Bright and proper
Nigel’s GT6 shines with new structural metal and refreshed chrome
Jamie at Complete Car Care has been busy on the GT6 again this month, replacing more and more rusty metal with solid new steel. The repairs on the nearside had already been completed last month, but over the past few weeks he has finished repairs to the boot floor, rear end and also the offside wing.
Currently Jamie’s working on the offside A-pillar. After removing the rusty old gutter strip from the windscreen frame, it became obvious the problems went deeper. He has needed to replace the whole of the windscreen frame rear edge from roof down to bulkhead level, making up his own repair sections as he goes.
This part of the screen frame/a-pillar repair work is just about done, or will be once the new gutter section has been fitted. Moving down the A-pillar, there’s a crack to be welded up just above the top driver’s door hinge, then some misalignment between sill and door aperture to sort out – this seems to have resulted from a less than perfect replacement of the sill many years ago. After that, there are a couple of small rust blemishes on the offside front wing and a pinhole in the door skin to finish the body repairs. It’s been a marathon of cutting, fabricating and welding, but we’re nearly there. The odds of getting the body in primer next month are looking good!
Brightwork brighten-up
In the meantime, I’ve needed to get a few bits of external trim rechromed. The external door handles, fuel filler flap and rear bumper were all either flaking or pitted, though for some reason the front bumper has managed to remain immaculate. I stripped down the door handle assemblies and fuel filler, to separate out the parts needing new chrome.
Chrome plating is one of those specialist skills
‘Every component imaginable was going through the plating baths’
where I feel personal recommendation is the key to finding the right firm for the job. Ben at Complete Car Care had no hesitation in suggesting ACF Howell in Walsall, as the firm had done a cracking job on the chrome of an Aston Martin he had restored for a customer a couple of years previously. If its chrome is good enough for an Aston, I figured taking care of the plating on my little GT6 was well within Howells’ capability.
I phoned Howells and spoke to the everhelpful Ian, arranging to drop the bits into his factory at a time when I would happen to be passing on the M6. The bumper and fuel filler flap were left in Ian’s care, although when he closely inspected the door handles, it soon became obvious that there would be so much work to do replating the originals, it would be no more costly to replace with new ones, which are fortunately still available.
Four weeks later, the bumper and filler flap were ready for collection. When I popped over to Walsall to collect them, Ian kindly showed me around their factory, which turned out to be quite an Aladdin’s cave. Every chrome component imaginable was going through the plating baths, from classic motorcycle exhausts to huge Cadillac bumpers and even a glorious Jag MKV radiator grille. The rechroming process starts with a dip in sulphuric acid to remove all the old plating. After that, the bare steel is burnished and any remaining surface corrosion removed. If there’s serious rust, new metal will be let in and ground flat before moving on to the plating tanks. The first layer applied is copper, which acts as a metallic filler/base coat and can obscure any slight imperfections that might remain. Another layer of copper plate can be added if needed to give a perfect surface. The next stage is a layer of nickel plate, finally followed by the chrome. To finish the job, ACF Howell polish the chrome and finally paint the back of the bumper to prevent any further corrosion getting in that way. It’s a thorough triple-plating process and the results look top-notch. I can’t wait until the GT is ready for me to fit out with the new chrome!