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Author
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Topic: Chrome Plating
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Rick Collins
Member From: Claremont , CA USA
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posted 29 November 2006 08:57 AM
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Knowing very well that price is relative, compared to polishing is chrome plating aluminum much more costly?Many thanks, R.C. |
Curt Langston
Member From: ***In the shadows of Tulsa at Bixby, USA***
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posted 29 November 2006 10:03 AM
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Rick, I used to work as a Journeyman Plater/Polisher. Let me tell you this: All things that are chrome plated MUST be polished to a mirror finish. Most folks do not know that the chrome plating itself, must have a brilliant surface to cling to. Otherwise it will look gray and dull, sort of like silver spray paint from a can. Aluminum cannot be chrome plated. It can however be polished and buffed to a brilliant luster. Or anodized. (like the coloring on GFI guitars)Same thing for stainless steel, except it cannot be anodized, just buffed brilliant. Plating uses a rectifier to electro-plate metal. The items to be plated are hung on copper rods with copper hooks, then suspended in a copper, then nickel solution with an opposite charge. Most chrome shops do triple plate(copper, nickel and chrome) The final plate(chrome) is very hard and thin. The silver mirror finish is from the Nickel. Chrome acts as a sealer to keep the Nickel from tarnishing.
Needless to say most of the work and expense in chrome plating is in the polishing and buffing.[This message was edited by Curt Langston on 29 November 2006 at 10:04 AM.] |
Richard Sinkler
Member From: Fremont, California
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posted 29 November 2006 10:54 AM
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Actually, I worked for a plating company back in the 80's, and they chrome plated aluminum all the time. As long as it was not a casting, but extruded. Curt is otherwise correct. Chrome plating would be more expensive than just a polish job because of the extra labor and material involved in plating. And the best chrome finishes come when after each metal that is applied to the material, you polish that metal to a mirror finish (i.e. after copper you polish, then after nickel you polish, after chrome you give a light polish). |
A. J. Schobert
Member From: Cincinnati OHIO WHO DEY???
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posted 29 November 2006 03:42 PM
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Rick you may want to do search for morcycle custom chrome those guys handle small parts and can get you a good chrome job. Maybe pick up a magazine and look in the adds, I myself I love powder coat it has the look of chrome but you can have a color. |
Donny Hinson
Member From: Balto., Md. U.S.A.
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posted 29 November 2006 03:57 PM
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quote:
Aluminum cannot be chrome plated.
Sorry Curt!  That's not the case anymore. Chrome-plated aluminum is done all the time now. (The new MSA steels have all the aluminum chromed; end-plates, keyheads, changer housing, etc.) Even plastics are regularly plated today, and one of the newest technologies is doing rapid-prototypes (with laser-activated resins), and plating them to make ultra lightweight chassis and housings for electronic gear. |
Fred Shannon
Member From: Rocking "S" Ranch, Comancheria, Texas
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posted 29 November 2006 04:03 PM
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Donnie is certainly right about the MSA Millennium end plates. Both of mine are chromed and they're aluminum.Phred |
Jim Sliff
Member From: Hermosa Beach California, USA
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posted 29 November 2006 05:25 PM
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Yep - that used to be true of aluminum but the process has changed, and chromed aluminum is very common. |
Scott Swartz
Member From: St. Louis, MO
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posted 29 November 2006 10:06 PM
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Ludwig was chroming Supraphonic snare drums back in the 60s (spun aluminum shell), pretty much every old one is pitted and flaking now if you check ebay. What about the process has changed to prevent this? |
Jim Sliff
Member From: Hermosa Beach California, USA
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posted 30 November 2006 05:42 AM
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I'm not sure what the new process is, but it has made a difference. I worked in plating back in the mid-70's and chrome was the nastiest, most dangerous of them all. It was also the hardest to control. I'd guess new technology and computer controls ovr parts of the operation are some of the changes, as there were critical timing and tank "reading" issues. |
Ray Minich
Member From: Limestone, New York, USA
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posted 30 November 2006 07:56 AM
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Silver plating is neat too, but the cyanide can leave a bad taste in your mouth...
Gold plating solution = 10 troy ounces per gallon...no wonder it's $$$$$.
Flocculant is not a dirty word![This message was edited by Ray Minich on 30 November 2006 at 07:59 AM.] |
Donny Hinson
Member From: Balto., Md. U.S.A.
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posted 30 November 2006 09:04 AM
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quote:
...was chroming Supraphonic snare drums back in the 60s (spun aluminum shell), pretty much every old one is pitted and flaking now if you check ebay. What about the process has changed to prevent this?
Scott, when those pieces were chromed, they probably never thought anyone would be worried about the finish after 40 years!  But to be serious, there's many things that can cause pitting problems. Starting with the item itself, if the metal has contaminaants in it, then that a problem in itself. (It rears it's ugly head when you try to do castings, especially those made of "pot metal", or poor grades of aluminum, or just about any other metal.) Most manufacturers just want "good enough". They have a profit matgin to meet, and "too much quality" (yeah, there is such a thing) simply becomes too costly. You have to control the product, the technical process, and the people who are doing it. A bad process in any one of a dozen categories can cause failures. The best chrome-plating processes have 5 or more platings (with polishings in-between each), but average is a 3-step (copper-nickel-chrome) process that yeilds a "good enough" job for most applications. To make a long story short, high quality comes with a proportionately high cost, but the majority of customers just aren't willing to pay for it. "Uncle Sam" is the exception.
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Richard Sinkler
Member From: Fremont, California
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posted 30 November 2006 05:07 PM
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I believe that when we were chrome plating aluminum, the first plating step was to "flash" (very light plating) it with brass first. Brass stuck to aluminum well, then on with the copper (whick stuck very well to the brass), nickel and chrome. The problems with casting are that when you first clean the casting for plating, you could never dry it well enough and after plating, water would seep out of the pores in the casting and cause bubbles in the plating and would cause flaking. |
Jim Palenscar
Member From: Oceanside, Calif, USA
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posted 30 November 2006 10:44 PM
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I believe that the 1st Milenniums had chrome plating but was under the impression that itwas no longer in favor- will check~~~ |
Colby Tipton
Member From: Texas, USA
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posted 01 December 2006 01:20 AM
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I think most of the problems with aluminum is that if you scratch it and it starts to oxydize at that point it spreads under the chrome and makes it peel off. That is the case with older plating jobs, I think. New chemicals, techniques and such may help stop this these days????Colby |
Curtis Mason
Member From: Ohio, USA
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posted 02 December 2006 07:44 PM
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I prefer to buff the aluminum to a chrome/mirror look. It cost the least. You can go to an automotive store and purchase some 1000grit and 2000grit wetordry sandpaper and also some "Never Dull" (Looks like insulation) and a bottle of " 3M Scratch Remover" I start with a light sanding using the 1000 grit, then move to the 2000 (lightly), then use the Never Dull to start the polishing process, You may want to use some rubber gloves as it will be kinda messy and black. you should see black liquid coming from the aluminum, DO NOT CHANGE WHEN THE STARTS, this is what you want...be patient. Last use the 3M Scratch Remover and rub to a Mirror finish..it may take 3-4 applications, but it will leave a chrome looking finish, that can be easily maintained for a few dollars every couple years. ------------------
Sho-Bud LDG, Nashville 1000, Hilton Volume pedal, Lexicon MPX100 Processor
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Gareth Carthew
Member From: West Sussex, UK
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posted 03 December 2006 04:07 AM
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And if you have access to a buffing wheel it will make like even easier!! |
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