Chrome pitting

polaratherapy

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Hello,

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The chrome tail lights on my 67 Newport are very pitted and I was just wondering if there is a method of cleaning them up somewhat falling short of having them rechromed?
Any help is much appreciated, I have 2 sets of chrome and may just clean, sand and paint a pair.
 
Hello,

View attachment 592666View attachment 592668The chrome tail lights on my 67 Newport are very pitted and I was just wondering if there is a method of cleaning them up somewhat falling short of having them rechromed?
Any help is much appreciated, I have 2 sets of chrome and may just clean, sand and paint a pair.
I’ve had pretty good luck using a VERY worn out green scotch brite pad and some liquid chrome polish. Buff out with a microfiber towel.
 
I recommend you try this procedure on a pitted part you don’t care about. It could make them look worse.

practice first and get a feel for It.

Locating 55 year old chrome parts for the rear of a car is not easy. The exhaust pits these parts, also left out in the weather not washed does it too.
 
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I recommend you try this procedure on a pitted part you don’t care about. It could make them look worse.

practice first and get a feel for It.

Locating 55 year old chrome parts for the rear of a car is not easy. The exhaust pits these parts, also left out in the weather not washed does it too.
Like I say, I'm lucky I have a second set to tinker with and thanks for the insight, yes the drivers side tail light is way better than the passenger side one as I only have a single exhaust, that explains it!

Have a nice day,
 
Pitted pot metal is tough to revive. THe professional restorers/ re-chromers sand and drill the pits, refill, re sand and then rechrome. I have seen pitted pot metal sanded smooth and polished. But, the piece must be thick enough depending on how deep the pits are.
 
Understood. I am fighting this same battle on my 67 Sport Fury. I have found two of the five OEM tail pieces, but three others are pitted. The metal is pretty sturdy though, and a re-chrome could be an option worth exploring.
 
How substantial is the metal? Can it be re-chromed?
To me the pits are deep and 1/16" in some spots, however I now have a chrome ( original ) pair and a blacked out pair.
I've never had anything rechromed before, so not sure if the substrate needs to be smooth or the rechroming somewhat fills the holes.
 
To me the pits are deep and 1/16" in some spots, however I now have a chrome ( original ) pair and a blacked out pair.
I've never had anything rechromed before, so not sure if the substrate needs to be smooth or the rechroming somewhat fills the holes.
Plating alone won't fill the holes. Small pits are sometimes repaired by stripping, copper plating and buffing down the copper plate to smooth. Sometimes that is repeated several times to build up copper. The issue with that is in the process of buffing the part over and over, some detail will be lost. Usually, the plater will settle for "good enough" compromise and you will still have some pitting but the details aren't completely buffed off. . The pot metal chrome around my convertible boot was done that way and it looks OK, but they were also in decent shape when I took them in.

Pot metal restoration is a real specialty and expensive. Chrome is stripped and pits are ground out and filled with silver solder and ground or filed flush. You have to be really good at that as pot metal is very unpredictable and its melting point is very low... and may even vary part to part. Then it's copper plated and buffed, and again, that step might be repeated several times. Final chroming and then you dig really deep down in your wallet... I mean real deep to pay for it.

I would bet those parts could end up costing $1k each or more. Probably more... That would have to go to a specialty shop and I'll bet it would be months before you saw them again. If you wanted to look at that option, find some better parts first.

The alternative might be to look at filing with JB Weld and having them powder coated with one of those chrome lookalike powders. The problem is that it doesn't really look like chrome and that makes any real restoration of those parts more expensive because now you have to remove the powder coat and the JB Weld. The best it would look is like polished aluminum.

NOS would probably be hard to find, and even then, might have "pops" in the plating as that's just the way it goes with pot metal.

The best way would be to have them recast in a bronze alloy. That would involve $$$$$ to do that right, but you could probably resell a few pair and never come close to breaking even. LOL.
 
Plating alone won't fill the holes. Small pits are sometimes repaired by stripping, copper plating and buffing down the copper plate to smooth. Sometimes that is repeated several times to build up copper. The issue with that is in the process of buffing the part over and over, some detail will be lost. Usually, the plater will settle for "good enough" compromise and you will still have some pitting but the details aren't completely buffed off. . The pot metal chrome around my convertible boot was done that way and it looks OK, but they were also in decent shape when I took them in.

Pot metal restoration is a real specialty and expensive. Chrome is stripped and pits are ground out and filled with silver solder and ground or filed flush. You have to be really good at that as pot metal is very unpredictable and its melting point is very low... and may even vary part to part. Then it's copper plated and buffed, and again, that step might be repeated several times. Final chroming and then you dig really deep down in your wallet... I mean real deep to pay for it.

I would bet those parts could end up costing $1k each or more. Probably more... That would have to go to a specialty shop and I'll bet it would be months before you saw them again. If you wanted to look at that option, find some better parts first.

The alternative might be to look at filing with JB Weld and having them powder coated with one of those chrome lookalike powders. The problem is that it doesn't really look like chrome and that makes any real restoration of those parts more expensive because now you have to remove the powder coat and the JB Weld. The best it would look is like polished aluminum.

NOS would probably be hard to find, and even then, might have "pops" in the plating as that's just the way it goes with pot metal.

The best way would be to have them recast in a bronze alloy. That would involve $$$$$ to do that right, but you could probably resell a few pair and never come close to breaking even. LOL.
Thanks Big John for the extensive possible solutions, they are out there it's just how much do you want to pay and how far do you want to go.
I thought about the soldering, and thanks for the JB weld tip, I might explore that option.
I have 2 sets, the originals that stay the same and a second set to play with.

Have a nice day,

Thanks PT
 
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