Mattml430 Posted October 16, 2020 Author Share Posted October 16, 2020 (edited) 4 hours ago, Ron Lawson said: Matt I have got one that you can have I should of known better and just asked you first Ron. 😂 That’s bloody fantastic thanks mate. Edited October 16, 2020 by Mattml430 (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattml430 Posted October 16, 2020 Author Share Posted October 16, 2020 4 hours ago, nearchoclatetown said: Matt, as with all your work it is quite impressive. Pictures always show flaws as being bigger like the scratches. I would bet the parts actually look perfect. I was trying my best to show the difference in them because if you don’t get rid of them they do show through in the plating. They can be polished out in the copper coat but I like to get rid of them from the start. But yes to look at them the one straight off the linisher looks better than the one sanded with the orbital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nearchoclatetown Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 Matt, I had to look up linisher. I never heard the term before. You are making me feel stupid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattml430 Posted October 17, 2020 Author Share Posted October 17, 2020 (edited) 8 hours ago, nearchoclatetown said: Matt, I had to look up linisher. I never heard the term before. You are making me feel stupid. Don’t be silly Doug we all have our trades and what we do. It’s the will to keep learning that makes the difference. Talking about learning I did plenty of that today. My plating got of to a pretty ordinary start. The nickel went on ok but the copper just fell off as soon as I started to polish it. So I removed it all and gave the nickel a good rub over with the scotch brite before putting it back into the copper. I also think I had to many volts going into it. 3v. So I turned it down to 2.8v and left it in a bit longer around 35 minutes. It’s definitely more challenging with the longer tanks but I got there in the end. The bumpers aren’t perfect but I think they are acceptable once they are on the car and vertical. There is a couple of small imperfections but I’ll live with them for now and maybe fix them up down the track. One left to do tomorrow and the bumpers are done. Edited October 17, 2020 by Mattml430 (see edit history) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F&J Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 amazing... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nearchoclatetown Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 I agree, Amazing. Now you are going to have to explain. Why did you nickel plate, then copper, then nickel? I THOUGHT the nickel went on first to fill ad protect from rust. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stakeside Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 Great job 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattml430 Posted October 17, 2020 Author Share Posted October 17, 2020 6 hours ago, nearchoclatetown said: I agree, Amazing. Now you are going to have to explain. Why did you nickel plate, then copper, then nickel? I THOUGHT the nickel went on first to fill ad protect from rust. So on steel you have to plate it in nickel first before you can plate it in copper. Copper plate won’t take to steel or cast iron, but if you have brass or bronze you can polish that up perfectly and then one coat of nickel over that to give you you finished product. Copper is used over your first nickel coat for corrosion resistance and filling any holes and marks. You can basically treat it as an undercoat and lightly sand it and then re dip it in copper again to build the coat. You do have to be careful though not to sand through the copper and bottom nickel coat otherwise you have to plate it in nickel again before copper coating it again. (I know this because I’ve had to do it many times). Once your happy with your copper coat it gets polished up like a mirror and dipped in nickel for your final finish. The last nickel coat gets a light polish to bring it up to its best shine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nearchoclatetown Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 Thanks Matt. Maybe 30 or 35 years ago the son of the owner of the machine shop I worked at was starting to do plating. I never followed what was going on to closely, guess I should have. I want to start as I have lots of nickel that needs done. All small stuff like grease cup covers. I have a lot to learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattml430 Posted October 17, 2020 Author Share Posted October 17, 2020 (edited) Definitely worth the trouble as some small parts are irreplaceable and sending them away to be plated can result in them being lost. The place I use to buy my supplies does 20litre kits with everything you need. I’m sure there would be someone similar in the states. check these guys out and you can see what’s needed. https://janekits.com.au/nickel-plated-parts/ look for duel plating kits nickel and copper. A 20litre kit is a good size for what we do. Edited October 17, 2020 by Mattml430 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nearchoclatetown Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 Matt, many of the covers for my grease fittings were drilled and had zerks put in them. What metal can I repair them with, braze, weld, pewter? that will not show when finished. I know it would be easier to get new ones but these are the right style for my truck. I have pewter and some low temp metal, 154 and 280? degree stuff. I cast parts from all three. I think the low temp stuff is mostly zinc and lead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattml430 Posted October 17, 2020 Author Share Posted October 17, 2020 Well now your teaching me Doug , what are zerks I haven’t heard of them. I imagine they are some kind of grease nipple. It’s best to use the same material the caps are made from as you might run into trouble trying to plate something with indifferent material. What I normally do to fill holes is get a screw or bolt of similar size and stick it in the hole an then just tack it with a mig welder. Cut it off flush and sand it flat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nearchoclatetown Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 (edited) They are for a modern grease gun. On my '18 military truck someone drilled and tapped all of them for zerks, like 15 or so of them. I am sure the military purists would insist they should be OD green, but I am going to cheat and nickel them. BTW, any of these running around over there? There are 5 in the US. Edited October 17, 2020 by nearchoclatetown (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattml430 Posted October 17, 2020 Author Share Posted October 17, 2020 No haven’t seen one over here. The closest would be the one Bob posted the other day. It looks pretty cool. Thd caps are probably quite small so they will be fiddley to fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattml430 Posted October 18, 2020 Author Share Posted October 18, 2020 Finished all 4 bumpers today. I redid the ones i wasn’t happy with so they are all pretty good now. Definitely not perfect but will be ok down at knee level. Im still getting the hang of doing larger parts and the new tanks. Had a few challenges but got there in the end. Also I picked up some metal conduit the other day for my brake lights and indicators so I thought I’d nickel plate them also. So had a great Dodge’y weekend 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichBad Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 Looks good mate - very impressive! Where did you get the conduit from - I wanted to get some for my front lights. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattml430 Posted October 18, 2020 Author Share Posted October 18, 2020 10 minutes ago, RichBad said: Looks good mate - very impressive! Where did you get the conduit from - I wanted to get some for my front lights. Thanks mate. I got it from vintage wiring harness. I’ll text you their details. They have 3 sizes , the one I got is 13mm OD and 10mm ID. You probably want the next size up from that for your headlights. It comes zinc plated so I nickel plated mine. It was pretty cheap only $13 a metre. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattml430 Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 I had forgotten all about my headlight support bar and thought I’d better get it plated. It was in a horrible mess and took a lot of prep to get it ready. Hours of sanding and welding up rust holes everywhere. I thought it was going to give me a world of trouble due to it condition to electro plate but for some reason it came out really well. I’ve been trying a few different techniques and things with the new tanks and I think I might have the copper tank working really well but I still need to get the nickel tank a little better. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Lawson Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 WOW Matt that looks mint cobber I love the before and after photos 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattml430 Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 Thanks Ron my next challenge is the radiator surround. I’m going to have to do it in four stages overlapping the plating. I did it with the windshield frame but it is a lot smaller. Can only stuff it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_Greenlaw Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 Reading and watching with interest. Mate, how good do they look ! Now we know where to send our stuff to get plated....lol An absolute credit to you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nearchoclatetown Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 Ian, I'm thinking if we all sent our stuff at the same time Matt could take care of it for us. Not like if he had a few pieces at a time, but a real load? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattml430 Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 Thanks fellas, I’ve got a bit of fine tuning to do with the tanks but the end result is there. It’s good enough for me anyway. Plating costs have gone through the roof here in Melbourne so my set up has already paid for itself in just the bumpers , windshield and headlight support. Be always happy to do some little bits and pieces Ian if it helps. I did a trial fit of the rear bumper this morning to keep all the bits together. Now I can sit it in the lounge room out of harms way. NOT!!! That would actually put me in harms way, I would end up wearing it as a necklace. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_Greenlaw Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 Awww, that looks really good. Most people on this forum would, but I don't think a lot of people realise the amount of work that goes into these things. And to do the bulk of it yourself is an absolute credit to you....well done ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nearchoclatetown Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 1 hour ago, Ian_Greenlaw said: Awww, that looks really good. Most people on this forum would, but I don't think a lot of people realise the amount of work that goes into these things. And to do the bulk of it yourself is an absolute credit to you....well done ! AMEN!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattml430 Posted October 23, 2020 Author Share Posted October 23, 2020 6 hours ago, Ian_Greenlaw said: Awww, that looks really good. Most people on this forum would, but I don't think a lot of people realise the amount of work that goes into these things. And to do the bulk of it yourself is an absolute credit to you....well done ! Your right about than Ian. I reckon it took a total of 4 full days to prep and plate those bumpers. There is a huge amount of work getting them ready for plating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattml430 Posted October 23, 2020 Author Share Posted October 23, 2020 (edited) Got the first coat of paint on the engine today. I should have the pistons in about 2 weeks and then I’ll be sending it away for machining. I have some new valves on there way also and I’m getting hardened valve seats fitted. I’ll give it a final coat once it’s back. Might even wait until it’s all back together before I give it the final coat. We think this grey is close to the original six grey, what do you guys think. It’s hard to tell of a picture I guess. Took it of a bit of grey that was left on the motor. Edited October 23, 2020 by Mattml430 (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aunty norm Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 Hi! Matt! The engine colour looks good. I have been talking with Ron, and had many conversations about engine colours! He has sent me some info on the colour that he use, as it was very close to the colour he found on his orginal block. So I'm interested in what colour you used. I'm at present rebuilding my gearbox and having a new cluster shafts made,then repainting the motor , Hopefully to the correct colour on my Senior . So any info on the colour would be very helpful. There are a few other thing that need doing and that are on my list. Got to get ready for all the up and coming rallies. Terry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattml430 Posted October 23, 2020 Author Share