Tired chrome

[chinita]

My 1963 vintage yacht has stanchions, cleats, fairleads, boom crutch, highfield levers etc all in chromed bronze (as was the fashion at the time).

They are very jaded. Pitted, faded, tired. Not aesthetic, IMO, even as examples of the period.

Options are:

Leave them alone.

Re-chrome.

Strip of remaining chrome to reveal original bronze/gunmetal.

Anybody any experience/advice?

Thanks

 

[KenMcCulloch]

Gryff Rhys-Jones has a nice passage in his excellent 'To The Baltic With Bob' where he tells about taking Undina's entire armoury of chromed bronze fittings to be re-plated and negotiating a 'bargain' price for the job for which he could have bought a very nice Folkboat.

 

[chinita]

Ooooerr!!!

 

[rolandmouse]

Hi mate its me on SIMO

I had some very nice bronze air intakes two of them and they were pitted I took them to a platers in yorkshire and he did em look fab now , If you want the details you will have to wait till i get back home ( now living back in the UK) and have just sailed SIMO from faro to porto santo near madeira single handed 5 days last three days force 6/7 with what the met office says is moderate to rough sea had ais on the boat and a hasler self steer gear , am going to sail back to Faro later in the week and the definatley sell ,,, at 65 my best days are done in sailing small boats

hope your keeping well

Micky boy and Simo

 

[mylo]

There's a company in Southend called Hockley Enterprises. My friends have had classic car parts done. They say its a good job reasonably priced.

 

[oldfrank]

Decent chrome platers are few and far between these days - it seems the elfin safety was just too difficult for large numbers of them. Quality of replating is almost precisely as good as the polishing (a bit like varnishing in that respect). Motor bike enthusiasts tend to know the best operators. My local bike freak is currently enthused about the Peterborough Plating Co - hardly very convenient for here or Brighlingsea ... but the biking fraternity certainly get the best finishes.

 

[chinita]

Thanks to everyone.

My preference is to have the fittings stripped to the original bronze. I shall check out suggestions.

Micky Boy. I am in Lagos 10 Sep onwards. Give me a shout if you are in the area.

 

[oldfrank]

Enjoy re-polishing! OF

 

[chinita]

No chance! Verdigris for me.

 

[Niander]

Strip of remaining chrome to reveal original bronze/gunmetal.

i would do that....whats the method?

 

[chinita]

Don't know. however, I would expect that re-chroming would involve chemically stripping off the old chrome prior to new plate being applied(?)