Mk 2 Replating Chrome

Hi, I live in Sri Lanka and I have a Mk 2 1965 model. This is the third time I am restoring the chrome work. Apparently the chroming process available locally is not very good, I am now hoping to take the chrome to Australia and get it re-done there. I am in touch with a plater overseas who has agreed to give me an approximate quote but he is not sure of the mettle the parts are made from.
I believe the bumpers, over riders and tail light housings are made of steel although I am not sure of the grade of steel. The front grill I believe is made of what we call locally as “pewter” and I think the same goes for the window frames. Can anyone please shed some light on this?
I would also like to know the approximate weight of the buffers, Front grill and Window frames if any one has any idea. Thanks all. Cheers!

Fairly sure the window frames are brass and I think the grill will be as well. Door handles are not as far as I undestand

What you need to make sure you are getting is triple plated chrome. It’s a three step process, I believe first copper, then nickle, then finally chrome. I might have the order incorrect but unless this process is used it will not last.

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Greetings All,

Ausram, I went through this with an old Mercees Ponton. The original bumpers were nothing more than sheet metal, so I wasn’t sure about having those done.

But…I found another option that I can live with, but its not for everyone.

While perusing EBay for replacements…I found bumpers made from stainless steel. Not cheap but good quality and when highly buffed are more than presentable.

Like I mentioned, more money but end result has better chance of durabilty than the chromed sheet metal version.

I have the stainless steel bumpers for the MK2. Was slightly cheaper and more convenient than getting my old ones repaired and chromed.

They do polish up well and will fool most. They are light though - the steel is thin and no comparison to the big heavy beasts that came off. Only matters if you get hit. They are going to be easy to dress out and repolish from any light taps.

The front is a good replacement. The rear though the curve is not right. The front bumper has a a flat profile then wraps around at the edges. The rear has a curve across the whole length. The rear I got had a profile more like the front. Took a lot of fiddling. I did get it on and it looks OK ( the thinner steel is a lot more flexible) but still a little flat across the middle.

Dave

If the plater you are dealing with in Australia doesnt know the answers to the questions you posed here already, that would be a big red flag to me.

They should have experience doing Jaguars, and know exactly what is needed.

ie triple plating on some parts, some parts are a magnesium alloy that is hard to plate etc etc

If they dont, it is possible they may take shortcuts (ie flash chrome), which is much cheaper, but grossly inferior

Two places I know that (many years ago) the owners knew all about this, Dubbo Chrome, and Hamilton Chrome, both in NSW, Australia. Unfortunately, I believe the original owners I spoke to would now be retired

These guys did chrome for Harley Davidson motorcycles owned by OMG members,
that is the best place to take your chromework, as it has to be perfect

Greetings,

Interesting on your MKII SS bumpers regarding the thickness.

The stock Ponton’s were nothing more than sheet metal with poor chrome.

I thought they duplicated the thickness in stainless. Clearly they did with mine but not so with others, like yours. Guessing they only work with one or two thicknesses.

Guess I won’t use them on my IX.

Any chance of a photograph please as I have considered these for my MK9?
Are these the Harrington one’s?

Here are some pics of the stainless steel bumpers. It 11 years since I bought them. I am pretty sure they are Harrington’s but couldn’t find the invoice. I did find the shipping documents and they came from Vietnam as the Harrington ones do.

I have them off at the moment for some work I am doing. You can see from these pics they are lot thinner than the original. They weight a lot less ( bit of a bonus I guess). Like I said they are a pretty good replacement except for the profile of the rear. Hard to see in the pic but I had to grind some of the steel in the end to create the curve necessary for it to fit. They may have corrected this since.

All said and done I was very happy with the front and the fact that they will never rust :slight_smile:

Cheers.
Dave