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ReChrome Advise Needed


Ron42Dodge

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I have a 1942 Dodge Grille that needs to be rechromed.  The grille is actually 3 assemblies (right, left and center) along with some mouldings at the top (right, left and Center).  I have been stuck on this step for several years and now it's time to reach out for help.

 

I was told by our local Chrome platter that I had to completely disassemble my grille into individual components.  My center grille section is made up of horizontal and vertical members.  The vertical interior members are stainless and just clipped in so I removed them and went back.  No they need me to break all the factory welds.  For the Center section there are 7 horizontal pieces and 2 end pieces where the horizontals were welded to the the vertical ends.  I don't even know if you could reweld them on.  Some suggested rivets but there would be conflicts with the end piece and the last vertical stainless.  

 

I have the same problem with the right and left sides.  I've attached pictures of a NOS Left side to let you see how it left the factory.

 

Then the top center moulding they wanted disassembled but that is all welded to the back side of plated material.  Discoloration guaranteed.

 

Only the front faces need to be polished out.

 

Is all this disassembly necessary or am I talking to the wrong platter?

 

I'm pretty sure there are other one piece egg crate like grilles that are chrome plated that cannot be disassembled but have been replatted (1946-48 Dodge?).

 

Input would be appreciated.

 

Ron

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The individual parts are plated separately and then spot welded together.  This is how it was built originally. Spot welds like this, when done with a proper spot welder, will not create a large heat affected zone and will not discolor the chrome in visible areas - that's why the spot welds are all in hidden areas. As an example, the wheels on my Hurst/Olds have a chrome outer rim and painted center disk.  The outer rim was plated BEFORE the center disk was welded in place. To properly replate these wheels similarly requires machining the welds apart, plating the outer rim by itself, and rewelding.  This is not an uncommon process.

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2 minutes ago, Roger Walling said:

  I would dip them in a rest remover and then ask them to buff and plate the areas that they can, and then mask and paint the rest.

That is all I was really after but they wanted them taken apart.  Only the front faces need chrome.  The rest can be painted or at least not buffed .

Joe seems to believe they are correct but I feel maybe it is more convenient.

 

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If building a car that does not have a good/high finished value. A person can save a lot of money by looking into powder coating the parts. There are some really nice powder coating finishes that would look very nice on a finished car. You can do it yourself, and use the oven in your house. Parts will look good, and the wife/girlfriend will be pissed!! NO nookie for you!!

 

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Here is a thought:  You bead blast the grill. Do as good of a job as you can. Then take it into your plater and have them nickle strip it and copper it.  Now you take it home and buff it.  When you have all the pits and imperfections out, take it back to the plater and have him  do a cyanide copper then a nickle chrome.  If you are really diligent  you will have a solid weeks work in it and the results will equal to the time and detail you put into it.   You can paint it with simulated chrome paint, but it will never look like it did when it rolled off the factory line.  

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14 hours ago, Ron42Dodge said:

That is all I was really after but they wanted them taken apart.  Only the front faces need chrome.  The rest can be painted or at least not buffed .

Joe seems to believe they are correct but I feel maybe it is more convenient.

 

 

You can't just plate the front - the entire grill would go in the plating tank. First the old plating needs to be electrochemically removed, and those chemicals then need to be completely flushed from the part.  What are the odds that some will remain in the cracks between the grill bars if you leave it assembled?  What effect would that have on the quality of the plating? Next, a proper plating job requires three separate passes - first copper, then nickel, and finally chrome, with buffing and polishing between each step.  The plating will build up and bridge across the seams between the bars, again causing cracking and plating failure. A reputable plating house will not want to perform such a half-fast plating job, only to have the customer return a year later screaming at their crappy work. 

 

You pays yer money and you takes yer choice.

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The risk of one unhappy customer is too high for a quality shop. Even if the customer walks away happy, every cruise in and car shop will have someone pointing at it asking "What's that?" and it will come back to them.

 

Taking it apart doesn't seem like a big deal. I have a small Hobart MIG welder that would weld the pieces as gentle as a kiss. And if I was really worried about a blush in  the chrome (bad pun) I would put it together with newer structural adhesive. They glue cars together now.

 

There are a lot of ways to dodge the problem.

Bernie

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36 minutes ago, Mark Shaw said:

The first question that should always be asked is:  Will this be a show truck or a driver?  

I know it's picky, but it's a car, not a truck.

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I appreciate all this input. So are there platters that will do this disassembly and reassembly?  I don't own a welder and would hate to learn on this.  And yes, I would like it to look like it came out of the factory.  I considered the blackout option but my car was delivered 1 week prior to blackout.  I would rather do it correct.  I've been stalled on this step way to long.  I'm not even sure how to undo the existing welds.  I've got to stop staring at this project and start moving forward.

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