little Motor Kar Company chrome plating

[Ben]

Hey everyone, i'm needing to send a bunch of resin parts out to be chrome plated and i've heard the name Little Motor Kar Co. mentioned a few times. Has anyone here used them for chrome plating? Do they have a website? What are their requirments for treeing up the parts, etc.?

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

[Karmodeler2]

Hey everyone, i'm needing to send a bunch of resin parts out to be chrome plated and i've heard the name Little Motor Kar Co. mentioned a few times. Has anyone here used them for chrome plating? Do they have a website? What are their requirments for treeing up the parts, etc.?

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

Give Dale a call at 610 779 1462. He owns LMKC and he does the plating at his house (he does not send it out like Chrome Tech, so you don't have lost parts!!). Also you resin parts need to be on a separate tree than the plastic ones because it's a different process. He can give you all the details. He might even spell his name Del, now that I think about it. I have used him and was pleased with the work. He will send you a card saying he has received your parts and what day you can expect them back. Very efficient.

David

[Ben]

Give Dale a call at 610 779 1462. He owns LMKC and he does the plating at his house (he does not send it out like Chrome Tech, so you don't have lost parts!!). Also you resin parts need to be on a separate tree than the plastic ones because it's a different process. He can give you all the details. He might even spell his name Del, now that I think about it. I have used him and was pleased with the work. He will send you a card saying he has received your parts and what day you can expect them back. Very efficient.

David

Thanks David! I'll give him a try!

[crowe-t]

Is Little Motor Kar Company still in business?

[peteski]

Last time I spoke to Dale (during the 2016 NNL East) they were still in business.

[crowe-t]

Thanks Peter!

[Mark]

 

 

Thanks David! I'll give him a try!

 

 

Give Dale a call at 610 779 1462. He owns LMKC and he does the plating at his house (he does not send it out like Chrome Tech, so you don't have lost parts!!). Also you resin parts need to be on a separate tree than the plastic ones because it's a different process. He can give you all the details. He might even spell his name Del, now that I think about it. I have used him and was pleased with the work. He will send you a card saying he has received your parts and what day you can expect them back. Very efficient.

David

I have used Chrome Tech numerous times, and have never had a part lost.

[StevenGuthmiller]

 

I have used Chrome Tech numerous times, and have never had a part lost.

I've used Chrome Tech for over 20 years & more recently Kustom Khrome.

Never had a part lost either.

 

Steve

[Mr. Metallic]

Little Motor Kar is definitely still in business. Great service.

Send them an email and they will send you back an updated price list and mounting instructions

[peteski]

I've used Chrome Tech for over 20 years & more recently Kustom Khrome.

Never had a part lost either.

 

Steve

I have also used Chrome Tech and while I don't recall any lost parts, times the quality of the plating was not as expected. There was fuzz or dust in the clear coat and some of the plating was not even.  While free re-plating service was offered, I declined - re-stripping and re-prepping bunch of parts was not something I wanted to do. After couple of those events I decided to take my business elsewhere.

[StevenGuthmiller]

I have also used Chrome Tech and while I don't recall any lost parts, times the quality of the plating was not as expected. There was fuzz or dust in the clear coat and some of the plating was not even.  While free re-plating service was offered, I declined - re-stripping and re-prepping bunch of parts was not something I wanted to do. After couple of those events I decided to take my business elsewhere.

I've also noticed a decline in quality with Chrome Tech.

I recently switched to Kustom Khrome & the quality was top notch!

 

Steve

 

[crowe-t]

Does anyone have an e-mail address for Little Motor Kar Company?  

[John Goschke]

Does anyone have an e-mail address for Little Motor Kar Company?  

Here you go. Contact Dale Horner at Little Motor Kar Company <lmkco@outlook.com>

[crowe-t]

Here you go. Contact Dale Horner at Little Motor Kar Company <lmkco@outlook.com>

Thanks John!

[Ben]

I've also noticed a decline in quality with Chrome Tech.

I recently switched to Kustom Khrome & the quality was top notch!

