Getting ready to have parts on my '63 re-chromed. Do you guys bring stuff to someone local or do you you send out somewhere? As usual, want a good job but do not not want to spend more than I have to.
Also, should any rusted parts need to be sanded first or will the re-chroming take care of it?
1 other question...how do you get the carburetor body looking like new again? I scrubbed mine in cleaner and used some brass wire brushes on it. It came pretty clean, way cleaner than it was, but still has stains in the aluminum. Do I need to remove everything off/out of the carb and soak it in something?
Thanks
Re-Chroming
Re-Chroming
Last edited by grubsie on Sat Sep 01, 2012 9:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Jetblackchemist
- Posts: 463
- Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2011 10:59 am
I use a local plating shop in Florida: Space Coast Plating. They're pretty well known and do some of the best chrome work I've seen. Always show quality but always pricey. As far as pitted items go, they do in house repair with a process of copper plating and polishing to fill pits, followed by nickel plating and polishing to give a proper surface for the final chrome plate. As the melting point of copper is much lower than the steel used in exhaust parts, the copper process isnt possible on those types of parts(headers, mufflers). Whatever steel is there is all you have to work with, and most of the surface imperfections will inevitably show through in the chrome. Anything else is fair game, I had a pair of shock covers that looked like Swiss-cheese and after plating they're heavier, thicker and better than factory chrome.
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comp_wiz101
- Posts: 172
- Joined: Tue Aug 31, 2010 8:33 pm
grubsie wrote:Found a guy in my area, NH, that will re-chrome anything I want. Going to give him a shot at a few things first.
Jetblackchemist, thanks for the tip. I just put the parts in the Pinesol soak. Can't wait to see the change. Do you think it would work on cylinder heads and engine cases also?
If you want something faster, try Gunk Hydro Seal. You do have to strip the plastic and rubber off, but about 10-20 minutes in that stuff will make your carb look brand spanking new. I picked up a 20 year old Dellorto Carb for my moped on the Internet, and after 10 minutes in the dip it looked like it just came out of the box.
It doesn't have to stay hot, you can re-use it until it stops working, and if you have one you can also feed it to a parts washer.
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Jetblackchemist
- Posts: 463
- Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2011 10:59 am
Tried the pinesol soak. Threw all the carbs parts except for the rubber in the bucket. All loose parts, rinsed them under hot water and they came out squeaky clean. However the carb bodies were a different story. The yellow brownish stains came off beautifully, but now there is a dark gray areas/film? (for lack of a better description) on various sections of the bodies. I thought maybe that is was just wet in porous areas of the aluminum so I let them dry overnight to see if things would change. No luck. I then tried parts cleaner on them and that did not work either.
So, I think I am going to try the Gunk Hydro Seal. The dark gray color looks worse than the yellow brownish stains that were on the carbs previously.
So, I think I am going to try the Gunk Hydro Seal. The dark gray color looks worse than the yellow brownish stains that were on the carbs previously.
Not sure if its too late or not, but I got my carb nice and bright again by using Zing Formula IV Pontoon Boat cleaner. It comes in a spray bottle, so I just spritzed it all over my carbs then rinsed it off.
It's designed for cleaning aluminum pontoons, and it's strong stuff. I used it on my carbs because it was already on my shelf.
You know you're using it correctly when your hands feel like a thousand ants are gnawing on them.
It's designed for cleaning aluminum pontoons, and it's strong stuff. I used it on my carbs because it was already on my shelf.
You know you're using it correctly when your hands feel like a thousand ants are gnawing on them.