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If you want to be very fastidious about rechroming potmetal you can have it cleaned, then plated with copper.
The imperfections are then filled with solder and treated with fine sanding - like paintwork and then re-plated with copper and then chrome plated.
I have the book which describes this.
I also understand that the real show people will purchase a new part and then have it cleaned, repaired and triple chromed so that it looks better than new.
The pot-metal around the rear is probably about the hardest to get right and most of us have pits so it will be interesting to see how they turn out.
Bill
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chroming,
isnt that what the local tools at the train station do with a plastic coke bottle?!
are you sure about the price of those chrom bits...my silly ass father went to the dealer and just ordered (well, a year ago), the two chrome surrounds
onr the front quarter panels that are continuous with the bit above the headlights on the bonnet (does this make sense)...they were something like 120 bucks each he dscovered after they arrived...i cant imagine the large chrome bits (which arent just plastic) you mentioned would be anywhere near as cheap as what you suggested the cost of rechroming was??
Sounds good... they can look pretty bad at times. I polished the ones on the white car with Autosol with reasonable success (I am obsessed with that product). New/re-plated ones would be awesome.
I was quoted $1300 for the mid section of the rear bumper recently, $800 for the grille surround. I wouldn't think they would be too expensive (comparatively). However, sometimes pricing defies any known logic.
Tim
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Quote from: TJ 450 on 13 May 2008, 07:14 AM
I was quoted $1300 for the mid section of the rear bumper recently,
That sounds a bit steep, I paid $300 for the front middle section to be straightened and chromed.
The bar was in pretty good shape, I can see something rusted with the chrome lifting could be more but not that much.
koan
I forgot to add... that's brand new from the dealer.
Tim
Quote from: TJ 450 on 13 May 2008, 08:07 AM
I forgot to add... that's brand new from the dealer.
That makes a bit more sense...
koan
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It is quite possible to chrome at home Patrick.
Plenty of books available but fumes and neighbour's reactions may be a problem.
Nathan in his capacity as ENT Registrar can give you a dissertation on "Chrome Plater's Septum" which I have seen a couple of times.
I have a book on DIY chroming and the biggest problem is getting a powerful rectified power supply for even deposition of metal as well as a trough big enough for large bumpers etc.
To do a good job the skill and time is, just like painting, in the preparation.
I also understand that "Australian Chrome" is a different colour to "German Chrome" and you have to do all pieces of a bumper to get a match.
Bill
Diecast, otherwise known as pot metal, is an absolute bugger to re-do, and most places won't even touch it. Those that do charge for the amount of work involved to get it right.
Plating of Pot Metal, Die Cast and White Metal
Due to the natural deterioration of this type of material it requires a great deal of work and time to restore. We can repair cracks and dents. In cases of severely deteriorated parts, filling pits, repairing cracks and dents can be achieved by hand filling and polishing. We do not grind out the pits. This is the most difficult metal to refinish and your parts are only handled by experienced personnel. All pieces go through an acid copper plate and buffing process. This takes a great deal of time and is very labor intensive but results in the best possible finish. Sometimes parts may be too deteriorated to restore to perfect condition. You will be notified in such a case. We reserve the right to refuse orders that will not be satisfactory to us.
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By the sound of things it might require a large amount of effort/funds to get right. I would consider finding a good used set and cleaning them up.
Tim
I was going to post a link to a place called Plate and Paint that had kits for home electroplating and chroming amybe anodizing too but from memory the kits were kind of expensive. Must have been since they don't exist anymore. Plus you'd need a decent tub to submerse parts and many gallons to fill it especially if you were doing the larger corner shaped parts or a grill. The kits were more economical if you were doing nuts and bolts. I'm sure there's other sites out there.
What would be better is to organise a Plating Party. Everyone pitch in and bring their bits. It'd be a week long BBQ though.
To the parts you're referring to Pat, the wrecked yellow 280's were bad I didn't bother removing them, just chucked the whole rear into the trailer for the rubbish dump. I wonder if the exhaust plays a part in ruining them.
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Looks good.
Does the new chrome colour match with the old - some people say there is a difference betwen Oz chrome and the Deutsche variety.
Bill
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Nice result PB. I was a bit surprised to read the rubber pads are still available too. After taking pieces off mine and other cars I was amazed to see how every bit of exterior metal attached to the body has a rubber underpad. All of which are hardened and cracked now and some are missing.
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8) Wow! That's stunning Pat.
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When your dealer says NLA, does he just mean from the factory in Germany or from the Classic Centre too?
I'm never sure, sometimes the dealers need a bit of prompting to look at the Classic Centre option.
