RHorton Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 I have a nickel era 1928 Packard that I am restoring. I know the judging rules indicate that plating should be "as manufactured". I have many small interior parts that have to be plated. Chrome resists tarnishing much better than nickel and I would like to know what kind of penalty I would incur for having small items chromed rather than nickeled. Also the kind of nickel plating called hard nickel is brighter but not chrome. Is it allowed? Large items such as headlights, radiator shells etc would be nickeled, but I am just interested in chroming small items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Hard nickle is acceptable. Non-authentic plating is subject to a 1 point deduction per item, to a maximum of 10 points. Those 10 points could be the difference between a First Junior and a Second in the class your Packard will show in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpage Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 I suspect that you are trying to restore this classic correctly and probably spending a pretty penny doing so, so why would you want to deviate from the original just for the sake of a little extra polishing. In a world where truly authentic restorations of many vehicles is becoming a thing of the past, I would think that it would behoove you to do the job as accurately as you can; it may make a big difference to a collector if and when you chose to sell, which I would think would be more important that a few judging points. Just my opinion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durant Mike Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 I agree guys, put the car back the way it was 100%. If it was nickel then do nickel. I just had my alemite grease fittings re-nickled because they were originally. Sure I could by new alemites for the car in the correct style for the year, but the new ones would not have the original 1919 patent date on it. I see a number of cars that are being restored with owners making major modifications to them. Not the ones being judged, but many that are out there at shows. I feel we are doing a injustice to future generations if we do not restore them back to the way they were. My two cents worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brass is Best Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 I would put the car back the way it was with Nickel. We owned a 1929 Packard 640 Sedan a few years ago that was mostly original with Nickel and German Silver interior trim. Packard applied a clear coat to some of the interior hardware so it would not need polished. In the owners manual they explained this and warned against cleaning the trim with any abrasives that would hurt the clear coat. Perhaps you could have your parts Nickel plated and then clear coat them? On the other hand I was at a show recently and saw a nickel era Cadillac that had been chromed and it just did not look right. You could tell that a lot of time and money was spent on the restoration but with the wrong finish the car just looked out of place. Just my opinion,Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Moskowitz Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 My vote is nickel as well. Hard nickel or coated. My 20 Olds was the worst car I have ever been around to keep the nickel polished. I'd rather clean brass any day! Those small chrome items jump out to most judges!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 We owned a 1929 Packard 640 Sedan a few years ago that was mostly original with Nickel and German Silver interior trim. ... Interesting trivia fact: "German silver" contains no silver! On the subject of nickel, I agree with everyone: Replate with nickel!The interior of a car should look nice too, and to the knowledgeable eye,chrome will stand out as glaringly incorrect. Nickel has a softer color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stude Light Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 From a judging perspective, what about all the small fasteners? For instance, the small wood screws that hold the running board trim or floor trim in. Would points be deducted for having a stainless or chrome screw? I know my car has a lot of #6 and #8 oval head wood screws that hold on the aluminum sill plates, running board and floorboard trim. They were nickel plated steel screws originally.Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 We use stainless for such applications and have never had questions about them. I defy anyone to tell the difference from a distance between lightly polished stainless and nickle or highly polished stainless and chrome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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