what is "pot metal" ?

[upncoming]

could somebody explain what exactly is pot metal. what parts were made out of it. im just looking around threw here and see its one of the hardest parts to deal with in plating but i don't know what the parts are. where going to be restoring a few cars and will be doing in house chroming, so im going to be in here trying to learn as we go and i hope ill be able to pick it up and perfect this one day.

[lcaswell]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot_metal

[upncoming]

so
Headlight rings, door handles, emblems/badges, ornaments, tail light bezels mics interior pieces are considered pot metal?

[sswee]

Not all but the majority. Especially on the older stuff.
SS

[JTW37]

The best way to figure out what cars had Pot Metal, you need to think WW II, as most good metal was used for the Military weapons, Tanks, Planes and so on. But was also continued up into the time of the Korean Conflict and a bit beyond that into the late fifties and into the sixties at least.

Hope this helps.

[CarWiz]

Pot metal is a slang term that covers many alloys of aluminum, zinc, copper and a few others in various combinations. It's also referred to as Die Cast metal. Most anything can be made of a die cast alloy--Even your lawn mower engine and nearly all carburetors. It's hard to just look at it and differentiate it from an aluminum alloy except in most cases, it's heavier because of the zinc.

A scratch and daub test will usually tell you if it's die cast alloy. A drop of battery acid (sulfuric) will foam if it has zinc. If it has zinc, it's most likely a die cast alloy or "pot metal".

[solarwellpumps]

So does the composition of the "pot metal" make a difference in what type of plating protocol that has to be used? .... I noticed there is a difference between zinc die cast and lead/pewter in the pick a kit menu.
Does the metal in question have to contain zinc in order to be considered a "pot metal".
Also, if the pewter does not contain lead, will the same protocol need to be followed to plate the material?

thanks.

[CarWiz]

Die cast alloys (pot metal) generally contain aluminum as the major element combined with zinc. Special consideration must be given to both elements when plating. You can't plate directly on aluminum and most plating compounds contain acid which will dissolve the zinc.

Pewter is generally tin combined with zinc but there are pewters with high copper content too. It may or may not have lead. I would treat all pewter as though it contained lead because without an analysis, you don't know if it does or not. "Lead-less" pewter may still contain a small amount of lead and that could affect plating. And because pewter contains zinc, the same acid concerns apply.

[walttip249]

This is out of the blue but I have pot metal switch plates I am selling. I can not find much information on them. I have noticed on of the members here was asking about the same switch plate I have. They came with my house when i bought it and I know they are circa 1970's. I anyone is interested please respond to this post. I can send pics if you need to see them. Thanks

[maahi]

Pot metal is a slang term that refers to alloys that consist of inexpensive, low-melting point metals used to make fast, inexpensive castings. There is no scientific metallurgical standard for pot metal; common metals in pot metal include zinc, lead, copper, tin, magnesium, aluminium, iron, and cadmium. The primary advantage of pot metal is that it is quick and easy to cast. Due to its low melting temperature no sophisticated foundry equipment is needed and specialized molds are not necessary. It is sometimes used to experiment with molds and ideas before using metals of higher quality. It is sometime referred to as white metal, die-cast zinc, or monkey metal.[1] Examples of items created from pot metal include toys, furniture fittings, tool parts, electronics components, and automotive parts.[citation