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The Disappointment of buying NOS Chromed pot metal. Jump to page : 1 Now viewing page 1 [50 messages per page] | View previous thread :: View next thread |
Forward Look NON-Technical Discussions -> 1955-1961 Forward Look MoPar General Discussion | Message format |
56D500boy |
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Expert 5K+ Posts: 9904 Location: Lower Mainland BC | Sad but true. It seems that even though a chromed pot metal part has never been on a car, it seems to always have some pitting and/or bubbles. I guess that I was/am naive about "NOS" when it comes to chrome bits. Case in point, I purchased and just received a NOS 1956 rear trunk "Vee" . It is very nice. Very NOS (never been on a car). But yet, there are a few bumps in the chrome (I knew about some but not all of them). This one: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/56-1956-DODGE-TRUNKLID-LIFT-ORNAMENT-NOS-164... Last year I bought two of the big double-pronged hood "ornaments" off eBay. One was advertised at NOS and was shown to still be in the original cellophane protective wrapping. Both were very nice but neither was perfect. Go figure. I will use one of them. In any event, they're all better than what came on the car by a long shot. I guess the only way to have perfect pot-metal chrome is to have it redone. Not going to happen on my car. I have to keep remembering that I am only trying to make my car "better", not perfect. The NOS hood ornament was this one: Edited by 56D500boy 2018-05-21 7:30 PM ($_57_8.JPG) ($_57.JPG) ($_57_4.JPG) Attachments ---------------- $_57_8.JPG (334KB - 152 downloads) $_57.JPG (208KB - 155 downloads) $_57_4.JPG (307KB - 156 downloads) | ||
Powerflite |
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Expert 5K+ Posts: 9670 Location: So. Cal | Just wait till you mount them on your car and monitor them after 6 years. I am wondering if a lot of that problem could be averted if a different metal was plated onto the pot metal before the copper & nickel, like Titanium or maybe cadmium. I don't know the answer, but I bet there is a better way to do it. Using a purer form of zinc would probably help a lot too. Edited by Powerflite 2018-05-22 2:03 AM | ||
Doctor DeSoto |
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Location: Parts Unknown | I really don't think chrome looked as good as people think it did when new in the 50's. Our paradigm is "show quality" modern plating and polishing, and that just wasn't the case. Our pot metal was directly chromed, .... no copper or nickel. It pitted just sitting on the shelf. | ||
Powerflite |
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Expert 5K+ Posts: 9670 Location: So. Cal | It must have nickel, otherwise it would look gray from the zinc. Chrome is transparent, so what you are seeing is the nickel underneath it. And copper is used for better adhesion of the different metals. I think the galvanic corrosion occurs between copper and zinc, so something in between those layers might help. | ||
1960fury |
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Expert 5K+ Posts: 7400 Location: northern germany | Doctor DeSoto - 2018-05-22 1:43 AM I really don't think chrome looked as good as people think it did when new in the 50's. I bought used pot metal pieces in the 80s from the southwest which were about perfect, perfect shine with no bubbling or imperfections at all. of course it was a bit rough around the edges. This is how they came. Do not expect new car plastic-cast perfection. | ||
56D500boy |
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Expert 5K+ Posts: 9904 Location: Lower Mainland BC | Doctor DeSoto - 2018-05-22 1:43 AM Our paradigm is "show quality" modern plating and polishing, and that just wasn't the case. Our pot metal was directly chromed, .... no copper or nickel. It pitted just sitting on the shelf. Based on what I am seeing with NOS bits, from now on I will know that flawless "Show Quality" = over restored and better than factory, at least on the pot metal bits. There has to be a layer of something between the zinc pot metal and the chrome. Some of the bits on my car have been polished to the point that they are starting to look at bit yellow. Which I take it is the underlayer. I was going to guess brass (copper and zinc) but it could just be a copper layer. In any event, I know have some bits to replace with these new, albeit, slightly flawed, parts. | ||
big m |
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Expert 5K+ Posts: 7807 Location: Williams California | NOS parts have been setting on a shelf since new, or in a damp cellar, or riding around in a swap meet vendor's truck over the years. Rarely ever do I see parts that don't show deterioration, even in factory packaging. ---John | ||
BigBlockMopar |
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Expert Posts: 3575 Location: Netherlands | Exactly, you never know the shelf history of a part. Cardboard boxes easily capture moisture or condensation. | ||
56D500boy |
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Expert 5K+ Posts: 9904 Location: Lower Mainland BC | I looked at the NOS hood ornament that I put on the hood of my 56 Dodge last fall and I am pretty sure that there is more pitting after one year of almost no wet weather driving (but storage in an unheated garage over the damp winter. Oh well. | ||
ttotired |
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Expert 5K+ Posts: 8443 Location: Perth Australia | A lot of NOS parts are factory rejects because of a found flaw in the part A 50+ y/old part is still 50 years old, so it will have deteriorated a bit and when you fit that part on your car, it is now on the way to being as bad as the part you just replaced. These cars wernt built to last, especially 50 years, they wanted you to buy the latest and greatest, so as long as it looked good for a little while, that was totally acceptable. Only reason for them to build any longevity into their cars was corporate reputation. They just had to last as long as the competitions car did | ||
GregCon |
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Expert Posts: 2524 Location: Houston | Yeah....I recall even in the old days, you'd go over a new car and be happy to find that one 'perfect' piece of chrome trim. That's because while it wasn't unusual, it also wasn't common. Though not chrome trim, the 57 DeSoto I had gorgeous stainless trim around the windows and roofline. Even though the car was almost 60 years old and in rough shape, those trim pieces stood out. | ||
