just wondering if anybody knows if actually chroming aluminum is possible. my rk sport polished idi cover has seen better days and is losing its luster. (polishing it is just freaking futile) so i would like to have it chromed so it stays nice.
i went to my local chrome shop and they said its not possible, but i thought to myself didnt the ls sport's come with chromed aluminum wheels? if anybody knows of a place that does good work and can chrome aluminum i would much appreciate their contact info.
thanks.
its possible but i believe it depends on the type of aluminum. i work at a metal shop and we make panels for buildings. i know that if we have to have panels anodized, we have to order different type aluminum which is a 6061 or 6063 type alumium. i dont know if this is needed though for chroming
after looking on google for a quick second, it seems like you cant just chrome aluminum without dipping it in copper and nickle or zinc. seems like if you just chrome aluminum without these, the aluminum will get a film on it.
^ yeah i googled it right after i made the post. read pry the same thing lol
i wonder what type of aluminum the idi cover is, i know its cast, but dk what kind
Why can't you polish it? I just polished my motorcycle wheels after stripping the paint off and it was like 10 mins a wheel. I bought a polishing pad that attaches to my drill with an arbor chuck, and then some mothers. Looks pretty sweet.
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Polish it up again, and clear coat over it. der
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-MD- LD9 wrote:Polish it up again, and clear coat over it. der
well, yeah that was an idea i had to, but i heard that it 'yellows' over the polish... idk, i may just try it and see. ive heard you can clear powdercoat as well... i wonder which would be a better option.
i would think powdercoating, since you know it will hold up to the heat.
i have an ecxtra valve cover i wanna either polish or powdercoat....but i cant decide either, lol
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Joey Baggs (Eazy716) wrote:i would think powdercoating, since you know it will hold up to the heat.
i have an ecxtra valve cover i wanna either polish or powdercoat....but i cant decide either, lol
yeah, theres a local place here that does powdercoating, i'll call n see what they can do...
lol, ive got 6 EXTRA idi covers lying around, not including the polished one on my car, a polished one on a buddies car, or the black painted one i have for my other car. so, guinea pigs i have.
i have a suggestion..jet hot coating, i have parts in my engine bay done and it looks good, it's not expensive and will take alot more abuse than chrome, find a local hot rod shop and ask them about it
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Chromium metal actually won't bond well to any other metal but copper. Often copper is mixed into alloys with zinc or nickel in order to help it bond to another metal, like aluminum or steel.
So in short... all chromed (hot dipped metal chrome) products are first plated in a copper allow before chrome dipping. Thats why anything that gets chromed also must be high heat tolerant.
There is an alternative chroming method called cold chroming, but the process is alot different, and the finish isn't so heat tolerant. Josh Wirz (Izn Trbl) has connections for a great cold chrome dipper, who can even do color matched chrome! He can be contacted at
IznTrbl.com
If the header is aluminum, try also looking to cost of having it Anodized...a process of concentrated oxidizing that creates a hardened surface in a bunch of different choices of colors. Anodized aluminum has a hardened surface that holds its looks for a long time. There is also the option of having the aluminum polished then clear anodized, thus preserving the polished aluminum.
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