New project: Jukebox & Rechroming parts

gbak

gbak

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Mar 24, 2008
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Couldn't resist it, I just have to bought the Rock-Ola from -63.

But there are a couple of alu parts that needs to be rechromed.
The cost for rechroming four single alu bars here in Sweden is close to $1000 :mad:

Can anyone give a qualified guess of the price doing this in US?

It's the alu frame around the bended top glass that needs to be rechromed:
6359543655_7a7cd45f66_z.jpg


Detail of the worn alu bars:
6359557283_d33f16cb83.jpg
 
Is that aluminum or zinc?

If it is pitted and needs to be stripped and prepared, that's a lot of hand work. It will be expensive.
 
I used to know someone decades ago that was into that hobby, restoring old Juke Boxes....I think you need do a search,....looking for the Wash DC region....

Anyone in Rockville Maryland

hate being so vague, but I ran into the operation back in the 70's....maybe it's still around....

:amazed::thumbs:
 
The base material seems to be aluminium, but I'm not shure.....??
If I could get rid of the thin chrome surface, it shouldnt be impossible to polish the bars to "high gloss".
Not chrome, but at least it will be shiny!
What do you think about that?

I found a company nearby here that can remove the chrome for just $100.
Do you think there are any risc that the base material will get hurt by such operation?
 
Are you sure it's not anodized? If it is caustic soda will take it off without any problems
 
gbak said:
The base material seems to be aluminium, but I'm not shure.....??
If I could get rid of the thin chrome surface, it shouldnt be impossible to polish the bars to "high gloss".
Not chrome, but at least it will be shiny!
What do you think about that?

I found a company nearby here that can remove the chrome for just $100.
Do you think there are any risc that the base material will get hurt by such operation?
Click to expand...

If the base material is aluminum you might be in luck. Chemical stripping won't wok with zinc die cast (without eating up the metal). If you can get it stripped and polished, that should work.
 
How can I determine that the material is aluminium and not zinc cast?
 
Found this at a machining site, not sure how accurate:

A drop of hydrochloric acid will fizz and give off hydrogen on zinc
but not on aluminium. Potasium hydroxide will fizz on aluminium and strip
the surface but not on zinc

The other might be the weight:

aluminum = .0975 lb/cubic inch
zinc = .256 lb/cubic inch
 
Call companies that can do vapor deposition. If you look at the nice chrome bumpers on cars, say SUV's. you'll find that the bumpers are plastic and the chrome is vapor deposited. Some aftermarket wheel manufacturers are now vapor depositing chrome on their wheels, in lieu of electrochemical plating.

A lot of the "chrome" dash board parts are just vapor deposited chrome, especially since the parts have a plastic substrate.
.........................

The guy that does chrome plating for me can strip chrome plating off of aluminum, and the other under layers of nickel but he cannot chrome plate aluminum. To chrome plate aluminum, the aluminum is polished and then anodized with an electro conducting plating. Nickel is then plated onto the then anodized electro conductive plating. Note that copper is not plated. Copper and aluminum are very reactive. On top of the nickel plating, a thin layer of chrome is deposited. It's only specialty shops that can anodize aluminum with an electro conductive anodize layer for the subsequent plating process.

Vapor deposition avoids all these problems
 
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