I need plastic parts re-plated!

[floyd]

I restore old cars, and have need for someone to re-plate plastic interior parts! Has anyone tried the Silvachrome kits yet? If so how do they work for you?
Thanks!

[jimcarry]

Originally Posted by floyd

I restore old cars, and have need for someone to re-plate plastic interior parts! Has anyone tried the Silvachrome kits yet? If so how do they work for you?
Thanks!

have not tried the silva chrome kits but I have worked in the automotive field for many years if you have a plastic part that was chromed these parts are cast with an underlying nickel surface witch makes the conductive and can be plated depending on the size even brush plating or selective plating or dipping

[fly]

I have done the plastic parts, and I used the conductive paint which worked. If you need help I will try it for you just let me know if I can help.

[bobboss351]

Hi ,
Thank you in advance , I run a restoration shop and we restore mostly corvettes and mustangs ,early thunderbirds. So im reading these forum with great interest. Iam looking into streamlining our operation from a time line and cost factor. I have been looking into replating plastic parts mostly , the instrument cluster bezels, and clock bezels, these are rather large size items that are only plated on the borders and then blacked out, original they were completely plated and had a mask covered and painted, . the small items are plastice knobs, radio and wiper and headlamp , for example.
i have had some parts replated from shops and believe this is called vaccuum metalizing and what ever the process is not very durable and for example after taping and blacking out the part and removing the tape the chrome {foil like plating } peels right off. of course they want to charge me again to replate the part.
Botom line, im really looking for a process we can do in house that is possibly {know im asking alot} some what more durable and save the out source cost and short time line or turn around time.
We have a large shop and right now 44 cars in house so this is a process i will be using for a long time and sure to repay many times back well over time. i would greatly, greatly appericate any feedback on a kit? or process to purchase,
thank you so very much,
Robert Wilson,
president,Kevins Klassics

[cprocess]

If the parts are stripped down to the plastic, it may be difficult to replate with good adhesion. The reason is that the original plater etched the plastic in a chromic acid based solution (etching must be controlled), then impregnated the etched pores with palladium (newer methods use tin and cobalt), plated over these impregnated metals with a nickel or copper solution(bridging across from pore to pore) until the plastic was completely incapsulated with a conductive metal. If the part is stripped to the plastic, overetching may occur, which may not allow the impregnating metals to tightly adhere to the plastic. My recommendation would be similar to the one posted previously, to use an inhibited stripper to remove the plating down to the encapsultion plate (could be nickel or copper, I have seen both). You will then have a tightly ahered conductive layer to reactivate and replate.