A question for Mr Gabbard.....

[jick]

Hey Danny, like everyone else I'm constantly impressed with the work that you're doing, after Reading about the effort you've put into your bumpers  on your cow-looker I'd be really interested to know a bit more detail about the processes/ grades of paper etc that you go through in order to get something ready for chroming.
I have a bunch of stuff for the hotrod that I want to do myself to try and save some £££!
Cheers dude....jick

[danny gabbard]

First, Take parts to chrome shop to reverse plateing or strip chrome, Have them take to copper. If they do not strip the nickle off its very hard and hard to file. Now that its striped properly, If its flat like bumper I spray dy-kem or blue lay out dye over your part and with vixon file or body file attack like its a body panel, Hammer low spots and off dolly any hi spots. This should get rid of any factory stamped ripples. I did this 4-5 times to every part on my bumpers. Now to fit peices together I took a pair of dividers and scribed a paralel line around anything that had a gap and ground and filed till even gap. So now every thing is close, Now take a very fine file and do the dy-kem thing till your deep scratchs are removed. Then start with 80-150 with block and start block sanding till the past scratchs are gone. take to a polisher that knows what they are doing. when done, off to the plater and if he will work with you, Get parts copper plated and ask if you can get back and block sand copper lightly with 220-320 grit and now plater should be able to light polish and nickle and then chrome plate. I hope this helps and for castings just start with grinder first then work to the fileing.

[jick]

Thanks Danny!
I really appreciate you taking the time out to do that!

Sounds easy enough

cheers.     Jick

[danny gabbard]

I am glad it helped, Most of that kind of stuff is not that tecnical, Just lots of time rubbing on stuff till its where you want it.

[jick]

Yeah..... Time is one thing I can spare!
Knowing what  methods/grades etc to use is is really helpfull
thanks again dude.