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Posted (edited)

Ok.

I have a few old annuals I want to get into this winter and all of them need the chrome replated.

I've never had anything like this  done before so I am looking for ideas on how to rack them up. The size of racks I am supposed to / allowed to  use. The materials the racks are made of . How do you send them . etc etc

Once replated how / what do you store them. In baggies, ? in baggies wrapped on tissues ? does it matter. How well does the replated finish hold up to handeling during a build ?

Finally , do you use Chrome Tech or Little Motor Car co, , If you have a preference   , ,WHY ?

I thought  about just buying resin replacements. But the ones I purchased for my 58 Bonneville although are nice ,,,,,they  just dont fit as nice as the original stryene ones do . So those are just one set I want to have plated. I know I will have to buy some resin parts for a few of these ( wheel covers on a few, tail light lenses on a couple ) But my goal is to keep them as much all original plastic as I can .

One the horizon is 1958 , 1959 , 1960, 1961 Ford, 1959 , 60 and 61 Mercury , 1958 , 59, 60 Buicks. As well as 1959 and 1960 Pontiacs. All convertibles . I figure these will hold me over for a few years at the rate I build

Edited by gtx6970
Posted

There's a guy on the facebook (if you do that sort of thing, but im sure there are other ways to reach him) that takes your parts and does a spray paint process to them that is durable and identical to chrome. And from what I recall... fairly cheap. He goes by "Model Car Chrome". It's not the vacuum metalization that we all know, so it doesnt wash out any details. It's sort of the same process on how mirrors are created. So that's another alternative. 

I know I'd like to give it a try once I get enough parts together. 

And as far as storage, Modelhaus stores/sells their parts in plastic baggies, Id' say thats the best route, since a smooth plastic bag doesnt have texture like paper towels or tissue paper or whatever. You could probably throw em in a sandwich baggy.

Posted

I've used Chrome Tech USA a few times and was happy with the results. I've also sprayed Spaz-Stix Mirror Chrome on parts and it came out lookin' great. But that's only if you'd want to do it yourself.

Posted (edited)

I've used "Chrome Tech" many times, so I'll give you what information I can Bill.

I start by making a 6x8 inch frame out of a coat hanger wired together at the ends, per the website instructions.

The runners can be made of many things, but I've been using square plastic tubing for small parts & hubcaps, & either plastic or aluminum tubing for the bumpers.

Most of these old annuals have the screw mounting holes which work well as mounting points to unsure plating coverage on the exposed surfaces.

I just drill holes in the tubing at the mounting points & slip the coat hanger through them before closing the frame.

Then a dab of silicone will hold them in place.

Of course, in this application, I slipped the bumpers onto the round tubing before installing the tubes onto the frame, & then spaced them accordingly & glued them after the frame was closed.

Then you just adhere the bumpers to the tubing & your small parts to the square tubing with silicone.

There are probably 100 ways to reach the same goal, but this is what I settled on after some trial & error.

You want to make sure everything is as secure as possible!

You don't want any lost parts!

I've had parts fall off during the process, & luckily they were not lost, but you don't want to take that chance.

I can usually fit parts for as many as 4 or 5 annual kits on one frame, not really difficult when you're only dealing with bumpers, hubcaps, & maybe a couple other small parts.

At $23.95 per rack, that's not a bad deal.

Last time I prepped an order, I got parts for 8 kits replated for about $50.00, a little over $6.00 a kit. Well worth it IMO.

If you're doing any work to your parts before sending them out, such as removing mold lines, which I always do, just make sure everything is sanded as smooth as possible.

Any little blemish will show through.

& be careful not to get any silicone on any exposed surfaces.

Even a tiny speck can ruin the finish on a part.

I've found the best silicone to be DAP 100% silicone, but I'm sure there are others that will work as well, although, I've had some that did not adhere well to the plastic, hence the parts falling off.

I also used some wire to help secure parts of the frame. The stronger the better.

As far as shipping, just make sure your parts are clean, drop them into a gallon storage bag, wrap them with a little bubble wrap & place into a shipping box.

They will be returned to you pretty much the same way.

Expect to wait at least 6 weeks for your parts to return.

He sends parts out for plating periodically when he has enough to chrome a batch.

I've always been pretty happy with Chrome Tech, but it might be worthwhile to check out the alternatives mentioned above.

Good luck! I think you'll like the results better than resin parts.

 

Steve

 photo DSCN3554_zps3cqimun8.jpg photo DSCN3553_zpsuxbesr7r.jpg

 

 

Edited by StevenGuthmiller
Posted

I've never mounted any parts for plating. I just sent the loose parts along with a list, and also kept a list of parts for myself. Robert would do the mounting and plating and I've been happy with his service.

Posted
  On 12/11/2015 at 2:00 AM, High octane said:

I've never mounted any parts for plating. I just sent the loose parts along with a list, and also kept a list of parts for myself. Robert would do the mounting and plating and I've been happy with his service.

They will mount your parts for you, they'll even strip them if you'd like, but it can get quite expensive to do it that way.

Just the 3 sets of hubcaps I had redone last time would have cost as much as a full rack.

The 20 bumpers & grilles on the 2 racks pictured would have cost $80.00 alone.

If you're in need of the service for a few parts, that would be a viable option, but for the 12 kits that bill has mentioned, I would say doing the work up front yourself would be much more economical.

 

Steve

 

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