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I had both bumpers for my '41 sandblasted and there's some extensive pitting. I'm not sure yet which path I'll take regarding finish. Powdercoat is the least expensive, but not as shiny and great as chroming, the most expensive. I'd like to at least have a smooth-ish surface when powdercoating. If this gets electroplated, does it fill up the pits? How much of it shows on the finished product? Finding another piece is next to impossible. If there's metal work that can be done, I could potentially do it myself. What have others done in this area?
Thanks,
Dante, plating will not fill imperfections; it makes them more noticeable. Typically the plater grinds down the rusted area until they get to smooth metal, polishes the base metal smooth of any grinding marks, and applies the layers of plating. I skipped a few details there, but you get the picture--the surface must start out smooth to get a good final product.
From your description, grinding would not leave much bumper thickness.
It would be well for you to call a plater to discuss the options.
FYI, sandblasting is not the best way to prep a bumper if you plan to have it replated.
Assuming the pitting is too deep to simply grind the metal flat, a reputable plating shop will fill the pits one of two ways. Deep pits will be welded up and ground down flush. Shallow pits will be filled during the copper plating phase. If they are shallow enough, copper layers will be applied to sufficient thickness to allow the bumpers to be polished down smooth. If the pits are too deep for that, the shop will hand fill them with solder after the copper layer, smooth them, and then replate in copper before the nickel and chrome layers. None of this is cheap, as it is all hand labor.
Yeah my initial plans were to just powdercoat the bumper to keep it cost-effective since I'm not going with a full resto on this car, but I was wondering if there were other means of covering this stuff up. Looks like I'm in for a whole lotta grinding. Here's a couple pics I took today. One is from a fresh sandblasted area and the other went through some light grinding with a 24 grit wheel today.
