I feel the need to add my .02 to the great chrome debate. I deal with
chrome plated rolls used to apply glue to surfaces to be laminated.
Chrome can be plated directly on steel surfaces, I have had rolls done
this way. Some chrome platers feel that a layer of nickel should be used
between the steel and chrome as a moisture barrier. I have rolls that
have been done both ways and run 24 hours a day with no problems. We
also use carbon steel scraper blades that wipe the glue off but don't
scratch the surface, chrome is HARD. Chrome can be polished, but it is
done using a grinding wheel and a lubricating oil spray. It is a very
slow process, when I have a roll polished it takes about two days, and
removes less than .001 of chrome.
Mike Conrad
58 & 60 TR3, 62 TR4
On Sat, 28 Mar 1998 07:16:43 -0800 (PST) rfeibusch@loop.com (Rick
Feibusch) writes:
>
>Hi Listers-
>
>Hi - I'm new on the list and don't have a Triumph yet but am getting
>interested. I'm the guy who does the infamous Value Guides for
>British Car
>Magazine (American) so you Spitfire and TR7 owners out there know who
>to
>bitch at!
>
>What I have been led to understand about tripple chrome plating:
>
>Chrome does not adhere to steel very well in the plating process but
>copper
>does, so your first layer is copper and it acts like a primer. Chrome
>doesn't stick to copper all that well either but it does stick quite
>well
>to nickel that does stick to copper, SO, a nickel plate layer is added
>between the copper and the final hard chrome top finishing layer. An
>other
>interesting fact is that chrome is so hard and dense that it is near
>impossible to polish after the fact so all of the polishing is done to
>the
>bare steel prior to plating and poor prep here will cause a rough or
>milky
>surface.
>
>Today it is hard to get proper tripple plating bcause the deadly
>chemical
>residues left from the copper and nickel "baths" is hard to contain
>and
>dispose of. Since they have used little real chrome plated parts on
>cars
>for the last decade, there is less and less call for this service and
>most
>platers use only chrome over steel.
>
>And that is why older chromed parts often look better and are more
>rust
>resistant than new chrome and all of the chrome is peeling off of both
>of
>my Chevys back bumpers. See you on the Funway!
>
>Rick Feibusch
>Automotive Journalist/Appraiser
>Venice Beach, California
>310-393-6605
>Fax:396-1933
>1959 Morris Minor Convertible
>1960 Morris Minor Saloon
>1961 Morris Minor Pickup
>1969 Chevy Malibu Sport Coupe
>1969 Chevy Malibu Convertible
>
>
>
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