Barry Oliver <barrysuperhawk@insightbb.com> wrote:
: Terrible Tom wrote:
[...]
:> Can those holes be welded closed and the dent repaired and the bar
:> rechromed? I REALLY like these bars and they are next to impossible to
:> find anymore and I'm willing to have it put through all that, assuming
:> its possible to get it to come out looking like new again. Otherwise,
:> I'll just repair it and paint it silver. But I'd rather fresh chrome. I
:> just don't know whats involved with the process.
:>
: I think it would be easier and cheaper to powdercoat it with "almost
: chrome". the metal finishing is less demanding, it is cheaper, and it's
: an easier DIY project...
Yep, that is an option. The surface would still need to
be prepared fairly well but you could get away with using
something like Lab Metal instead of an all steel repair. (I'm
not sure if metal fillers will work underneath chrome plating
or not; I *assume* they would as long as they are conductive,
which is the same requirement as powdercoating, but I don't know
for sure and you know what happens when you assume.) :-)
As others have mentioned, for a true chrome plating, the
surface would have to be prepared very well to hide defects.
BTW, just as an aside, a "chrome" plating really isn't... What
gives you the reflection and shine is actually nickel. The chrome
top layer is very, very thin and only serves to blue up the hue
a bit and provides some gloss and corrosion protection. If you
do end up talking to shops, make sure they do decorative chrome
plating as opposed to the "hard chrome" plating which is an
industrial finish and not the shiny look you would think of
with chrome plating. With the decorative process, there
is sometimes a layer of copper under the nickel, and sometimes
multiple layers of nickel. These are things to ask about if
comparing shops, and be sure to have a look at some samples of
their work before commiting to a shop, and see if they have
any sort of guarantee regarding remedies if you are not
satisfied with the work. There is probably going to be some
sticker shock, especially with a piece as large as this. Its
unfortunate, but just the way things are. (Its not quite as
easy as just dipping it in the tank, what you are actually
paying for is mostly the labor involved to get the piece to
a point to where it can be plated, and also to some extent
the overhead expenses involved with handling and disposal of
the really nasty chemicals involved.)
Anyhoo, back to the powdercoating, one problem with that
in a DIY process is its size. I do have an infra-red light
which can be used to powdercoat items that don't fit into the
oven, but its such a hassle to use that I rarely do. In
retrospect, I wish I hadn't purchased that option as it was
a considerable additional expense. Almost Chrome requires a
base and clear coat process (both powder) so it would be a
real hassle on something like a roll bar where you can only
heat up maybe 8" at a time. With the light, its difficult to
heat each section exactly the same which can introduce color
variations, and I've found it just doesn't result in as nice
a job as something you can place in an oven. So, if you do
go the powdercoating route, I suspect you'd probably want to
go commercial with it. I have no idea what professional
powdercoaters are charging these days. I'm not a "pro"
powdercoater myself, I just use it on several of my products
and of course my own personal stuff when restoring cars,
fabricating, etc. The Almost Chrome powder is decent, but if
you are really going for a chrome look, I don't think you
would be happy with it. It does look like chrome - sort of...
Kind've a dull chrome, comparable maybe to a chrome bumper which
has oxodized over the years.
You could of course use the "chrome" spray paint, but again
this is probably not something you will be happy with if you
really want that true chrome look.
There is also a relatively new process out there which is
not true chrome plating but looks identical. I think I read
about it a while back in Mopar Action, they had sent out a couple
of fiberglass bumpers (for the One Lap flying green brick Valiant I
think?) I believe you actually can chrome plate plastic by laying
down a special conductive paint first, but this is something
different. They said you cannot tell the difference between
this stuff and real chrome. Unfortunately, I don't know anything
more about it than that, including what the cost might be, but this
might be an avenue to research.
If it were me, I'd probably be tempted to just hit the thing
with flat black or a herculiner type finish, but if you want
chrome, its going to take some professional assistance and a
decent amount of money. (Technically, you *could* DIY chrome
plate it, but its definitely not worth it for one piece, by the
time you were done, you'd probably have spent several times
more than just sending it to a shop.)
--
-Jon-
.- Jon Steiger -- jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com -.
| '96 Kolb Firefly, '96 Suzuki Intruder, Miscellaneous Mopars |
`-------------------------------- http://www.jonsteiger.com --'
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sun Apr 01 2007 - 03:13:51 EDT