 

Steve

 

Hey Steve, can you tell us more about Kustom Chrome? Do they mount the parts or do they require them to be mounted to a tree like the LMKC? Price and contact info?

[Crusader101]

I'll be checking out Kustom Khrome at Detroit NNL on Sunday.....good to hear that he is good, I'm finally digging into my stash and am planning for a bunch of parts to be re-plated.

 

[Hawk312]

I`ve had trouble in the past getting my resin parts chromed. Usually, they come out badly "pitted" and discolored, though I have had a couple come out nearly perfect. I am using the cheap Alumilite kit, so I am not sure if that is an issue. I don`t use any mold release agents. Has anyone been able to get consistent results from any plater?

Thanks!

[Mark]

I`ve had trouble in the past getting my resin parts chromed. Usually, they come out badly "pitted" and discolored, though I have had a couple come out nearly perfect. I am using the cheap Alumilite kit, so I am not sure if that is an issue. I don`t use any mold release agents. Has anyone been able to get consistent results from any plater?

Thanks!

I've gotten great results numerous times from Chrome-Tech (one attempt with LMK about ten years ago came back with contamination in the plating, tossed 90% of the parts).  I'm nowhere near Modelhaus or Missing Link but over the years I have had thousands of parts plated, from hub caps to bumpers.  If your resin parts are coming out pitted, in all likelihood there are issues with the castings, meaning the resin.  Maybe the material itself is old, maybe the A:B mix is off, maybe something else...can't diagnose without seeing parts before/after, close up. 

If you are buying the packaged Alumilite kit, you are probably getting old product.  It may have just gotten to the store, but you don't know when it was packaged or how long it was sitting in some distributor's warehouse prior to that.  That's not a knock on Alumilite; all of the "hobby" casting stuff is in all likelihood industrial stuff that is past the "use by" window for its original use.  It's still good for hobby use but you have to use it quickly once opened.  Resist the urge to "save" it for a "special project".  Time flies, and before you know it you've got two bottles of hardened goo that's useless.

I've tried Alumilite a couple of times but never had success with it; again not singling them out but you might try another system.  Unless you've done a lot of experimentation in the past, stick to compatible products from one company.  There are eBay sellers offering resins and mold material.  Someone who moves a lot of product will have fresh materials in stock.  They'll usually offer advice on the stuff they sell too.  They want you coming back later for more, so they won't stick it to you by selling you materials that don't work together.

At first, DON'T use mold release on parts you intend to have plated.  The molds last only so long, so many "pulls" before the heat from the curing resin starts drying them out in detail areas.  Once they show deterioration, you won't use them for parts you want plated anyway because they'll require surface prep.  I dust molds with talcum powder; it breaks surface tension letting the resin fill in details better.  The molds do last a bit longer before showing deterioration also.  If you are making prototypes for NASA or the Wayne Foundation, they might require some special mold release, but for hobby castings the miniscule amount of powder left on the molds absorbs into the resin as it fills the mold.  It doesn't sit on the surface of the finished casting.  The stuff is actually sold by some suppliers as filler material for some resins, and doesn't cause problems with plating or painting.  It doesn't have to be cleaned off.  When I prep parts for plating, I do wash/rinse them, to get rid of resin dust from sanding the back side of the parts more than anything.  I have NEVER had plating fall off or flake off of parts cast this way.  Not one, not ever.  When I toss a part (I don't strip/replate castings) it's because of contaminants in the plating, or a flaw in the casting that I missed. 

If you're apprehensive about mold release at all, then do the chrome parts without it.  Some of the greasy-kid-stuff or silicone mold releases DO absorb into the resin, and that stuff does cause problems when you can't clean all of it off of the surface of the parts.  I've seen problems with bodies from one "volume" caster that tends to blast a lot of that silicone stuff on their molds.  Used in moderation, it's okay (I used it on the couple of bodies that I had cast in the distant past) but I've kept it away from anything I intend to have plated.  I've still got a couple of cans of silicone mold release; I spray it on my snow shovels and snowblower a few times each winter.