Tail Light Assemblies

[Anders]

That looks F A N T A S T I C !! Can we have the chrome companys name and information? Also, what did they call this job? Showchrome or something else? Do you have any idea how many layers of copper they used?

[Richard Honeycutt]

These look great

I've searched over 15 years to replace the ones on my '59, these look great. How bad were they before the refurbishing? I don't mean to be indelicate but may I ask where you sent them and the cost?
Regards,
Richard Honeycutt
.

[Tbird1044]

Richard:
The chrome work was done by Artistic Silver Plating Inc. in Signal Hill, Calif. They are not cheap nor are they fast. The 4 pieces for the tail lights cost me $1150. No idea if the 59 with 2 lights instead of 3 would make a difference. It is getting hard, to find platers that will deal with pot metal. I did post some pictures of the parts prior to restoration. I also used the decal kit from John Draxler, Thunderbird Ranch, to do all of the little squares. He also has the decal kit for the 59, which I would bet is a lot easier to install. I believe Ray used this decal kit on his car.
If you would like any further info, just send me a Private message.
Nyles

[Richard Honeycutt]

Thanks Nyles. I'm looking into a couple of ideas which may or may not work. I'll get an estimate from a machine shop, but I'm fairly certain it'll be cost prohibitive . The second idea is to try something I found on the net. Have you ever heard of a "Muggy Weld Super Alloy"? I saw a demo of them refurbishing a pot metal part which had pitted. They grind out the pit and then apply their flux. They heat around or beneath the pit until the flux darkens then apply the low temp solder to fill the pit. Of course the repair must be shaped afterward, but it looked as if it would be ready for plating when they were finished. Lots of work but I haven't found anything else as of yet. The website is HTTP: Muggyweld.com I'd be interested in knowing if anyone has tried it.
Regards,
Richard

[Tbird1044]

I did ask my chrome shop about the muggyweld and they said they had trouble with the chrome bubbling where the repairs were made. You may ask your chrome shop and see what they have to say about it.
Nyles

[simplyconnected]

Chrome plating on pot metal is expensive because of so many labor intensive steps. Every other step is a polish step.

Muggy would be great if it eliminated one step in plating, but it doesn't. So Muggy ends up being more expensive than using lead. Both metals will accept copper.

Nickel doesn't stick to pot metal but copper sticks to both. Copper also sticks to lead. Soooooo... they strip the pot metal (usually by sand blasting), dig out all the pits and powdered rot, then copper plate. Copper 'flows' nicely in and around pits but it won't fill them.

So they fill the holes with lead, smooth it and copper plate again. If the copper buffs out to a mirror shine, they nickel plate. The slightest imperfection glares out from under a shiny surface so all the little tiny scratches must be polished out. Too much buffing and the soft copper is gone and the piece must be copper electroplated again, and polished again.

The last two steps are, nickel electroplate and then a very thin chrome to stop the nickee from tarnishing.

The only way to drive plating prices down is by mass producing the same part thousands of times. Instead of the least expensive piece costing fifty bucks to plate, a whole rack of them might cost half of that. That's why steel bumpers can be done cheaply, they do them in racks with no copper plate.

[Daleo56]

Chrome plating on pot metal is expensive because of so many labor intensive steps. Every other step is a polish step.

I had no idea sandblasting was part of the process. What a headache.

[simplyconnected]

A good quality plating shop will not sand blast but harsh chemicals meant to remove chrome and nickel can also eat away soft pot metal (zinc). Excessive sand blasting does two things, it eats away too much metal (especially pot metal) and it creates too much warping. Those sand particles are like sharp little hammers.

Warping is not from electroplating as the parts are dipped in a heated solution, not a boiling solution. 212 degrees F, is not enough to warp pot metal but this temp is much lower. Some small parts get warped from soldering with excessive heat with a torch, instead of using a big soldering iron that can localize heat.

How many times have you seen all the detail washed out of a pot metal piece that was replated? All the sharp edges are now round and the part looks nothing like the original. The copper electroplating process tends to fill-in much of the detail if it is too thick. Excessive buffing, too much sand blasting, or a combination of all will produce a big round blob.

Filling with copper isn't all bad if your piece has pin holes that go all the way through (like my steel parking light housings for the '55 did). Where there was no metal before, there is now, and the part has no rust on the inside. Copper can only do so much before lead is needed. Then more copper.

So each process requires a lot more skill than it appears. Knowing when enough is enough is most important. I tried buffing a part (because I just 'knew I could'). Then I watched the guy who does it all the time. Mine looked miserable and his looked beautiful.

[Wudro]

Hey Nyles, how did the tail lights turn out? Do you recommend the black sticker kit?

[Tbird1044]

Hey Nyles, how did the tail lights turn out? Do you recommend the black sticker kit?

I was very happy with the final results of the tail light assemblies. I would recommend the black stickers, as long as you have the patience to put them all in. Painting each square would also be time consuming, and the black stickers give a nice flat, consistent finish.
I think that Carl (partseal) also used the black stickers and would be good for a second opinion
Nyles

[partsetal]

I actually started with the stickers. The square ones were time consuming but went well. The odd sizes that had to be cut did not, so I abandoned the stickers and masked and painted. Much simpler for me. After masking, I used an adhesion promoter and then mixed up some black single stage and sprayed them. Using a rattle can does not work as the viscosity causes the paint to migrate to the corners of the squares and leave the centers unpainted. By controlling the viscosity I got excellent coverage.
Carl

[simplyconnected]

WOW, that looks dynamite!

[Dan Leavens]

Carl I agree with Dave very nicely done.

[toddgilroy]

Well I got my tail light assemblies (along with a few other pieces) back from the chrome shop here in Omaha and I am very pleased with the results. Now I just need to get the rest of the car finished! Here's a few before and after pics.

[Dan Leavens]

Looking good and starting to come together