Mirror arms rechromed

[Chargerman]

Here’s a thought. What about sharing wrapping them. They make a “chrome” look material. Check with a local company that does signage/wrapping. The other benefit is they can do them in place. 

[Guest Ray Davis]

Here is something called spray chrome,  they say it's not paint.   I know nothing about this process, it may be junk but it's interesting.

https://pchrome.com/faq/what-is-spray-chrome/

[Tom Cherry]

48 minutes ago, Ray Davis said:

Here is something called spray chrome,  they say it's not paint.   I know nothing about this process, it may be junk but it's interesting.

https://pchrome.com/faq/what-is-spray-chrome/

Might work for an interior part or something where there is absolutely no abrasion nor any harmful (outside weather) environment.  Think about wanting a pair of chrome plates fluffy dice for hanging in your hot rod to feel cool.

if you spend time and stay away from the sites paid to promote it…..then this is the best one.

https://forums.aaca.org/topic/223128-chrome-restoration-conventional-plating-versus-spray-on/

look at the other review from restoration guys and motorcycle guys.  One guy said he spent a lot of time and then a lot of money snd had to dip his parts in a paint remover….to get them rechromed by an electroplator.

it IS a paint, just not an alkaline or acrylic….then, you coat it with a clear sealer.  A GENUINE  Copper Nickel Chrome is a three step or layer build up process.

That’s my take….

[Guest Ray Davis]

 

27 minutes ago, Tom Cherry said:

Might work for an interior part or something where there is absolutely no abrasion nor any harmful (outside weather) environment.

I suspect you are correct, however, they do address the elements & weather.  

"Spray chrome gives a highly durable, lustrous finish that can withstand the elements and the weather."

I know there are plumbing finishes, brass being one, that are not traditional metal plating and are practically indestructible.   Amazing new things all the time.                I watched a chrome plating line on TV of those big Ford PU grills,  it was amazing but commonplace today.   Of course, they are dealing with the same plastic part day in and day out.  The process can be refined with the same part & material.  A job shop never knows what someone will bring in, so you learn to avoid some materials.

 

I knew a man who ran a large industrial plating shop.  An interesting story is how it got started.   His dad ran an auto repair garage back in the early 1900s.  The cars back then had silver-plated headlight reflectors that had to be hand polished to maintain their reflectivity.  Eventually, the silver was rubbed thru necessitating a resilvering job. The garage would remove the lights & send them out.  A plating salesman came in one day & asked why are you sending them out when you could do it here.  I'll sell you the setup.  So they started doing silver.  Soon customers were bringing in the wife's knives & forks, saying dip these while you're at it.  They got so busy plating they stopped working on cars.  Eventually, dropping silver in favor of nickel & industrial hard chrome.  Today they do giant crankshafts from locomotives,  ships, and almost anything industrial.  They grind the journals and coat the entire assy in wax except for the journals.  The entire assy is submerged for an extended time in a hard chrome plating solution while the plating builds up in excess of the desired size.  This is then precision ground to the correct size.   The same process is done on many other parts such as rollers, shafts etc.   Hard chrome provides a surface superior to the original metal, so it's better than new.

[Paul J A]

On 6/28/2023 at 11:48 AM, 1nolaguy said:

Thanks Richard. Will give that a try. Soaked with PB Blaster for about 8 hr and tried heat but still won;t budge. Will look for a bolt later today or tomorrow. BTW- found it weird that it is a 14mm head on the bolt. would have thought it to be std. Do you know if the bolt is metric? That would help narrow the search.

50/50 acetone and ATF is the best penetrating fluid i have ever used. 

[1nolaguy]

1 hour ago, Paul A. said:

50/50 acetone and ATF is the best penetrating fluid i have ever used. 

ATF?

[Paul J A]

34 minutes ago, 1nolaguy said:

ATF?

Automatic Transmission Fluid 

[1nolaguy]

Thanks. Will give that a try. BTW -  can that mix be saved in a plastic bottle of will it disolve the plastic?

[Tom Cherry]

18 hours ago, Ray Davis said:

 

I suspect you are correct, however, they do address the elements & weather.  

"Spray chrome gives a highly durable, lustrous finish that can withstand the elements and the weather."

I know there are plumbing finishes, brass being one, that are not traditional metal plating and are practically indestructible.   Amazing new things all the time.                I watched a chrome plating line on TV of those big Ford PU grills,  it was amazing but commonplace today.   Of course, they are dealing with the same plastic part day in and day out.  The process can be refined with the same part & material.  A job shop never knows what someone will bring in, so you learn to avoid some materials.

 

I knew a man who ran a large industrial plating shop.  An interesting story is how it got started.   His dad ran an auto repair garage back in the early 1900s.  The cars back then had silver-plated headlight reflectors that had to be hand polished to maintain their reflectivity.  Eventually, the silver was rubbed thru necessitating a resilvering job. The garage would remove the lights & send them out.  A plating salesman came in one day & asked why are you sending them out when you could do it here.  I'll sell you the setup.  So they started doing silver.  Soon customers were bringing in the wife's knives & forks, saying dip these while you're at it.  They got so busy plating they stopped working on cars.  Eventually, dropping silver in favor of nickel & industrial hard chrome.  Today they do giant crankshafts from locomotives,  ships, and almost anything industrial.  They grind the journals and coat the entire assy in wax except for the journals.  The entire assy is submerged for an extended time in a hard chrome plating solution while the plating builds up in excess of the desired size.  This is then precision ground to the correct size.   The same process is done on many other parts such as rollers, shafts etc.   Hard chrome provides a surface superior to the original metal, so it's better than new.

