I got sick of polishing myself.
At least that's what you tell everyone.
Did you use Zoops on any of the motor parts? How did that hold up? I have it on the way and if I only have to polish the stuff in the water I will be ok with that. I am going to ask Pumpkin about that shark hide too. Powder coat is nice but nothing like black and chrome or polished. I have seena lot of aluminum parts that have the chrome coming off so get a good shop to do it. One that will stand behind their work.
This boat seemed to have a nice setup at tablerock...
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...mpkin3-med.jpg
On Chroming aluminum.
The Harley crowd seems to have a handle on chrome over aluminum. You might consider that route as far as plating shops go.
.
Thanks for all the replys folks.
The orange boat with the polished pump is The Pumpkin done with sharkhide.
It did not hold up well either, but I think a bit longer than the ZoopSeal.
The "Harley Crowd" usually uses Browns plating service in Paduka KY. I've had lots and lots of harley parts done there also, and that was my first shot. They unfortunatly have grown so much that they now ONLY do motorcycle parts. Only place I ever found that could make chrome stick to Aluminum back in the day. It is my understanding that the reason chrome is so hard to do on Aluminum is of the great amount of expansion & contraction due to heat & cooling, which will cause minute cracks in the chrome, and eventually you know the rest of the story.
The ZoopSeal worked well on parts inside the boat. They are still shiny.
Duane O came up with the theory that the discoloration has something to do with fuel residue behind the boat discoloring the product. I really have to disagree with Mr. Oblander, and don't think this is the case...as we all know Jetboats with large V8's are more than environmentally frendly, and the Catalytists in our headers completly burn any unspent fuel.
Ken,
Jordy lightly touched on the outgassing issues with the pump parts, (seems like a problem that is even more pronounced with the bowl) be sure that whether you get it chromed or PC'd that the shop that does the work knows how to properly preheat the part to coax the gasses out before doing any work. Also, don't be surprised that after polishing your bowl all nice and purty that during the baking portion, the gases traped in the casting cause some pitting in your once smooth surface even if the part is prepped properly.
On the Chrome, I believe that laying down a good amount of Nickel plating helps with the longevity of chrome over aluminum, but I'd have to re-read some old stuff on that to be sure.
Another alternative, which should hold up will is the Permastar coating that Edelbrock is using on their manifolds. Do a little diggin on the web for Goodrich Permastar and you'll find what you need.
Here is a basic idea of how it works...
The extensive use of decorative chrome on parts has fallen in and out of fashion in the auto industry, but currently this trend is hot and that poses a problem. To achieve the shiny finishes car buyers covet, chroming suppliers traditionally have had to use an array of hazardous materials for surface preparation. But as government restrictions tighten on the use and disposal of hazardous chemicals, traditional methods may have to be modified or even jettisoned.
Enter Gary Goodrich, president and CEO of Goodrich Technology (Pittsburg, CA). He has patented a method of chroming parts called PermaStar that uses no hazardous chemicals and produces no hazardous by-products. The key to this process is a two-stage physical vapor deposition (PVD) technology, and a topcoat to protect the chromed surface. By using PVD, Goodrich says he can completely eliminate surface preparation chemicals, thus removing a potential environmental hazard. Further, his method does not require the meticulous polishing used in current chroming operations, thereby significantly reducing labor costs.
Goodrich began researching the possibility of using PVD to produce chrome finishes over four years ago, and traveled to Europe with the thought of replicating the PVD-based chroming methods in use there. But he deemed the resulting parts too dark for American tastes, and began developing his own variation on the themePermaStar.
The new PermaStar chroming process applies exceedingly thin layers of material to parts in a vacuum chamber. The developers of the process say that it not only eliminates the use of hazardous chemicals, but provides better adhesion and achieves much lower rejection rates than traditional methods.
HOW IT'S DONE. The process begins by smoothing the part to be chromed to achieve a uniform surface roughness. It then undergoes a series of de-ionized (DI) water rinses including a non-chromate/DI water solution coating if the part is aluminum, and an iron phosphate/city water solution coating if it's steel. After being dried by high-pressure filtered air and a stint in an oven, a base coat is applied to provide a smooth surface suitable for nickel/chromium adhesion. (Goodrich recommends an organic, thermosetting powder, but the process also allows for the use of an inorganic compound, or even electroplated coatings and e-coatings.) The part is then heated to achieve an even flow of material and to crosslink and solidify the powder.
Next comes the two-step PVD phase. The part is placed in a vacuum chamber where a layer of approximately 80% nickel and 20% chromium is applied using a sputtering method. The second layer, which is crucial to the final appearance, is 99.9% chromium. Goodrich says that the layers are a mere 600 angstroms thick, (an angstrom is one hundred-millionth of a centimeter) which keeps material use to a bare minimum.
Finally, a top coat is applied to protect the chromium layer. Again, an organic thermosetting powder is preferred, with the alternatives being the same as for the base coat. The top coat is important for increasing durability and corrosion resistance, but according to Goodrich, before PermaStar no one had figured out how to stabilize the chromium layer sufficiently so that a top coat could be properly applied.
If you need a shop that can do this for you now, check out http://www.americanpowdercoating.com/permastar.htm
Hope that helps,
Chris
wow thanks for the in depth flat broke!! black chrome bowl....mmmm nice! how much do you reckon a bowl would cost? also could a filler be used to smooth dents and pits before this process?
Chris,
Thanks a bunch!!! I'll give them a call on monday and see what they say...
I really appreciate the tip!
Out of curoisity, how in the hell did you find out about this?
Ken F
why can't you use the Jet-hot ceramic coating like on headers and manifolds on the pump? works on alum and steel.
Chris,
Thanks a bunch!!! I'll give them a call on monday and see what they say...
I really appreciate the tip!
Out of curoisity, how in the hell did you find out about this?
Ken F
I knew about the Perma Star stuff that Edelbrock was doing. I would have had it done custom on my tunnel ram, but I couldn't get one done in time for my motor build. Sooo, since we do a lot of PC work at home, I started checking around with various powder suppliers, and got turned onto the fact that Edelbrock is licensing the PermaStar finish and didn't create it. Once I found out it wasn't proprietary, it didn't take long to track down.
I'd really like to see how it would hold up in a marine environment. Supposedlly better than chrome plate with resistance to salt spray, so it should do real well on our lake boats. Because of the process involved, don't be surprised if its a little expensive when you call on Monday. But if it holds up, and is something you'll only have to do once... It'd well be worth it.
Someone else posted up asking why you couldn't use jet-hot or the like, and my answer would be, I can't see it being a problem... Except that the finish scratches and with the high calcium content in river water, you might need to be super pro active on your towel down routine, but honestly I think its a great idea. The cost would probably be comparable to the Perma Star coating, so it would make for some interesting testing on durability.
Post up what you find out on monday Ken. I'd be curious to see what they quote for a job like a pump and all the dash billet.
Chris
wow thanks for the in depth flat broke!! black chrome bowl....mmmm nice! how much do you reckon a bowl would cost? also could a filler be used to smooth dents and pits before this process?
The filler question would be dependent on the thermal properties/resistance of the filler material and it's relative conductivity compared to the Aluminum. Basically, it can't be something that changes it's molecular structure when heat is applied, must be inert at those temps, and conduct electricity in similar fashion to the bowl itself. The closer you get to the base material in each of these categories, the better your results would be.
Chris
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