Chrome plating

MBL,

I was told by a friend who is restoring 2 Corvettes, that there are no "good" chrome plating businesses in California due to the environmental laws of this state. He sends his chroming out of state.

your friend on the PIBB, George

Check out fellow Pantera enthusiast Dave Pratt at SpaceCoast Plating in Florida. He ain't cheap but he does phenominal work. His website is http://www.spacecoast-plating.com/ He did the show chrome on my valve covers and air cleaner pictured below.

Gary #06984

That doesn't suprise me. California has legeslated about everything out of the state. I heard they are trying to hide the fact that an enormouse amount of college educated people are moving out in large numbers.

Gary

I used SpaceCoast Plating in Florida for my bumpers and they came out GREAT.. Plan on using them again on my next project.. Got there name from Pantera East.,.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm not real surprised by the answers. I just wanted to plate my rear swaybar. Maybe I'll just powdercoat it.

Check w/ Hall, they used to have an exchange program. They send you a chrome plated sway bar and you send them your old one in exchange. I think their advertised price was around $60.

Gary #06984

Here is my 2 cents that will create all types of hot replies. Back in the day when I was a defense engineer we ran into problems with chromed parts and hydrogen enbrittlement. The process of chrome plating would change the base metal and make it brittle. Parts would end up snapping. From that day forward, I avoided chrome plating any key structual part. I am sure the risk is low on a sway bar but is it worth any risk to have the thing snap unexpectly?

To learn more: http://www.corrosion-doctors.org/Forms/embrittlement.htm

RoverLTD, we'll face the heat together, because I agree with RoverLTD. Chrome plating is good for decorative parts, but not parts that will be stressed. I've even had problems with cad plating of stressed parts, causing welds to become brittle & crack.

The powder coating industry now has a powder that comes out of the oven looking like polished aluminum, can't beat it.

your "cracked" friend on the PIBB, George

Thanks for watching my back

Anyone try plating themselfs? I got some stuff to do Zinc, Hard chrome, and nickle. I have not had a chance to try it yet although I have used the Eastwoods Zinc on a few things.

I am refurbashing an english wheel. When I clean up the wheels I was thinkng of plating them either hard chrome or nickle. Which would be better?

Gary

Gary,

If I were to chrome plate myself, I'm afraid I would 'snap' much sooner than I should!

Michael

Here is where I got the plating stuff. Shouldn't be that hard to do. IFor the Zinc I just dropped it in a solution with a battery and an annode and waited a few minutes:

http://www.caswellplating.com/

Gary

Hydrogen embrittlement is an issue with chrome plating and other plating as well. There are provisions to address the problem, one is the process/procedure during the plating, another is post baking after plating. Both are established and excepted as reliable corrective actions. Unfortunately decorative and automotive platers do not know what hydrogen embrittlement even means but industrial/military grade plating houses are familiar the processes.
I did my own post baking of Pantera suspension parts and fasteners to insure proper strength.

just had http://www.southbaychrome.com/ re-do another platers screw up, and the pieces came out great! made the other plater look like a joke!

A good automotive plater will know what Hidrogen embrittlement is, I have been dealing with it for some time on automotive parts. As a general rule do not plate structural parts that are hardened past HRC 39. H.E. will mainly occure on samples in tension and the hydrogen that is trapped in the plating process will migrate to the grain boundries of the steel in the tensilly loaded areas, making them brittle. Post baking is done to cook out the hydrogen. The thicker the plating, the higher the hardness, the longer the bake.

In what I have read about backing out the Hidrogen, the hidrogen comes from the prep not th chroming. The chrome locks it in and the parts MUST be baked After the prep and BEFORE the chroming.

Gary