1957 Buick Roadmaster 2 Dr. coupe 75 series

Discussion in 'Classic Buicks' started by 68 Wildcat, Aug 18, 2018.

  1. 68 Wildcat

    68 Wildcat Dash Riprock

  2. philbquick

    philbquick Founders Club Member

    Not for the faint of heart.
     
    Smartin likes this.
  3. John Codman

    John Codman Platinum Level Contributor

    A nice model, but as Phil said, not for the faint of heart; I'll bet you could spend the purchase price on chrome plating alone.
     
  4. OZGS455

    OZGS455 Oh what a wonderful day!

    Nice patina!...leave it as it is,... just work the mechanicals....bet it smells nice inside!
     
    WQ59B likes this.
  5. 53ragtop

    53ragtop Well-Known Member

    Try twice that! Recently had all the chrome on a 57 Special 46R redone to “show quality”. That does not include any repair/polishing of the stainless. 57 Buick’s are NOT cheap to restore!
     
    Harlockssx and My3Buicks like this.
  6. John Codman

    John Codman Platinum Level Contributor

    Particularly Buicks that have lots of chrome!
     
  7. BUICK 57

    BUICK 57 Well-Known Member

    … you can still find replacement original donor bumper components with decent original factory hexavalent chrome in good condition … just need to hunt them down .. that way you replace the worst of the components for way, way , way less than a re-chrome job would tab out as and the chrome would still be factory original … that's what I did on my 57 ...
     
    Harlockssx likes this.
  8. OZGS455

    OZGS455 Oh what a wonderful day!

    Personally I prefer slight patina original chrome to the crap they call chrome plating these days.
    Dunno what its like there but Downunder its difficult to find good old fashioned quality triple chrome plating.
     
  9. BUICK 57

    BUICK 57 Well-Known Member

    Ozgs455 … well the true culprit is not really anything to do with the so called " triple plated " buzz word you hear so much talk about today … triple plated just means copper, bright nickel and chromium baths … these are the necessary bath steps needed in which to perform the chroming process … that is the physics behind the process … however in the past this process was achieved using Hexavalent chromium plating and today many chose to use a process (and if really told because it reduces vat cleanliness, vat concentrations and record keeping to a bare minimal for the EPA ) … called Trivalent plating. Trivalent requires the one to dye the vats and end plating product is not as stable and long lasting as that of Hexavalent plating. Each Trivalent plate shop has a proprietary batch recipe formula for their Trivalent process .. this recipe attempts to mimic the look of a true Hexavalent end product namely a distinct blueish cast … sadly the end product if placed side by side with a factory original hexavalent piece or even a newly hexavalent plated item the Trivalent piece will cast a tell tale off cast whitish hue kinda like chrome spray paint or the chrome pieces in a model car kit rather than the what the true hexavalent blueish hue provides … in addition to that what they cannot do is replicate the durability of the hexavalent process … In addition if one wants to add very good longevity to a piece chrome plated via the Hexavalent plating process the procedure would be copper, then semi bright nickel, then bright nickel then the chrome bath … the semi bright is a strong sacrificial anode to the bright nickel and strongly prevents rust action to proceed to the metal substrate below … without the semi bright layer the oxidative process proceeds much easier to the base metal … most chrome is simply compromised via a chip or a scratch deep enough to the base metal and only a small one is needed. Once the protective layer of plating is compromised …. Rust then spreads out like a tree branch and attacks the base metal outward and under the existing plating and if the base metal is covered by a layer of semi bright nickel this process is greatly hindered …..
     
    Last edited: Aug 26, 2018
  10. John Codman

    John Codman Platinum Level Contributor

    Obviously you know what you are talking about, but I sure as hell don't. All I know is that the plating on '49 Plymouth ripple bumpers was the best ever. Period.
     
    OZGS455 likes this.
  11. 66electrafied

    66electrafied Just tossing in my nickel's worth

    ...In other words, a good chroming job is worth a small fortune.
     
  12. OZGS455

    OZGS455 Oh what a wonderful day!

    Yes...if you cant find one.
     
  13. DugsSin

    DugsSin Well-Known Member

    If someone were to take this project on I know where a replacement rear glass is.
     
  14. BUICK 57

    BUICK 57 Well-Known Member

    … well john you obviously know how to click n paste … and that's a start :D
     

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