The Restoration Process of Chrome Parts
as followed by Spacecoast Plating & Metal Restoration, Inc.
by Kurt Rothe, editor emeritus
Before leaving for Wisconsin in the spring, my wife Carol and I drove down to Melbourne, FL to visit with Sandy Pratt, one of the owners of Spacecoast Plating & Metal Restoration, Inc.. Both Carol and I found this to be a very enlightening visit as we never expected to see such a complex and challenging process in operation.
We were met by Sandy who gave us a great tour of the many processes used by Spacecoast to produce the finest chrome products. Spacecoast primarily focuses on re-chroming parts from older motorcycles, antique and classic autos, and of course antique and classic boats. Many of our Sunnyland members use this vendor to re-chrome their boat hardware. The process is quite complex, involved and is very labor-intensive.
Here are the Many Steps in the Process
Step One
Parts arrive at the Spacecoast plant. The parts can be made of stainless, pot metal, aluminum, or steel. They are laid out for inspection, inventoried, measured, photographed and priced.
Step Two
Once the deposit has been received, the parts are stripped. The company use paint strip and nitric acid to strip aluminum parts, caustic strip to remove chrome, sulfuric acid to strip nickel off of steel and pot metal, and muriatic acid to remove rust off of steel parts. Their tanks are 10’x5’x5′. All parts are then bead blasted to clean them and sent to the polishing departments for prep work.
Step Three
Depending on the type of metal and the restoration they want to achieve, the parts are ground, sanded and detailed for the plating process. Steel parts receive a minimum of five layers of plating: nickel, a cyanide copper strike, the acid copper, and then nickel and chrome. Brass boat parts, received in excellent condition and with no corrosion, will be sanded to remove old scratches and damage then buffed to a flawless shine and run through the plating process. Parts needing additional repairs will be nickel and copper plated, then sent to the detailers for lead or solder repairs, sanded down and re-coppered. They get sanded down a final time, polished to a flawless finish, sent to the plating line, back into the nickel and then chrome plated. The better the detailing and prep work, the nicer the final appearance! The acid copper is what allows Spacecoast Plating to do repairs, and achieve that deep luster that enhances the part and makes them show winners! Large parts can be in the acid copper for several hours alone.
Step Four
Finished parts are then un-racked and taken to a quality control room for separation into each job, inspected, waxed and wrapped. Since each part is photographed and documented upon arrival, it is clear with regard to what parts must be returned to each customer. Once the entire job is done the customer is notified for pick-up.
Putting the steps together
Plating is a very labor-intensive process done by well-trained employees. These processes, along with the various tasks outlined above, are all learned by employees on the job. “There is no school or program that is available for educational purposes that addresses the many and complex steps described above,” explains Sandy. “Most of Spacecoast’s employees have many years invested in perfecting their techniques and are craftsmen at restoration and repairs. We have amassed numerous patterns for automotive bumpers that allow us to straighten and repair auto bumpers and return them to their original shape and shine!”
A custom restored part should definitely have what everyone hears: copper, nickel, and chrome. Various different metals require more tanks and solutions to bond the plating onto the parts. Parts are submerged in tanks containing copper or nickel anodes hanging in baskets on the side of the tank. The electric current running through the bus bar, hooks or racks containing the parts are electrified, magnetizing the part and drawing the metal out of the solution and onto the part. Small parts are in the tank for minutes at a time in each tank and bigger parts may be in tanks for several hours. Spacecoast Plating strives to restore a part to new or better than new quality while keeping in mind the better the quality of the part coming in for restoration, the better the possibility for a flawless completed part. As many of the parts they work on are over 50 years old, please keep in mind not everything can be perfect! But they sure try!
Spacecoast Plating specializes in restoration of all types of parts and metals.
Please call if you have any questions about parts you would like to restore!