Re-plating old chrome

[oaklandjester]

I have been reading the forum and am considering buying a kit. I restore old boats for a hobby. Most of the stuff I will be chroming is a bronz base that was factory chromed in the 50s and maybe pe-plated long ago (triple plated) What do I need to do to get the old chrome off? buff, chemical, etc...? I like the idea of the triple chrome as I can fill pitts etc with the copper base. But I have some hemi valve covers that are good sized and don't know if I would have enough power to chrome them. The boats are not exposed to a extreme evironment and I am interested in anybody's expirence with the :copy chrome" over previously plated parts. Thanks, Mike

[dadkar2]

Usually one considers replating because there is failure in the original plate. If this is the case, there's often very little one can do but strip and start over.

Plating over previously plated parts can be done with experience and caution. Part of the experience is knowing what will happen if you plate over, and whether that would be acceptable.

However, it isn't easy to get a good result because you have to be sure every trace of oxide is removed from the surface. If there is rust bulging up from underneath the original plate, it won't help anything to plate over.

In the scenario where the plate is failing, it is often as much work to salvage what little plate is still intact as it is to start over.

If the existing plate is good enough that you would consider plating over it, I'd start by giving it a good degreasing, cleaning, buffing and rewaxing. Then decide from there.

Ken

[dadkar2]

Also, you cannot replate anything over chrome, period. Nothing will stick to it. At the very least you'll have to remove the chrome plating first. There are numerous posts here on how to do that.

Ken