Paint: peeling chrome

[Ron Dame]

I am curious. I saw a car I restored 5 years ago that included new chrome. I did not ask for nor get show chrome, but it was damned nice. I was surprised to see that one bumper has a large section rusting..large to me is about 2 inches by 1 inch in a prominent location. The owner of the car says there was no damage there, so what happened, and how do I make sure I don't see that on anything I have re-chromed again?

[StudeRich]

Sounds like poor preparation and or lack of Nickel and Copper plating under the Chrome.

I would not use that Plater again.

[Ron Dame]

Poor prep is kinda what I thought. This shop is pretty well known for good work, but I guess things can happen. It's not really a problem for me since it is no longer my car and it's been 5 years. I wonder how I can make sure anything in the future does not have the same problem or if there is anyway to tell there will be a problem when I get items back from a chrome shop?

[jclary]

Among my customer accounts, when I was selling industrial supplies, were several companies with plating operations. I picked up enough information to know that it is not as simple as throwing the parts into the chemical solution and wait for the chrome to swim over and attach itself to the item being plated. How you hang the parts, too close together and you can get unequal plating due to "Faraday Cage effect." A piece of contamination like masking tape or some employee's sandwich wrap loose in the tank can cause havoc.

My brother once had a car get struck by lightening during a severe storm and downpour while driving down the highway. A very slight discoloration was seen where the arc ran off the rear bumper to ground. A few weeks later, the bumper had about a one-inch wide rust streak right through the chrome in that location.

How many of you have removed an old bumper sticker, only to see the chrome varies in color where the bumper sticker used to be. Some of the chemicals in the adhesive along with effects from sun and weather will attack chrome. As we know all too well, chrome is not only expensive...it is also not indestructible.

The conclusion is, that not all chrome flaws can be blamed on the plating process...(but it is convenient.)

[TX Rebel]

A shop, plating or otherwise, is only as good as its sorriest employee on his worst day. Plating is a very tricky biz, so
it is wise to use a plater who stands behind his work so if anything goes wrong you are covered.

http://www.custompolishchromeplating.com

( our warranty does not cover lightening strikes!)

[Mike Van Veghten]

Agree.
Not so much the nickle, but that's why the copper is there, for adhesion of the nickle. It "should have" given a better base to plate the nickle onto, then the chrome.
But if there's bad adhesion to start with, nothing will plate properly.

As noted, use another shop next time.

Mike