I have two steering gear cases that need to be plated (1925 vintage). Seems like there was a thread with the name of a member that does do nickle plating but I can't seem to find it. Can anybody supply his name? Thanks, Tex
Tex: I use Mickey DuPuis in Holyoke, MA. He does a great job. 413-53-7770
That would be Ken:
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/257047/307410.html?1345849901
Bill and Steve: Thanks for the info!
I use Christensen Plating in Los Angeles. They do nickel the old way. They did my '25 gearcase, cover, spark and throttle rods, and they still look great after 7 years. I just wipe them off with a soft cotton rag once and a while.
Electroplating of El Paso does fine bright nickel plating and chrome. They did my Model A bumpers and park brake lever. Even did the butler finish on the park brake lever and oval dash instrument panel. Here is their link:
http://www.electroplatingelpaso.com/
Thanks for all the responses on nickel platers. Hopefully this week I can ship the parts out. Right now however, I'm in the middle of rebuilding the real axle assembly. What a lovely job!!!
Nipco, Inc., 2104 W. 42nd Street, Odessa, TX 79764, (432) 362-1936, does excellent zinc and industrial nickel plating.
I had Nipco re-plate a Model A inner steering column shaft in zinc. Excellent work.
I also had them re-plate one of my Model T Ford demountable tire rims in zinc (as a test case for the other 4 rims). Great work, except that a very small portion of the outer portion of the rim (only a very small part of the outer part of the rim that is covered by the tube and tire) did not completely catch the zinc re-plating. That had to do with the size of their re-plating tank vat and the direction of the plating surfaces in relation to the zinc source for re-plating. I spray painted that small portion that did not get completely re-plated with a zinc paint coating. No problem. Considered excellent, as they were able to preserve the maker marks and stampings on the inner part of the outer part of the rim (Kelsey). The part of the rim you actually see with the tire and tube installed is plated in an excellent and durable metal zinc coating. Cost for replating the rim with zinc was $20. That seemed reasonable to me.
Nipco will sandblast parts prior to re-plating. They do a good job, as they preserved the maker's marks on the outer part of the rim that faces the tube and tire.
I plan to have Nipco zinc plate the inner steering column shaft of the Model T, as that appears to be how Ford originally made them.
Nipco does not do the bright nickel work available at Electroplating of El Paso, which, in turn, does not do zinc plating.
As a result, I have Nipco do the zinc plating, but I have Electroplating of El Paso do bright nickel and chrome. Only do chrome, of course, on the Model A.
The only problem with Nipco is that you have to be a little patient with them to do your personal jobs, as they give precedence to oil field work jobs over personal jobs. The nice thing is that Nipco does excellent quality zinc work. It's worth the wait, usually 2-3 weeks.