Posted October 23, 2020 17 minutes ago, aunty norm said: Hi! Matt! The engine colour looks good. I have been talking with Ron, and had many conversations about engine colours! He has sent me some info on the colour that he use, as it was very close to the colour he found on his orginal block. So I'm interested in what colour you used. I'm at present rebuilding my gearbox and having a new cluster shafts made,then repainting the motor , Hopefully to the correct colour on my Senior . So any info on the colour would be very helpful. There are a few other thing that need doing and that are on my list. Got to get ready for all the up and coming rallies. Terry I had about a 4” square bit to go by left on the engine so I kinda just mixed some up out of some colour I had Terry. I made up a full litre so if your happy with it I’ll post you half a litre over. It is 2 pak though. Other than that I can spray a bit onto a card and post it and you can take it to a paint shop and they’ll match it up. I’ll be talking to Ron in the morning and I’ll ask him to take a picture of his. It’s hard to tell from photos though. Pete just did his motor he’s building and did it in Ford grey. It looks very similar to what I’ve done to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McEwan Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 Can a ‘23 radiator shroud that I had chromed about 30 years ago be rechromed over the top? It is still in really good condition except for the top either side of the cap. It looks like the chrome was thin there and has been polished through. I can post an image tomorrow. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Cutler Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 Just a FYI, the Aluminum color is the option I chose for a '38. This takes up to 700 degrees F. https://www.hirschauto.com/Engine-Enamels/departments/2/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattml430 Posted October 23, 2020 Author Share Posted October 23, 2020 6 hours ago, John McEwan said: Can a ‘23 radiator shroud that I had chromed about 30 years ago be rechromed over the top? It is still in really good condition except for the top either side of the cap. It looks like the chrome was thin there and has been polished through. I can post an image tomorrow. Gidday John, I’m not sure about chrome but I know you can go over nickel again. If it’s rusty you have to start from scratch. Can you see a copper coat under it or has it been plated without a copper coat. After a bit of repair work I’m going to attempt to plate my radiator surround. post a pic for us and we’ll have a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattml430 Posted October 23, 2020 Author Share Posted October 23, 2020 5 hours ago, Surf City '38 said: Just a FYI, the Aluminum color is the option I chose for a '38. This takes up to 700 degrees F. https://www.hirschauto.com/Engine-Enamels/departments/2/ The Victory six was definitely a grey colour it’s just what shade of grey I guess. Thanks for that anyway. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aunty norm Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 Thanks Matt for the offer! But have spoken to Ron. He is going to try and chase up the correct colour formula at the local paint supplier. If that fails, l will get back to you regarding a colour sample. When things get back to normal I might get your opinion on my bonnet repair on my 1927 chrysler roadster. Thanks Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattml430 Posted October 24, 2020 Author Share Posted October 24, 2020 (edited) 4 hours ago, aunty norm said: Thanks Matt for the offer! But have spoken to Ron. He is going to try and chase up the correct colour formula at the local paint supplier. If that fails, l will get back to you regarding a colour sample. When things get back to normal I might get your opinion on my bonnet repair on my 1927 chrysler roadster. Thanks Terry No worries Terry I got Ron to shoot a couple of pics through today and the colours look pretty bloody close. As Ron said a blind man would be happy to see it. Be more than happy to look at the bonnet for you after we are allowed out and about. Not looking good from what I’ve heard today. Don’t know if the Dick of a premier will ever ease restrictions. Edited October 24, 2020 by Mattml430 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattml430 Posted October 24, 2020 Author Share Posted October 24, 2020 Rainy day was a good excuse to do some more work on the roadster today, not that I need much of an excuse. I cleaned up the combustion chambers in the head today and got them nice and smooth for a good flow of exhaust gasses. Also did the exhaust valves ports and just got rid of all the rough casting marks. Spent quite a bit of time getting the sump cleaned out. God it’s hard getting 90 years of gunk out of there but it came up nice inside under the baffles. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McEwan Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 On 10/24/2020 at 6:27 AM, Mattml430 said: Gidday John, I’m not sure about chrome but I know you can go over nickel again. If it’s rusty you have to start from scratch. Can you see a copper coat under it or has it been plated without a copper coat. After a bit of repair work I’m going to attempt to plate my radiator surround. post a pic for us and we’ll have a look. It looks like it has been copper coated. I’m pretty sure that’s what I see through the chrome. The sides and front are perfect, it’s only the top. It looks tarnished. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_Greenlaw Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 Here's my grill surround before plating. This was an expensive exercise, and then I dropped a clamp base of it. I wasn't impressed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattml430 Posted October 25, 2020 Author Share Posted October 25, 2020 2 hours ago, John McEwan said: It looks like it has been copper coated. I’m pretty sure that’s what I see through the chrome. The sides and front are perfect, it’s only the top. It looks tarnished. Have you tried polishing that out with some autosol metal polish. It doesn’t really look like copper but it might just be the picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattml430 Posted October 25, 2020 Author Share Posted October 25, 2020 27 minutes ago, Ian_Greenlaw said: Here's my grill surround before plating. This was an expensive exercise, and then I dropped a clamp base of it. I wasn't impressed. That is a big radiator surround. They want $1200 to do mine that why I’m going to try do it myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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