Topic: Chrome deplating

[KJ790]

Look good, that is the type of finish I would have expected. That works fine as long as you never want to plate them again and just want paint or powdercoat. That finish would not be good if you wanted to plate them again.

[mono]

Ahh... blasting aluminum is probably in a separate league than steel.

Good catch.

I sandblasted the chrome off of the inside of my 550 fenders and off of my exhaust flanges with no problems.  yes, it took a while, but it worked fine.  i was running a 90-grit aluminum oxide media at 90ish PSI.  took it right down to bare steel.

[SF]

i love the look of aluminum like that. tobad it wont stay

[mardimus]

Yes, I really like the look of it.  I wish it would stay too.  Im so glad I did not spend the $150 dollar quoted chemical strip.  Waist of money. 

[KJ790]

i love the look of aluminum like that. tobad it wont stay

Depending on the alloy you can clear anodize the blasted aluminum and get it to stay looking like that. We do it every day for tons of customers. Lower grade castings will often get a little darker in color, but still don't look too bad.

[SF]

i love the look of aluminum like that. tobad it wont stay

Depending on the alloy you can clear anodize the blasted aluminum and get it to stay looking like that. We do it every day for tons of customers. Lower grade castings will often get a little darker in color, but still don't look too bad.

what would clear anodizing cost per batch like in the pics?

[Retro Rocket]

Look good, that is the type of finish I would have expected. That works fine as long as you never want to plate them again and just want paint or powdercoat. That finish would not be good if you wanted to plate them again.

Rubbish , That is a very light finish, not that course at all , Steve already said that with a little work they will polish up well so "YES" they can easily be rechromed

Not rough but rough enough to either sand and polish

Once polished they will take chrome well, considering polishing is part of the process...

[fendersrule]

Just picked up my fenders from a brand new chroming place. Very nice shop and a good bunch of guys.

My metal looks nice and shiny. Still has some residue on it that I'm to wash off. Couldn't have been happier with my choice.



Will wash off and scuff the surface before priming. Hopefully I'll get all my bare parts primed in the next 2 weeks.

[KJ790]

Look good, that is the type of finish I would have expected. That works fine as long as you never want to plate them again and just want paint or powdercoat. That finish would not be good if you wanted to plate them again.

Rubbish , That is a very light finish, not that course at all , Steve already said that with a little work they will polish up well so "YES" they can easily be rechromed

Not rough but rough enough to either sand and polish

Once polished they will take chrome well, considering polishing is part of the process...

If you say so buddy, I only do it for a living 

Those parts are uniform, not smooth, there is a difference. Since you seem to know everything then I'm sure you already know what happens when you try to polish aluminum from a 1500Ra surface finish to a 16Ra finish. As well as how it looks if you try to chrome a part that has a finish much higher than 16Ra...

There are ways to make it look ok but most plating shops wouldn't do it. The ones that will would charge you an arm and a leg.

[KJ790]

what would clear anodizing cost per batch like in the pics?

It varies greatly from anodizer to anodizer. You would have to call around and see what the shops near you are charging. If the shop does a lot of industrial work or NADCAP certified work then they are going to charge you a lot more than a guy that just does general cosmetic anodizing.

[chewbacca5000]

I'd listen to KJ790 he does know his stuff.  I know him personally great guy he helped explain piston to bore clearance, valve stem to guide clearance, and ring end gap on my first engine.  Didn't ask any questions just meet and showed me the ropes which I am grateful for.

Last I heard he was working on home flow bench.  How did that come out anyway?  He also does work for a local plating company.

As far as this plating stuff is concerned to me it seems location specific.  So what can easily be done in one area is not so easy in another.  I went to a show chrome place and here in Syracuse, NY and they wanted a small fortune.

[Retro Rocket]

KJ, you have a problem reading, did you even read what Steve said..?  Once those parts are smooth and polished {which is easy if you know what you are doing} they can be coated easily, and I work , and have done for a very long time, for a guy that has a level 5 in sandblasting and industrial coatings and has won awards for his work a few actually} , your not the only bloke around here with experience.... My trade is in Industrial coatings....

