Chrome bumper repair

[csaluk]

Hi, I'm trying to repair a few scratches in the crome car bumper. They are all the way down through layers of plating, some really narrow, and some up to about 1/4 inch wide, and starting to rust a little. I purchased a Plug N' Plate kit with both Copy Chrome and Copper solutions, and was planning to fill the scratches with copper first, then sand and buff and plate with Copy Chrome. Or will soldering iron and some solder be better for filling the scratches before plating? How thick of a copper layer can I build with this kit? Any pointers on how to do it the best way?

Thanks.

[chromo]

Look over the Caswell site and I think there is some info for products for filling scratches and pits.

I haven't tried it, but I don't think you can fill much with plating. It's pretty thin. Sort of like trying to fill with paint, not something you would normally do. You would fix the metal first then paint. Same with plating.

How deep are the scratches, you said some are 1/4 wide but not how deep. Is the steel scratched deep also or minor blemish? If it's deep, it should be filled and polished smooth before plating. If the steel has just barely been touched you might get by with cleaning well to remove all rust, then plate. I think you can remove the plating and try again if you don't get the results you want the first time.

I had few cars the factory chrome flaked off on the bumpers. Not supposed to do that, but they did. Was really bad around the slots where the bumper jack fit in. I think the bumper was damaged by the jack then rusted under the plating which caused it to flake in big chips. So it is a good idea to fix it soon as you can. Those were mostly cars from the 70's.

Chromo