My 1914 headlamps have brass chimney and rim/door that has been nickel plated. Does anyone know if the nickel plating is what is correct for this year. If so where can I get them redone? Would it be possible to remove the nickel plating and have good looking brass instead? Any help, ideas or experience concerning this would be greatly appreciated.

Jerry

For a USA produce car the 1914s were steel painted black with brass ref: http://mtfca.com/encyclo/1914.htm and scroll down to Lamps. I think you could have nickel removed by electrolysis (someone with more back ground on that can chime in. But I know they can remove the nickel plating from the 1925-27 steering gear housings so you can put them on your 1915-16 T and have the 5-1 ratios and it is brass and not nickel. However they do that they should be able to remove the nickel from the lamp bonnets.).

Respectfully submitted,

Hap l9l5 cut off

Maybe if the nickle isn't too thick then you could just polish it off with some patience? With electrolosis maybe you could dip the whole headlight and the process not affect the steel? Rivets scare me, removing the bonnets and doors seems like a chore.

Anyone know who does this electrolysis? Sounds like what I need done. Sure is great to have all this help handy.

Many dealers, especially in large cities, offered the option of nickel plating on the lamps and radiator. I have seen several unrestored originals at swap meets over the years. And I had a side-lamp that was nickel plated, for my 1914 pickup I sold about five years ago.
I think this was usually done by the dealership as a means of updating the T to help counter competition.
I believe some variations of the headlamps (Victor #2, I think at least) the chimney bonnets snap and slide off to the back without too much trouble.
I would like to see a well restored '13 or '14 with nickel plating. There was a photo of one posted by one of our Australian friends a couple weeks ago.
Drive safe, W2

Jerry,
I tried to get a radiator shell stripped locally and they weren't interested in doing it. I take it that reversing the plating process has a danger with it. The plater indicated he might just go too far and pull the hook back out of the tank with nothing on it! I have found that Caswell Plating on the Internet was offering a "solution" that would remove nickel plating without the electricity. I figured that was what I would end up doing.
Verne

Jerry -- Contact Ken Kopsky, who is a regular here on the Forum. He does some plating, so he might be able to help you.

Wayne, thanks for showing me how to remove the chimney. Mike, I'll try to get in touch with Ken and see what I can find out about Vernes process.

Jerry-
As Wayne pointed out, sometimes dealers did nickel plating. This nickel pated 1914 touring car was at the Centennial back in '08.



Nickle plating is expensive. You might try to find someone who may be interested in your nickled parts and might swap you for brass.

Otherwise, contact me off forum about some stripping procedures.

: ^ )

Keith

Whatever you do, don't try to polish or buff it off! You will ruin the detail. Take the chimneys and rims off, and send them to a plater to get the nickel removed.

Jerry they are telling you the best way to remove the nickel. By a plater. They will reverse the polarity. Causing the nickel to plate back onto the anode(Ni). The people got the brass plated in the 20's when plating first came into existence. It was cheep then and the reason that they did it was to stop polishing that darned brass. There are people I know who have had their brass plated gold. Expensive but that's how some of them stopped polishing.