heat as it will peel the plating sometimes but the low temp silver solder really takes to the copper plating nicely. There's some special wazoo-oh my-proprietary AND expensive solder for direct to diecast. Not worth the roll of the dice as to whether it takes or not because our shit is usually so old and deep down dirty. Strip, drill, copper plate, solder, metal finish, done.

 

Thanks Highlander! I gotta get these stripped and get going on this, I loves me some shiny shortbar lancers!

 

This makes me wonder if reproducing the parts via this: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/reproducing-an-emblem-tech-week.993104/ may not be cheaper overall. Maybe plating a fresh part with no repair needed would bring the price down....

 

Please no disrepect meant but..

Most REALLY good chrome shops will tell you they prefer to any do any metal work that needs to be done before the plate it. The reason being is that they usually end up having to fix/redo any metalwork that was done prior to them plating so they can guarantee their work is up to there standards.

Advanced is one of the best if not the best.

Have great day !

 

another one of those deals like where a professional painter shows up and says "lacquer is crap, don't use it...Oh yea, and don't paint modern paints at home, they are loaded with isocynates and too dangerous for a home painter to use."Or like when a "professional" machinist (who couldn't even accurately calculate compression distance on another thread) shows up and tells people they cant build their own motors because they don't know what they are doing, and so on, ad nauseam...
so guys, don't work on your own cars ok? Just call up Brizio and write a couple cheques, or better yet, just head down to your local Lexus dealer...no disrespect intended.

 

Ok....I am not rich by any means...do almost all of my own work..like I said was NOT trying to anger anyone...guess I hit a nerve or two...sorry I apploogize if I ruffled any feathers .. that post was from my experiences with poor or crappy chrome jobs nothing else...have a great day !

 

To keep this friendly, any plater who insisted on removing my repairs and doing their own would be pretty useless. Like anything, quality speaks for itself and proper process rules the job. Regardless of whose dirty dick beaters do the work, done right is done right. A shop that can't see it's right shouldn't be plating. I only add this to lend support and encouragement to others to take on some of their needs. Being involved in your car's journey is better than the alternative. The juice is worth the squeeze.

 

Let me try this again.... Want to word this carefully..... ....... ... should of kept my mouth shut actually...I am not a expert on chrome by any means.....as the prior poster said the chrome shop of YOUR choice should be able to determine the quality of the metal work..... I just know that if you want your chrome to last and look as good as possible you it is EXPENSIVE no matter what ! Again have a great day !

 

No nerves hit, just the usual "I read it on the internet" stuff being re-gurgitated. Same as the "call comp cams" stuff, I always find the idea that some minimum wage goofball is going to take more time and care with my stuff then I am, kind of "amusing"...

 

I have a card from G.E. Metal repair in Santa Fe Springs Ca. Says they do Pot Metal 213-699-2504. Can't recall using them...Good Luck

 

FYI ... I did NOT read anything on the internet about any plating companies...I have just seen Advanced's work in person and know a few people in my area that have used them that attend local car shows... I have also seen chrome jobs that looked great by other companies....

 

Lakeside Custom Plating 373 Commerce St Conneaut Ohio 44030 440 599 2035 High quality probably a little less $$ than Grafton. They have all the correct processes for removal, repair and plating

 

The finishing touch did the grille that is my avatar. @$2400+ over 15 years ago at $60/ hr, I'm thinking it would be more today. I took a Metalflake steering wheel in last year and asked about having the spokes done was quoted $450.

 

I always find chroming threads interesting and they tend to go the way this one has. You are correct in stating that good work is expensive and, for most of us, not a home operation although I am a huge fan of doing your own work on your own car and learning new skills.
With everything involved in the prep and finishing of a chrome piece, it will be expensive and it will take time. To the OP, you need to consider what level of chroming you want, but it still will all depend on the prep and the knowledge of the preparer. A good craftsman can turn out great work with marginal tooling, but a "burger flipper" guy can't do the work no matter how great the equipment is.

If I was going to drop several thousand dollars on a job, I'd want to really carefully check out the rep, the shop and the people who were going to do my project. Visiting the shop would be on my list.

 

How long ago and how much? If I may ask

 

It's been probably 4-5 years. Time goes by fast. Bulk of the cost was the outer ring (lots of pits and I had them removed the "Studebaker" name) Outer ring was like $250/$275 and the center bullet was under $150. I had both pieces done at the same time, because I wanted to be sure they fit together again without needing to remove built up plating. I was very happy with their work. Another friend (Bobert, here on the HAMB RIP) had all his chrome on his 50 Olds done by them also. Still looks great.

 

Great info so far guys. I've submitted a few email estimates through the companies that have web sites bid sheets, along with detailed pictures of the 5 pieces. The 2 main goals I had with starting this thread are #1 who are the companies that do pot metal resto & #2 were you happy with the quality of their finished work. It's not so much about the cost of the replating as i knew it's all pricey by nature & understandably so in this line of work. I plan on making my decision & shipping the pieces out by mid week. I grew up in a full service machine shop & realize theirs no way to price a job without it in front of you. I Big time appreciate all the input fellas! Flux

 

Let us know what you get back as far as estimates, in fact it would be great if you go to completion to let us know what the final bill is....

 

Can do. It'll be a way to at least gauge the quality & $ . Waiting patiently for finished product will be the slow part. Thanks ..... Flux

 

I cant say enough for Advanced plating.. They always deliver on schedule and always answer the phone when you call.

 

I have used Plater Josh, he did a nice job and has held up well. He did miss the turn around by several weeks. I have used Jon at Custom Chrome in Grafton. He has a long turn around, but will tell you that up front. It is without a doubt the cleanest chrome plating shop I have ever been in. It is also the most expensive I have used. He has saved rare die cast parts that were not replaceable for me, when they probably been thrown away.