I will soon be repairing the dented stainless trim pieces on my fender and doors soon. From what I have learned on the forum, flash-chroming is application of the chrome layer only - no nickle or copper layers. This is how these pieces were treated at the factory.

I asked my chrome shop about "flash chroming", and his response was:


"It's my understanding that the material must be 'electro-less nickel plated' before this can be done"


The shop did a great job on my bumpers (standard chroming). Is he correct about this?

 

The side stainless trim is just what that says SS not any kind of chroming , you just polish them ?? No chroming

 

Right, and the nickel makes the shine in the chrome. Paul's chrome did a great job on a bunch of 66/67 wing nuts I sent them. But your trim gets polished, not chromed.

 

GM flash chromed a bunch of parts and there are shops who still do it and it can be done directly on stainless.

My interest is only on C2 windshield trim, no idea on the C1 side trim.

It's been discussed elsewhere and: (post 22)

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...d-frame-2.html

 

JohnZ has said otherwise regarding C1 stainless trim in past threads. Hoping he will chime in here.

 

Refer to the link in post #4 above, and go to post #22; the source he's talking about in that post was me. To clarify again, the item below is a column I wrote for our Michigan Chapter "Vette Signal" magazine that explains chrome and how it was used.

 

I disagree with both of you. All of the stainless trim was, in fact, flash-chromed. The trained eye can spot in a heartbeat, the difference between polished stainless and Flash-chromed stainless. Also, polished stainless will turn yellow over time as the nickle oxidizes. Flash-chromed trim will never yellow. Even freshly polished stainless will not have the same icy blue cast that chrome will have, and the only way to keep it looking even close to chrome, is to polish is fairly regularly.

When you are restoring stainless, it is very obvious when you break through the chrome layer, as the area where you break through, will have a decidedly more yellow tone to it. That being said, most people would never notice the difference unless they saw the two side-by-side, and most people do not replace the chrome when restoring stainless. You do have to strip the chrome layer off if you are doing any major work on the trim, because if you do not, the patches where you broke through the chrome will stand out like a sore thumb against the parts that did not. It is fairly easy to remove with a 3:1 solution of swimming pool acid and let it soak for about 15 minutes.
There are still a few platers who will do flash chroming, but there is not much demand for it. I used to replace the chrome when I was doing cars for flight judging, but it is just such a pain, that I now just leave it polished and know that I am going to have to hand polish it on a fairly regular basis.

The only places it it is real noticeable is in places where stainless abuts chrome, like on C1 windshield posts. If the header is stripped and polished, you can see the difference in color to the posts. nobody will ever notice side trim, or any other place where it does not meet with chrome.

To answer the original question, Flash chroming works because there is sufficient nickle in the stainless to allow the chrome to bond with it. Chrome can not bond without nickle. Chrome is actually almost clear, and the silver color of chrome comes from the nickle under it. The shops that still do it, will polish the trim, and then lightly pickle it to expose the maximum nickle and to remover any contaminates, and then straight into the chrome tank.

GM flash chromed all of their stainless of the era, not just Corvettes.


Regards, John McGraw

 

Paul's Chrome - will plate Stainless

 

I didn't have any trouble getting my stainless re chromed after it was polished.

They just dipped it in the chrome tank long enough to get a few tenths of chrome on the repaired and polished trim pieces. Dropped it off in the morning, picked it up the next morning.

IMO, unchromed stainless looks like Sh$t, with its yellowish tint, I can spot it a mile off.

Edit: the chromed stainless trim is also much more microscratch resistant than plain polished stainless, as the chrome is very hard.

Doug