A restoration directory for classic car & motorcycle parts

To explain to those who are not aware…chemical brightening is the process of brightening the trims, which are often around the front windscreen and back screen. Likewise, these trim sections are also around the doors near to the door glass or on interior door panels, etc. Many people commonly mistake these trims as being chrome plated as they look like the bright chrome finish often found on bumpers and door handles. Searches such as classic car restoration parts are used by customers in trying to look for chemical brightening companies. Chemical brightening is where the trim item is dipped into a bath of hot acid which brightens the item, hence the name chemical brightening. The trim item is then anodised to protect the surface and keep it bright.

There are people or companies that sell different types of polish to bring the shine back to worn dull trims. In some cases, these cutting type polishes will work but…you will have to constantly keep polishing the trim as the cutting type polish will obviously remove the anodising, which protects the surface. These types of polish are not a permanent finish.

One important point to remember when you go to get your trim sections chemically brightened is that the trim sections need to have the anodising removed before you take or send them to be polished. Removing the anodising can easily be carried out by an anodising service anodising listed further on under Zinc Plating. Any anodising service would be fine for removal. The reason for removing the anodising is that it removes the hard anodised finish so that the sections can easily be polished. This is very important especially on thin delicate trim sections, as these sections need to have the least pressure put on them when polishing to avoid distortion. I have listed a company further on under Metal Polishing, for polishing. Both are experienced in classic car restoration polishing as well as classic motorcycle restoration. Once you have the anodising removed and trim sections polished you can then send to the company listed further on under Chemical Brightening.

A note on crankshaft repairs If you have a damaged crankshaft where some, or all of the journals are scored beyond grinding, and it is impossible to locate a replacement one second-hand, then the journals can be built back up with either metal spraying or submerged arc welding. Damaged crankshafts are not uncommon, and often forms part of vintage or classic car restoration.

Metal spraying is a process where hot metal is sprayed onto a journal after it has been prepared. Submerged arc welding is when metal is welded onto a journal. In both cases, the repaired journals are ground back down to the correct tolerance for the bearings. Metal spraying can be carried out by the engineering listed further on under Engine Reconditioning Specialist, Engineering, Machining, *Welding, *Metal Spraying.

Metal spraying puts far less stress on a crankshaft compared to submerged arc welding. However, some views are that submerged arc welded journals are a superior job as the new metal is actually fused onto a journal by welding. Strictly speaking, a repaired crankshaft should be hardened to the same original factory original hardness.

Using hard chrome plating is often not successful for crankshaft journal repair. It is for this reason that I have not listed it.

The company below can often repair your crankshaft by submerged arc welding.

*Important

After repair work, the company below can send the crankshaft away to a specialist hardening company. When a crankshaft is re-hardened, the service is at your own risk.

The risk is that sometimes the hardening process on a repaired crankshaft can distort the crankshaft and render it useless, more so after submerged arc-welded repairs. It is for this reason that many people do not take the risk, and fit the crankshaft without surface hardening.

Hard chroming is a very useful service for classic car restoration or automotive restoration especially when shafts or some low stressed journals are worn and need to be built back before machining back down to an exact finish to fit in a bearing. An example of this would be a steering column.

Nikasil is short for Nickel Silicon Carbide. It is a nickel and silicone (ceramic) plating which is very hard. This is used mainly for providing a very hard wearing surface on the inside of aluminium cylinder bores. In some cases over the years it has replaced hard chroming.

Metal Polishing

There are many very good polishing companies around for vintage and classic car restoration. However, finding a company that can polish thin delicate trims that can bend easily is often difficult. The company below can polish from thick large areas down to very small thin fragile soft aluminium sections that many polishing companies would not work on. This is a vital service prior to having sections chemically brightened. If the trim section is not polished, then you will not be able to achieve a bright finish. Sometimes delicate trims can be taped onto a board for polishing to avoid distortion.

Whenever I have sent these delicate sections of trim through a courier, I have made a strong wooden crate from plywood. The crate is then screwed back down and couriered back to you with your polished trims. If the trims are straight, you could use plastic plumbing waste pipe to transport them in.