Chrome Plating

Restoration

• Damaged and rusted metal parts are restored to like-new condition. Using the latest wire-welding techniques, perfect results are achieved every time. Parts are always sandblasted to ensure total rust removal.
• Straightening & Grinding: Dents and dings are removed and then the part is matched to an OEM template to ensure proper fit. All straightening marks are removed.
• Pre-polish: Parts are pre-polished to remove grinding marks and imperfections. Only hand-polishing is used on sensitive antique parts - excessive heat build-up is avoided. The result is a finely polished part without heat distortion, warping, or burn-through.

Plating -Processes Specific to Pot Metal or Steel

Pot Metal

• Cyanide Copper: The part is cleaned & rinsed and put into a cyanide copper tank to give a base layer for polishing and corrosion protection.
• Bright or Acid Copper: After electro-cleaning and hand washing, each part is plated with Acid Copper. The part is removed from the plating line and buffed to a high luster. This process extends the useful life of the part and also fills the polishing lines, small pits, & imperfections.
• Bright Nickel: The part is returned to the plating line, cleaned, and inspected again. The part is nickel plated to give it a high luster.
• Noble Nickel strike: The part is placed in the noble nickel strike tank and plated to increase the life of the part by many years.
• Trivalent Chrome: After a rinse, the part is placed in the Chrome tank for its final treatment. Chrome plating helps preserve the appearance & prolong the life of the part.¹

Steel

• "Shock" treatment: A reverse electric charge is applied to steel parts to "blow" off any grinding dust or sandblasting materials from the part. This ensures that only the part is plated & that there are no foreign objects under the layers of plating.
• Dull Nickel strike: A part is cleaned & rinsed and put into a nickel strike tank to give a base layer of nickel for polishing and corrosion protection.
• Bright or Acid Copper: After electro-cleaning and hand washing, each part is plated with Acid Copper. The part is removed from the plating line and buffed to a high luster. This process extends the useful life of the part and also fills the polishing lines, small pits, & imperfections.
• Bright Nickel: The part is returned to the plating line, cleaned and inspected again. The part is nickel plated to give it a high luster.
• Noble Nickel strike: The part is placed in a noble nickel strike tank and plated to increase the life of the part by many years.
• Trivalent Chrome: After a rinse, the part is placed in the Chrome tank for its final treatment. Chrome plating helps preserve the appearance & prolong the life of the part.¹
• Final Rinse: Tank has a wax additive to help parts have longer life - it is primarily for the backs of steel bumpers to avoid the appearance of rust streaks.

Note 1:  "Tri-Chrome" is different from "Hex-Chrome" - hexavalent chrome is a hazardous, highly toxic material with serious environmental problems.

A 14-step process is required for aluminum parts before the parts go through the pot-metal process.

New stampings or recycled bumpers do not go through the copper plating steps. Semi-bright, bright, and noble nickels are used.