You said that they can NEVER be coated again, thats simply wrong.....

[KJ790]

KJ, you have a problem reading, did you even read what Steve said..?  Once those parts are smooth and polished {which is easy if you know what you are doing} they can be coated easily, and I work , and have done for a very long time, for a guy that has a level 5 in sandblasting and industrial coatings and has won awards for his work a few actually} , your not the only bloke around here with experience.... My trade is in Industrial coatings....

You said that they can NEVER be coated again, thats simply wrong.....

None of this matters because the OP said he wasn't going to chrome them again.

Yes I read what he said, but most people think that if you take a rag and some polish and shine a part up then it will look good when chromed. This simply is not true. By the time you polish parts from the finish shown to a finish good enough for chrome you will have taken the edges off of all the details, rounded off all the letters, and ovalled out the holes. The only way to fix a part that has a blasted finish like that would be to copper plate it, then polish the copper back, then repeat the process until the finish is smooth as glass. Even then this tends to only work on parts like fenders, which have large graceful curves and don't have many tight nooks and crannies. It is very hard to polish in the bottom corners of some of the letters and details, so you would likely end up with a rough "blistered" look around the letters. You would have a few days just in copper plating and polishing back alone, which is why any plating shop willing to do it would charge a fortune, and many shops would simply tell you the parts are no good.

Blasting is great for paint, powdercoat, or dull plating.

[mardimus]

A lot of good info and some great opinions.  Overall, I think you all are on the right track.  The detail in how to go about the replate process, the polishing, or the painting is all great and everyone has a different way of doing it, which makes this thread great for all others looking to do what we are doing.  Thanks. 

Moving forward, it tough to decide whether to re-plate, paint, or polish.  I think I will polish one piece and see how it goes.  I like the thought of anodizing the pieces but I have never done it and will look into it now to see what the process is (cost, time, work, etc.)  I really like the look of them now and would be cool to keep them this way.  Unfortunately, they would never stay clean.   

I am blasting my swing arm myself and it is looking good.  The frame I may send back to the same shop as they quoted me $40 to blast it.  It took me almost half an hour to do the swing arm.  I think $40 is worth the 2 hours it would take me.  If not more.  I have a big compressor and a good gun to blast with, but man it takes me a little longer. 

Anyone try chrome plating themselves?  Caswell?  I was thinking maybe I would re-plate myself just to learn it.  Im open to thoughts and opinions.   

[mardimus]

Those fenders look great.  So... You will clean them and then paint them? For some reason I thought you were replating them. 

Just picked up my fenders from a brand new chroming place. Very nice shop and a good bunch of guys.

My metal looks nice and shiny. Still has some residue on it that I'm to wash off. Couldn't have been happier with my choice.



Will wash off and scuff the surface before priming. Hopefully I'll get all my bare parts primed in the next 2 weeks.

[fendersrule]

Repainting Honda Cloud Silver. Got some minor body work to do.

[mardimus]

That would look good.  Be sure to post some pics. 

Repainting Honda Cloud Silver. Got some minor body work to do.

[wally550k0]

I think it's best to leave the nasty chemicals and toxic leftovers to the pros.  The "before" pic below shows the nasty chrome that was on the head of a bike when I bought it:



Here is the "after" once processed by Brown's Plating:



They are one of the top shops in the country if not the best of all.

Here's just one of the many parts they plated for an old bike I'm restoring:

[mono]

regarding the DIY plating kits, i think they are better for doing small parts (nuts+bolts, nothing bigger than a few inches square) -- it's all about the surface area of the piece.  I watched a lot of vids online from people who tried plating (chrome, brass, etc) but it seemed the best results came from the smaller pieces.

[mardimus]

Those pieces turned out great. 

I think it's best to leave the nasty chemicals and toxic leftovers to the pros.  The "before" pic below shows the nasty chrome that was on the head of a bike when I bought it:



Here is the "after" once processed by Brown's Plating:



They are one of the top shops in the country if not the best of all.

Here's just one of the many parts they plated for an old bike I'm restoring: