i want to shave the bolts off my bumper for a nice clean look, but im thinking about chroming it afterwards. I wanted to know if there is a proven way to do this that i dont have a waivy bumper and an expensive chroming bill. i was planning on welding it than grinding till i got close enough to use a file and sander. i also realize a tig welder would come in handy for this but i only have a mig. any thoughts and information would be helpful. thanx.
just use the bumper bolt heads to weld in the whole. set the bolt in the hole. melt the head with a oxy/acet torch. and torch weld it into the bumper. after you get it down close enuff, grind it smooth. then fill any cracks or space with rod/coat hangers, grind and file. lead if you want to. but when you get something chromed they usually copper it. hope that gives you an idea. ive one pieced lots of three piece early 50s chevy bumpers this way, and it works good.
You must weld a huge washer for the bumper bracket to be snugged up against as to not stress the chrome which will cause damage. Also, another very important step is to tack weld the bolt in place while it is on the bumper bracket. Once taken off the bracket you can finish welding it in place. The position of the bumper bolts is very important for ease of getting the bumper on and off. Remember, once welded in place they are not adjustable.
what I did was use the flattest through bolt and a tight washer in the back. you need to bend the washer to contour to the back of the bumper. then weld it to the bolt and. make sure you get it real good. After you have it secured to the back side use a cut off wheel and cut the top of the bold of. finish with a file and or grinder. just make sure not to grind on it so much that it turns the metal a different color. weld the cut off top of the bolt to the front of the bumper and file it off. if you do it right you will have a clean little patch. any good chromer will be able to do the job of chroming it. not much to fill. I did it to the bumpers on my 55 and all I have is a mig welder.
This is a list of pretty much NOT what to do! Just welding the bolt in the hole will "pull" and distort the surface of the chrome, every time. You need to just fill the bolt hole without the bolt and add a mounting bracket that the bolt goes on or in. It could be as simple as a washer like Denise showed above, but it's important that the stress on the bolt is NOT pulling all the way through on the chromed surface of the bumper itself. Check out some mid 50's high end cars like Caddys and Lincolns to see the kind of blind bolt brackets I'm talking about, or "borrow" some out of just about any bumper guard and weld to the back of the bumper where you need them. Yes you need to assume the bumper brackets are going to need shortening and narrowing to fit after this but most "customs" got/get their bumpers tucked in closer to the body by shortening/reshaping the brackets anyway. Make sure all these welds are as good and strong as any you'd use on frame construction or your bumpers WILL come off at the most wrong time.
youre right, i shouldnt have said anything seeing as i havent ever shaved bumper bolts. well at least he knows what not to do now. ill still do it because im hard headed like that, and ill use lock washers and not tighten em down so much. oh well fuck it
If you are going to get your "shaved" bumper rechromed! Don't go "hog wild" grinding the top of the bolt or the hole you welded up!!! Take the bumper to your chrome shop, and let them do the finish work. (prep) Otherwise you might just pay a lot more for the job. No lead, no coat hangers, no brass; they just have to take it all out to do it right. Here is some more on the subject from yesterday ... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63245
I hope you didn't weld any suspention pieces. Coat hangers have more "crap" in them; they wern't made for welding.
So have I...but I didn't rely on it to hold a bumper in place or send it out to be chromed either! Coat hanger will work but not as well as a proper welding rod. It adds impurities to the weld and besides...rod is cheap and comes in a really spiffy tube for storage. And another thing that made me convert to rods, was that the choke-holds often applied by my wife for dropping HER clothes on the closet floor were getting a bit beyond playful. Hmmmm...I wonder will a roll of "mechanics wire" fit in my Mig welder?!?!
thats something i really wanted to know. the original bolts seemed to have sunken into the bumper a little (overtightened), so what do you do there to fill it in? chrome dont stick to mud or lead and if i keep welding outward wont the heat distort it (sink) it in more? i know chromers use nickel and copper baths but were talking about alot of dips here and thats where the save money of this post comes into play. what filler material do chromers and how do they use it when its to rough for a dip?
i meant sheet metal and one piecing bumpers, never welded anything important as far as strength goes with them. i always go tig with rod on frames and shit. but most of the impurities prolly melt out anyway i would think. god i love pissing people off.... "you did what????"
If you've never welded body sheet metal with Acetylene and a coat hanger you dont really qualify as a traditional HotRodder. I like the idea of the reinforcment on the back of bumper such as is afforded by a large washer or a T bolt ,then weld the hole thru to that -filling the old hole. You had better have a good relationship with the plater tho as they tend to get spooked by such modifications usually......makes em halucinate and see large numbers
For the sunken bolt holes, you need to or the chrome shop will bang them out as much as possible. Most chrome shops I know of will straighten a slightly bent bumper at no additional cost. Ofcourse if it's mangled, they'll charge ya. That steel is awfully thick, as you know, so it might be best to leave it to the pro's. I think they use silver solder and copper to fill pits and small holes.
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