Plating - Chrome, Nickel, etc. By Jeff Zurschmeide

One of the biggest attractions to classic American cars (of the postwar period, anyway) is the automakers’ love affair with chrome. Chrome is the ultimate expression of silvery bling--it stays shiny long after stainless steel or even true silver has lost its luster, and you can plate it on almost anything metal. Chrome is an opulent expression of wealth and style, and the cars of the 1950s are renowned for using chrome in quantity.

Chrome is what makes many classic cars beautiful, but it also poses a special challenge to the restorer. Chrome is tough to get right, but it is absolutely imperative that the chrome must be right to create a first class restoration.

Most restorations start with chrome in poor condition. Rust and dents are the usual suspects. Sometimes chrome (especially chrome that was not well-done originally) is peeling and flaking off, and other times it is simply pitted with rust in the underlying metal. Dents and unwanted bends in chrome are also more common than perfect unmarred bumpers and trim.

To get the chrome right, the part must be completely cleaned. Any grease or dirt on the surface to be plated will spoil the process. Generally this involves stripping the original chrome and the substrate materials off of the part. Chrome bonds best to copper or nickel, and so there are often several layers to remove before you arrive at the base metal of the part.

Once cleaned, any dents, waves, or other imperfections must be hammered out of the part before the replating process begins. Deep pitting and cracks are also repaired at this time. The part needs to be as smooth and straight as possible at this point, because any flaws become highly visible in the final product. The part is then etched in an acid bath to prepare to receive the metal.

When the part is as perfect as it can be and etched, the plater starts by depositing at least one and often several layers of copper plating on the surface. This process can be extended to fill pits and minor imperfections, but it’s necessary to get a smooth copper surface on the part before the nickel layer is deposited. Race car builders often stop at this level because nickel plating protects parts from rust and looks nice (at least, under the special care that race cars receive) but also shows cracks in the base metal more readily than a chrome-plated part.

Finally, the chrome layer is applied. All these metal plating processes involve running an electrical current through the part while in a bath of dissolved metal salts. The current causes the metal salts to adhere to the part in an even layer, creating a deposit of the plating metal. It’s here that any remaining defects will turn up, because unlike copper and even nickel, chrome does not fill in pits or smooth over ridges--it actually makes them worse. Chrome’s reflective properties are what draws your eye to dents and waves in the part.

Hint...

With a process of this complexity and sensitivity, you can see that even with the availability of home electroplating kits, you can safely assume that this process has to happen at a professional chrome plating shop if you want show-quality results. For the amount of plating that an amateur restorer needs to do, the supplies, equipment, and expertise necessary to chrome plate a bumper just doesn’t make sense.

Your best solution for chrome parts is to find the best chrome plating shop in your area and have them take car of your parts. The price may be high, but the results are absolutely necessary to make your chrome reflect your investment in the rest of your restoration.

		1946 Packard: Replating the chrome
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I learned two big lessons when I was having the chrome replated for the Popular Restorations feature car. The first is that, at least in my case, you get what you pay for. The second was that if you plan on cutting corners, don’t do it with pot metal parts. Poor preparation work on pot metal can leave your parts partially chromed with bubbles and peeling.

I had the bumpers, grill, hood ornament, hubcaps, and headlight trim rings plated at Oregon Plating. I’ll have to say they did a good job. It’s expensive though. Before giving me a quote the guy asked me what type of quality I wanted. For “show” quality they take more time with the copper plating, sanding and replating as necessary so the end result looks much better than new. Some restoration shops will actually pick up the parts when the copper plating has been done so they can smooth the finish to perfection before the nickel and chrome are applied.

With regard to cost, I placed my parts on the counter and the guy started picking them up one-by-one saying six hundred dollars (grill), five hundred dollars (four hubcaps), four hundred dollars (rear bumper), two hundred dollars (rear bumper ends), two hundred dollars (rear bumper guards), four hundred dollars (front bumper), two hundred dollars (front bumper ends) two hundred dollars (front bumper guards), five hundred dollars (front bumper license plate holder and vertical guards), etc. You get the idea. It was a traumatic experience, especially knowing there were many more chrome parts in need of plating at home. Several months later I picked up the finished parts and, as I said, the quality was excellent.

Along the way they called tell me to say that the front bumper had a slight ripple in it. They wanted to make sure I was okay with it. I drove to the shop and really couldn’t see it, so it was okay with me. Later they called to say that one of my hubcaps could not be plated, at least for the cost quoted, because the outer skin was made of brass. Apparently all of the original hubcaps were like that. The other three had been replaced with steel equivalents over the years. I ordered another used, steel hubcap from Max Merritt and used it instead. And one of the bumper ends was rusted so badly they couldn’t plate it. I looked around and found one for sale in one of my Packard Club magazines. It was listed in one of those ads that has several hundred parts itemized.

Next I took the rest of the parts (parking and taillight bezels, door handles, more grill parts, and countless interior chrome pieces) to the same shop but they were closed on a weekday. That’s when I got the idea of taking the parts somewhere else. I got a recommendation for a shop about an hour away and drove the parts there. They did a good job on some parts and a mediocre job on some others, which I had replated later.

So the lesson was simple. Chrome is gut-wrenchingly expensive and you get what you pay for!