Yesterday I picked up my new re-popped steel windshield frame from the chrome platers after chopping it 3 inches. It turned out beautiful. A while back I had heard about some treatment prior to installing the gl*** to eliminate all the chemicals used in the process caught in the nooks and crannies and to ***ist in rust prevention from inside out. Can anyone help me on this or is just B.S. Thanks in Advance, Larry
Ditto, I had a 32 frame plated and in about 4 years it started bubbling and rusting from the inside out.I have heard of soaking it in a tub of baking soda mixture to neutralize the acid.Maybe someone on here with more info will know,I am not a chemist. I waited too late on mine.
Thanks for the thought. I'm about ready to get the Trautwein windsheild frame for the coupe chromed. Now I'll be sure to ask the crew at the platers about that issue. Smokey
Your Welcome, Please let me know if you get any further info. So far no further help yet from the HAMB. Larry
I had a chopped reproduction windshield chrome plated a while back and had the same concerns about rust issues in the future. I talked to my plater about it and was told that no additional rinseing or neutralizing was necessary because that is part of their chrome plating process. I used Sherms Plating near by me in California. Talk to your plater about it.
Maybe it isn't residue from the plating, but just that the insides will not get plated so will be bare, clean steel with no protection? If that is the case, then pouring some paint or a rust preventative down inside and swilling it about, will help.
if i remember right , i read something about filling a bathtub with water and some baking soda and leaving the frame submirsed over night, then dry off.. .i had a old windshield i bought off a guy that was replated it did the same thing...not sure if it is a major problem with new steel ..but better safe than sorry...sorry i couldnt be more help
Thanks, for that .I just got off the phone with my plater he said the same thing, that all items are washed and free of chemicals upon leaving his shop. He also suggested squirting a lubricant in the boxed in areas. When I asked him about the reported bubbling on other windshield frames. He said they were probably older items that had been previously rusty on the inside and had finally come through and there is no way to prevent it except replacement with a new part. I am happy now.
Here, any parts that hold fluid, especially windshield frames, get soaked in a weak metal cleaner overnight after plating to ensure everything is completly neutralized. Just rinsing them off will not work unless you can get a flow of fluid through them. The problem is in the copper and nickel baths, both acidic, they sit in them for over 2 hours combined, so any little seepage turns into a complete fill up. Any existing rust damage on the inside will only be sped up by the acid submersion without plating. Even though the solution gets in there, it will not plate at all; just a fact of electroplating. Long story short: Windshield frames do not lend themselves well to replating. New pieces are much better off, because you know they are clean inside and will have a life of luxury compared to what the 80 year old parts had to go through. A bath in baking soda solution certainly wouldn't hurt I don't think.
Getting some oil on the inside will help a lot as well. WD40 is good for that as its thin and can't get into a lot of areas to help prevent rusting.
Larry;I had my original 34 windshield frame done by John at The Plating House.I asked him about this and he ***ured me their process neutralized all the acid possible.But he did think some rustproofing was a good idea.I got two cans of Rustcheck fron canadian tire and filled the frame and let it sit for a while.I wouldn't worry too much about a new frame.Next time I'll buy a new repro frame.
mine was a new frame and was well rinsed because the plater had seen this before and it still had a bubble in it. i did not soak it but wished i had known about it wayne