MTFCA Forum

I was reading an article on what to use to fill pits in heavy metal (such as a bumper) and one guy said he had success “brazing” the pits full using copper wire. Can anybody out there fill me in on the process?

you don't want to do a thing with it until you speak to the EXACT plater who is going to follow up your work. They will tell you exactly what they want to receive and exactly how they will process it

listen to Scotts advice...

Yes, copper has an affinity for steel (fancy word for wants to bond and not just fill). This is good.

However, chrome has a stronger affinity for copper than it does for steel which makes me want to say that you 'may' just wind up with a bit of chrome 'fisheye' where the copper is once final plated as the chrome film is a tad thicker for same current/time dip?

My old trick was to use wire hangers from the cleaners and a gas torch...lol...grind it down smooth once in place, don't see a thing

Copper plate, buff back down, copper plate, buff back down. Repeat till pits filled and nice coat of copper, then nickel plate. Add chrome coat to protect the nickel if you want. But T nickel didn’t get chrome. Dan

I have restored rust pitted items for bright nickel by plating with copper, sanding between applications similar to using a primer surfacer to eliminate imperfections before finishing with paint. You need to have a plater who will work with you, allowing you to block sand between applications of copper until all the pits are filled : labor in plating shops comes high, and most workmen will not do a satisfactory job of the detail work.

It’s my understanding there are two methods of copper plating, “acid copper” which puts a sort of “wash coat” on items, but is incapable of putting on the heavy deposits necessary to accomplish this goal ; and “cyanide copper” which can.

FWIW, the high quality “triple plated chrome” jobs begin with copper, followed by nickel (the coat which prevents corrosion - chromium does not, it is porous) followed by bright chrome. To be authentic, no need for the chrome, which only began to appear on automotive brightwork after 1930. Nickel is prettier anyway !