Thanks, does anyone know what "pickle" means in this context (below)?
----- Original Message -----
From: "David" <dcrawfor@san.rr.com>
To: "Greg Lemon" <glemon@neb.rr.com>; <healeys@autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, August 17, 2005 3:13 PM
Subject: Re: healey 100 Grill Finishing
> Greg Lemon asks:
>
> Does anyone know if a home method to replicate the satin finish on the
> Healey 100 Grill?? I had a couple of bent pieces I straightened, but
> in
> doing so marred the finish a bit. Tried some fine sandpaper, but
> finish was
> too shiny.
>
> 1954 BN1
>
> ###
>
> All I could find was this post by Bill Barnett much earlier this year.
> Probably doesn't help much... .
>
> DC
>
> ###
>
> Allen C Miller, Jr. wrote:
>
> > <snip>
> >
> > I can vouch that both grilles were old. The one from our car had
> been
> > replated, and the corners of the grill slats were rounded. The other
> > had a relatively intact factory finish. My plater is going to
> refinish
> > the less intact grille and will be applying the foregoing. He will
> > pickle the slats to get the proper matte effect on the sides, then
> > stroke-sand the fronts, taking out the polish and at the same time
> > correcting the former platers rounding. If the results are pleasing,
> I
> > will update the posting.
> >
> > The plater believes that, contrary to notions of 'annodizing' or
> other
> > specialty finishing of the grille slats to get the mat finish, it
> was
> > the factory's expedient finishing technique that accounts for the
> > matte finish, and that a regular chrome plating was applied. In
> other
> > words, its the finishing of the surface metal, not the plating
> > process, that accounts for the final result.
>
> I'm the second owner of my BN1 which was extremely original when I
> purchased it in 1978. It had never had any type of restoration or
> replating done, nor any front end damage. IOW it had the original,
> from
> the factory, satin finish slats.
>
> Around that time I was having much correspondence with John Wheatley
> in
> the UK about that very subject. He sent me a full size copy of the
> blueprint for a 100 grill, "Issued for production 3.6.55" The parts
> list on the lower left includes:
>
> 14B4568 RADIATOR GRILL. (BRASS SATIN CHROME FINISH - B.S. 1224. -
> 1953.
> Ni 5C).
> 14B4569 RADIATOR GRILL SURROUND. (BRASS CHROMIUM PLATED & POLISHED -
> B.S. 1224. - 1953. Ni 5C).
>
> When neither I or Eric Grunden at Absolutely British in Ontario, CA
> could find a suitable plater to replicate it, many hours were spent by
> hand cleaning up my original. Good luck.
>
> FWIW
>
> Bill Barnett
> '53 BN1 #663
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