No doubt, some folks might be happy with a spray (paint) coating that was properly clear coated.  However, there is not any clear coat that will even come close to 5% of the durability of a Copper Nickel Chrome DECORATIVE electroplated finish.  Since you have some understanding, I will delve a little deeper….as a “plating 101” comment 

All (99%) of the steel commercial fasteners (screws and bolts and nuts) have a ZINC electroplated (assuming they are silver and not really shiny) finish with a CLEAR Chromic acid dip or final step.  The “zinc” looks silver.  The Chrome (actually a clear DiChromate dip) is added for “salt/corrosion” resistance.  If you see a yellowish coating, this is called a Yellow DiChromate dip or finish….it has about 5 or so TIMES the corrosion or salt (spray) resistance as the clear.  The clear is to make it a vit shinier…. There is absolutely no “electroplated” or chromium plated tank or step…just a DIP then a rinse…then hot air dried to “set it”.  Maybe UV cured today, but that is how all zinc plated work was done…and that covers my 30 years of working in finishing.

A true “DECORATIVE” CHROME electroplating has a Copper (on plastic…there is a metallic etch) and a very low current copper thickness (Angstrom units) is applied….and towards the end of that station, the current is ramped up to apply more.  Then a nickel plated layer….it is the thickest (memory) and finally a thinner layer of Chrome.  Most Chrome today is TriValent and not the older carcinogen HexaValent chrome batch.  That layer is thicker if it is to be polished….like a Toaster cabinet.

Hard Chrome, alway over a metal, is an extra thick coating….which is not polished.  I don’t know if David does this….doubt it.  I suspect he puts on a thicker final or Chrome finish for polishing..  you NEVER POLISH Hard Chrome IT is not SHINY.  Yes, you use various chemicals or techniques to mask off the areas that are NOT to be plated.  You put on a NON Conductive coating….which is stripped off afterwards….to prevent the electroplating….

https://www.uschrome.com/hard-chrome/

If i were selling a MH and wanted to cover up an ugly mirror….maybe spray on the silver nitrate and clearcoat…and then put a plastic bag, sealed with a desiccant pack inside and only remove for inspection….that’s my take after many articles….

[Guest Ray Davis]

I'm sure there's one thing we agree on,  nothing looks as good or is more durable than Dave's Space Coast chrome.   https://www.spacecoast-plating.com/

It's not fair to compare the spray-on finish to real chrome, apples & oranges so to speak.  No one would use it on a nice vehicle if they had a reasonable choice, I sure wouldn't   Even so my curious nature begs me to look at things,  things I may never use but may have a use for someday.  There are lots of ways to deposit metal onto something,  vapor, sputtering, brush plating, even hot dip molten metal and no telling how many others.  No doubt each has its place.

[Paul J A]

Anyone know who plates the Top Hats for Velvac??

[Tom Cherry]

52 minutes ago, Paul A. said:

Anyone know who plates the Top Hats for Velvac??

If you read this, @David Pratt goes into more details.  This was one of the first hits when you google Velvac Replating or plating.  Dave goes into a simpler explanation than I previously posted.  As a Certified Electro Finisher that knows way less than David, in order for any chrome plating to adhere, you have to have an activated clean (presumably for this discussion) metallic surface.  Copper flashing or striking or building up a copper substrate (thin layer, but electrically bonded).  Then you switch baths and plate on a layer of nickel.  If you want a chrome plated (again move to the chromic acid plating tank), that can be buffed and polished, you plate a thicker overlay of chrome.  Rinse and dry and then carefully buff.  

if you are asking about the OEM Factory plater, why do that again as it is crappy? In addition, most big shops that have the special racks are volume platers and don’t do such.

Maybe i should have started the discussion with a fact that I assumed folks knew.  All commercial platers that specialize in “rack” and not “tumbling barrels” where the parts (typically  small) just clank around inside a barrel with a high current electrode, have special hanging racks with fingers or prongs that actually penetrate or touch the metal.  In electroplating, you pass a Negative current through the rack from the prongs or fingers into the part. The bath has special metal electrodes (anodes) in baskets and you put Positive current into the bath.  Remember, opposites attract.   The Chromic (or Nickel or Copper) solution has “metal in solution”.  The Positive current on the bath (via the Anodes) breaks down or removes the metal and it hightails it to the Cathode (Negative).  The part to be plated is the Cathode.  Time and current (density) control the process.  There is a 1935 paper that you can goggle.  In the olden days, the chrome was Hexavalent.  Cr+6.  That is a carcinogen so most platers switched to Trivalent Chrome Cr+3.  Harder to control, but the waste water treatment process to reduce the Cr+6 to Cr+3 was dangerous and costly.  I was shoved into starting up a Cyanide and Chrome WWT system and then had to learn how plating worked and the chemistry of the bath and the rest is history. Folks spend thousands of dollars, per rack, to get some design of a probe or finger to make the part (cathode) electrically “charged”. 

Velvac cheats….read David’s comment….hope this explains it