Have you tried tapping the part numbers into Classic Centres' spare parts availability page?
koan
Is it possible to buy direct from the classic centre?? I've found they stock a new TPS for a 350, but when i save up for it, how do I get it?
Quote from: Patrick Bateman on 06 June 2008, 04:05 AM
The rubber pad under the boot lid handle is no longer agailable,
Along the way I've been amazed at the number of rubber bits that separate metal from duco. These rubber gaskets are everywhere, A-pillar, gutters, C-pillar, bumpers to panel..... The first time I realised I was missing a particular piece is when I saw that everyone else had the rubber between grill and bonnet. I suppose I don't mind so much if these things start to disappear so long as you can cut a strip of similar material to make the gasket, but I hope they never stop making all the rubber suspension bushes and mounts too. Then we'll be in trouble :-\
It really is crap when the rubber gasket goes hard. I tried to remove the grill/bonnet one off the 280S project today and it was woeful. It cracked in pieces any time you lifted an edge up. One gasket I'd like to get hold of is the bits that are on the bottom of the A-pillar that is towards the bottom corners of the windscreen.
Quote from: oscar on 06 June 2008, 04:43 AM
Is it possible to buy direct from the classic centre?? I've found they stock a new TPS for a 350, but when i save up for it, how do I get it?
You have to go through a dealer and as I say they sometimes need a bit of prompting.
If you have a part number go to the Parts query (http://www.mercedes-benz-classic.com/content/classic/retailer/classic/en/home/home/home/classic/oldtimer_service/spare_parts/available_parts.html) and see if they have it. ignore the price as it's only a fraction of what you will end up paying.
koan
You can go directly to the Classic Centre in the US. Contact Tom Hanson at
[email protected]If a member of one of their affiliated clubs, such as the M100 or MBUSA, you get a 15% discount.
M100 is affiliated? Didn't know that. I know that macatron picked up part/s at the classic centre in person so I assumed that they dealt direct with the public but wasn't sure about mail order, internet order. I shall follow that link up eventually, thanks Craig.
I was referring to Classic Centre in Germany.
koan
Classic Centre in Germany you can collect from, but with the Euro the way it is, there is no point in buying from Germany, If there is no stock in the US, they will get it from Germany if available. There is however a problem with their computers - they don't talk to each other, so it can take a while to find out if Germany has it.
Just as an aside, I am currently in Hamburg and bought 2 small screws and 2 small rivets from a dealer. They were approx. EUR 0.67c each. I then went to my favourite screw supplier and bought the same things for EUR 0.03c each.
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PB, I would be VERY interested to see some samples of their bright adonising. I had some done here, and they prepared the pieces so badly - buffed (or more like scuffed) them with a coarse wire wheel - I had to bin them afterwards. They came back far worse than they started.
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the samples you saw were the kind of thing I was looking for. What I got was more scratches and pitting than I started with.
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I priced up a full set of aluminium (window surrounds all round, drip rails, A and C pillar trims etc) for trusty rusty and its in excess of ZAR25000 or about $3500. Ouch.
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I wonder if vacuum metallising would work ? Might talk to someone at some stage and find out.
Following this with interest as resurfacing aluminium trim will be a major issue for all of us.
Bill
Vacuum metallising should not be used for exterior applications, so I guess that option is off the table.
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Very nice PB.
We gonna see a before and after of it complete? New, it looks immaculate when it's without surface imperfections but a camera doesn't convey the difference as good as actually seeing the difference first hand. It was one thing that struck me the first time I went to a concours and saw the difference. I hadn't seen the trim look so good before.
That's seriously good... these cars would have looked spectacular right out of the factory.
Tim
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And going to get more difficult. With all the water restrictions, it is only going to get more diffcult to be able to do it yourself. In Germany, it is very uncommon for anyone to wash their own car. Most go to car washes. I am not completely sure, but I think it has to do with the recycling of water and why it is discouraged to do it yourself. In the cities especially, most people live in apartments, so it is impractical to do it yourself anyway, but the chemicals used in the car washes are pretty strong, and one of the reasons why our anodised aluminium goes milky.
It does make it somewhat easier to keep the chrome clean by using a good quality chamois after washing - and not one of those synthetic ones.
regarding the rubber gaskets between the trim and the body. If you try a place like clarke rubber you should be able to get some thin rubber sheet you would be able to make new ones out of. I know it wont be concours but it will be closer then ahving a crappy one or none at all.
PB, looking simply brilliant (have started catching up on old posts)!!!
Hi Chris,
Does this mean you might be contemplating anything 116 - like.
Bill