| Peter in NH | -- 10-27-2019 @ 4:36 AM |
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I'm starting to have some of my original interior items plated and have a curiosity question that I haven't found an answer for. Why was the gear shift and emergency brake handle finished in nickel plating when so many other interior items such as instrument bezels, cowl vent handles, certain glove box knobs, convertible top hardware, waterfalls, etc were chrome plated? Chrome and nickel aren't that close in contrast. The fellow doing the plating thinks I must be wrong that those two items should be nickel, yet Don Rogers has indicated to me they should be. A detailed explanation would be greatly appreciated. Peter
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| 3w2 | -- 10-27-2019 @ 5:06 PM |
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Peter, The gear shift lever was chrome plated with a so-called Butler finish, which simply means that it had no gloss. In those days the base plating was dull nickel, unlike today when the base plating is bright nickel. Unless the dull nickel was polished before the chrome plating the end result was a dull finish. This is why original '33-'37 grilles only have their high spots such as the outside of the grille bars and the outer surround with bright finishes while everything else such as the sides of the grille bars had dull finishes. (In the case of '33 grilles, the grille bars were originally dull in their entirety as witnessed by both surviving NOS versions and the engineering drawings at the Benson Ford Research Center,.) Your hand brake handle originally had two finishes, both chrome. From the elbow up, the dull nickel was polished before the chrome plating and the final finish is bright. From the elbow down the dull nickel was not polished prior to the chrome plating so the final finish of that portion is dull. For all intents and purposes, no one offering small scale plating, such as those platers catering to our hobby, has dull nickel plating capability, only the bright variety. Some platers who know the history of this stuff can recreate the dull finishes mechanically or you can do it yourself with course Scotchbrite to dull the bright chrome finish where desired. You may wish to double back and check with Don regarding the plating finish on some of the other components that you mention in your note. As I recall, some of them also have a Butler finish. Dave This message was edited by 3w2 on 10-27-19 @ 5:09 PM
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