Rocker cover & inlet back, not happy with the results :-( tips?

[Nino]

Well I got my Rocker cover and inlet back after 2 weeks!! The plan was have them both Eelectroplated chrome e.g Chrome plated, main reason I went for this over polishing up was due to me wanting not to have to constantly polishing them to keep the mirror finish. Yes it costs alot more but then it would help me in the long run.

First They had to be striped which I had done before I gave them to the chromers, then they had to be copper plated, then nickle plated, then chrome plated then polished up to smarten the finish.

Problem I have is the top of the Rocker is still showing a nickle style finish as apposed to the mirror finish I wanted. And the inlet is not a smooth finish as you can see the orginal rough service is still shown.

Now After having a firm talk with the chromers, they told me that the inlet isnt smooth because I didnt sand down to a smooth finish before I gave it to them and the rocker cover was the best they could get it.

I told them I am not happy with the final result and that I was told there work is 100% top work.
he explained that in order to get the inlet and rocker as I want them They would have to Strip the parts back and start again and they would require my parts for another months but he could not garantee they would come out as I expect.

I wasn't going to let them touch them anymore so I told them I would only pay part of the agreed price and be on my way.

Now they do look alot better than they did but Im unsure weather I should just get them on as they are or spend more money on them to get them better. What you tink guys?

[barrym381]

they look 100times better but if your not happy with them no point putting them on your car as you will never be 100% on them 

[sharki786]

Im in same boat bro. Its taken me a week just to find the right people. Anyway, its not thwir fault for the rocker as YOUR ment to prep it as i dont think they could smoothnit down. I work in a electro plating company and yes parts need to be smooth. Now what i have done is spoke to the director of the companh i work for and he said he will find me a place to get the parts smooth before powder coating. So he found me a place in halesowen who will deburr my inlet and rocker (he said they will do it free of charge as they send us alot of work) and he told me to go to a place that we have done favours for to get my parts powder coated. The guy who will be powder coating my parts said and i said the same, the parts need to be nice and smooth as the rocker and inlet are cast alu. So in farness the guy who plated your parts did a brill job he shouldav told you to get your parts smooth before plating them.

[Nino]

I see i was not told this you see. If he would of sai i would got more prep work done. The only thing i did was strip them back and got them parts cleaned. U think i should get them on as they are then?

[navmk4gti]

They do look good but i can see u mean about them not looking like propa mirror finish. But as said down too prep mate. I would go back to ppl you used and just say your not happy ..if you asked for a mirror finish. If they did not tell you to prep then how were you meant to know

[sharki786]

Its entirely up to you mate. You can see on the rocker that its not a very nice smooth finish. Work with the plater, see what he can do for you. Then strip it (he will acid dip it or whatever) well dont think tou can acid dip alu as it will burn. Once he has stripped it you can then smooth it up more and then get it plated again. To make it look better prep work needs to be bang on otherwise you will never be happy with it

[limmy]

Sorry to see this mate.

Sounds like bit of a tough one. Seems to be a combination of not understanding what service they provide or not specificying that you wanted etc. either way it can easily happen to anyone.

From what youve said i assume you got this done at a reduced price due to not being happy? If so i think its now more of a case of what to do with them going forwards 
eg

• Sell them on
• Install them as they are
• Get them redone

,

The pictures dont look too bad if im honest. By the time you get them off the car it wont be too apparent.
Rocker cover wise i dont think youll notice the nickle finish as once you have your coil packs and looms on it will all be covered up. Only concern would be whether it will start corroding etc where the chrome plating starts again. Im not too sure how durable this finish is especially with engine components

If youre not happy with them then, personally speaking, id sell them and source new parts to get done how you want them. This will allow you to recoupe some of the money spent so all isnt lost (appreciate that this takes time).
As mentioned they dont look to bad but if youre like me, even once on the car, id still know and wouldnt be happy. 

When i got mine powdercoated, the finish was pretty smooth and i didnt need to smooth the surface down either. Might be worth thinking about the surface finish and its process you want to use before doing it again.

Hope you get this sorted one way or another.

Daren
 

[dom]

To be honest, bearing in mind the condition of them before hand I think they've done a pretty good job.

[sharki786]

Sorry to see this mate.

Sounds like bit of a tough one. Seems to be a combination of not understanding what service they provide or not specificying that you wanted etc. either way it can easily happen to anyone.

From what youve said i assume you got this done at a reduced price due to not being happy? If so i think its now more of a case of what to do with them going forwards 
eg

• Sell them on
• Install them as they are
• Get them redone

,

The pictures dont look too bad if im honest. By the time you get them off the car it wont be too apparent.
Rocker cover wise i dont think youll notice the nickle finish as once you have your coil packs and looms on it will all be covered up. Only concern would be whether it will start corroding etc where the chrome plating starts again. Im not too sure how durable this finish is especially with engine components

If youre not happy with them then, personally speaking, id sell them and source new parts to get done how you want them. This will allow you to recoupe some of the money spent so all isnt lost (appreciate that this takes time).
As mentioned they dont look to bad but if youre like me, even once on the car, id still know and wouldnt be happy. 

When i got mine powdercoated, the finish was pretty smooth and i didnt need to smooth the surface down either. Might be worth thinking about the surface finish and its process you want to use before doing it again.

Hope you get this sorted one way or another.

Daren
 

I agree!!

[Nino]

Thanks guys, i think due to funds being low i might fit them as there better than i have anyway and i dnt want to wait a huge ammount of time