Drewed Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 I have a job that the customer is going to want to have chromed. Is there anything special I need to do to make this possible? Is there a certain type of steel I should use, or not use? Hot rolled vs cold rolled? Sand/ grind / polish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dablacksmith Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 it will need to sanded you should check with the outfit that is going to chrome the piece for what they want for finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hale Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Chrome is more than chrome, surface prep then nickel plate, then copper plate, then chrome. All of this is to cover and hid imperfections in the metal work. As said above the plater will have wot specs you need to work within. if you clean welds etc with a disc grinder and leave scratches, they will hit with buffers and plate to cover it up. The scratches that do show will be known as your scratches! Find out wot grit finish they would prefer. The better your prep the nicer their work looks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iron woodrow Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 any surface blemish will be amplified by the reflections created by the chrome. chromed parts need to be mirror polished before plating, if you want a mirror finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Speaking from experience, the more you make it look like chrome before you take it to get it chromed, the less they will have to charge you for. Most of the cost for chrome plating is polishing I.E. Labor. As said above, it will only be mirror shiny chrome if it was mirror polished before it was dipped. Any steel can be plated with chrome but it will only be shiny if its shiny to begin with. YMMV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iron woodrow Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 the chrome plating is only a few microns thick as is the nickel under it. many people are under the false impression that chrome (or any other plating- silver, copper etc) will fill in any scratches and smoothe a rough surface, but years working as a platers assistant/polisher/antique silverware restorer, gives me a pretty solid opinion on the matter, and it is a resounding NO!. chrome over a rough surface is a shiny rough surface, and looks as it sounds- ROUGH. even fingerprints on a polished steel surface can cause oxidation which can then be seen in the finished peice. dont ask me how i know this..... :rolleyes: the type of steel is not a problem, they even give plastic objects a metallic coating, and then chrome it. be sure to handle the finished chrome plated object with cotton gloves, getting greasy fingerprints off chrome can cause more scratches than it is worth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.