mikes2nd |
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Expert 5K+ Posts: 5006 | I gave up on NOS Chrome I dont even try, they are pretty much beat senseless | ||
Doctor DeSoto |
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Location: Parts Unknown | I recently bought some NOS parts. First thing I did was take them to the chrome shop and had them stripped and given a proper chroming. Now they can sit on the shelf and not go to hell, until I am ready for them. Chroming them now was cheap, with the minor imperfections, compared to chroming them later, when they would have that much more deterioration. | ||
57chizler |
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Expert Posts: 3777 Location: NorCal | This is the reason the term NOS has little meaning for me, time kills some parts like chrome, plastic and rubber even under ideal storage conditions. | ||
1960fury |
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Expert 5K+ Posts: 7400 Location: northern germany | I have a 57 NOS D500 emblem that is really perfect, no pitting or rough edges at all, perfect chrome, and it was in a Mopar box that seemed to have been soaked in water at some time. I need money for my falling apart 61 GC project car that didn't survive 55 years water quite as well, if someone is interested.... | ||
mikes2nd |
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Expert 5K+ Posts: 5006 | emblems seem to be better protected, not scratched like a bumper. | ||
Apollo 61 |
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Elite Veteran Posts: 769 | One thing to keep in mind is just because there is a box or part number doesn't mean that it is isn't used or defective. I used to work at a Plymouth dealer is the mid 80s. Part of my job was to check in new cars off the car carriers. To inspect them for any damage or defects while being shipped. A bumper with scrape in it was replaced and the old one was put in the packaging and placed in a large shed and usually scrapped later. Or warranty parts that may look new but be defective. Some of these parts could survive scraping and turn up later in Chrysler packaging claiming to be NOS. | ||
hemidenis |
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Expert Posts: 3887 Location: Northen Virginia | re-chrome take away many details. I think the Plymouth steering wheel horn ring is one of them. Virtually impossible to reproduce.. Edited by hemidenis 2019-07-17 6:59 PM | ||
56D500boy |
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Expert 5K+ Posts: 9904 Location: Lower Mainland BC | Apollo 61 - 2019-07-16 10:45 PM One thing to keep in mind is just because there is a box or part number doesn't mean that it is isn't used or defective.... Some of these parts could survive scrapping and turn up later in Chrysler packaging claiming to be NOS. Like this rear U-joint that was sold to me as NOS (because it was in a numbered box)?: LOL. I don't think so. That was more than shelf dust. (I returned it and got my money back) Edited by 56D500boy 2019-07-17 7:39 PM | ||
chefothefuture |
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Member Posts: 49 Location: Chuckanut Mountain, Washington | NOS=New Old (four letter word...) | ||
Doctor DeSoto |
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Location: Parts Unknown | Felç ? .... as in necrofelçer ? | ||
mikes2nd |
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Expert 5K+ Posts: 5006 | hemidenis - 2019-07-17 6:57 PM re-chrome take away many details. I think the Plymouth steering wheel horn ring is one of them. Virtually impossible to reproduce.. 59 Dodge front upper grill...
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Doctor DeSoto |
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Location: Parts Unknown | "Felç ? .... as in necrofelçer ?" --------------------------------- "59 Dodge .... " ================= Yes, my thoughts, exactly ! | ||
chefothefuture |
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Member Posts: 49 Location: Chuckanut Mountain, Washington | N=New, O=Old, S=(four letter word). Not sure how F got in there... Unless you'd prefer Feces over the S word... | ||
chefothefuture |
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Member Posts: 49 Location: Chuckanut Mountain, Washington | Doctor DeSoto - 2019-07-18 10:33 AM "Felç ? .... as in necrofelçer ?" --------------------------------- "59 Dodge .... " ================= Yes, my thoughts, exactly ! :laugh: Them's fightin' words sonny. | ||
Powerflite |
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Expert 5K+ Posts: 9670 Location: So. Cal | Felç appears to be Turkish for paralysis and necro is latin meaning anything dealing with death or a corpse. So I interpret necrofelçer to be another term for rigor mortis. Not sure what that has to do with any of this. | ||
chefothefuture |
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Member Posts: 49 Location: Chuckanut Mountain, Washington | Powerflite - 2019-07-18 3:35 PM Felç appears to be Turkish for paralysis and necro is latin meaning anything dealing with death or a corpse. So I interpret necrofelçer to be another term for rigor mortis. Not sure what that has to do with any of this. Some parts sold as NOS such as rubber bushings certainly are stiff and crumbly. Maybe they're referring to that ... (I'm being purposely obtuse here... This thread may have degraded to smart-aleck comments...That happens when Doc and I are in the same place! Hahaha. We certainly had our chapter of the Nat'l Desoto Club questioning our general sanity! ) | ||
Doctor DeSoto |
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Location: Parts Unknown | Totally wrong on Point No.1 More-or-less correct on Point No.2 Keep trying. | ||
mikes2nd |
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Expert 5K+ Posts: 5006 | hemidenis - 2019-07-17 6:57 PM re-chrome take away many details. I think the Plymouth steering wheel horn ring is one of them. Virtually impossible to reproduce.. thats because the chromer has to buff and polish and he just polishes the detail away. | ||
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