de-chroming...need to know

monkeyracing · 01-09-2004, 03:23 AM

It's positively amazing how little info there is on the web about de-chroming car parts. Yikes!

Does anyone here know of any methods for de-chroming all the various types of chrome on a car? (plastic headlight bezels, steel parts, trim, etc)

I thought of the cup-o-bleach thing for some of the smaller plastic parts, but I don't know if it would be effective.

Jim

tristanlee85 · 01-09-2004, 03:40 AM

I dunno. I figured it'd be cooked into the plastic, but I'm probably wrong.

monkeyracing · 01-09-2004, 07:10 AM

Naw, it's not cooked on. There's a base coating applied, and then the "chrome" is applied over that using a kind of paint process.

On model cars, you can de-chrome parts by dipping them in bleach for a couple of seconds. I kind of wonder if you can do the same with real car plastic parts by using a longer exposure.

Jim

tristanlee85 · 01-09-2004, 02:13 PM

I really don't know. It couldn't hurt to just dip a corner of the light in to see what happens.

monkeyracing · 01-09-2004, 06:11 PM

I guess I'll just have to try, huh? The steel bumpers will be a lot more tricky (expensive) to get done, but it'll be worth it in the end.

The whole reason I'm asking this stuff is that in a couple of months I'll have enough money saved so that I can buy a new project car. This one will probably be a mid 1980's Chev Caprice/Impala. V8, 4 doors, BIG.

I want to dechrome and shave the entire car smooth. I just happen to have a set of 3" drop springs hanging around the garage for it too. I don't know where they came from, but I now know where they're going.

Jim