Re: Valve Covers
Pantera, you're right...the GM originals were "flash chromed" which is just as you described, a single layer of chrome plating right over the bare steel covers.
Nowadays, it's tough to find anyone who'll replicate this process. I've tried lots of industrial plating places and have come up empty. It's been explained to me that the reason it's even more difficult to do today, is because you need a perfect fresh virgin core to get the right effect. If the covers you're having replated have any flaws of any kind, there's really no way to hammer them out and have them come out clean looking with only a single layer of flash chrome. Not to mention any surface contaminants, corrosion, etc. causing problems with the chrome plating adhering to the bare steel.
The "triple plate" process that everyone uses today is done because it's the best way to get good adhesion, as well as a super smooth, highly polished end result, hiding any grind marks, weld lines etc.
Platers also seem to look at me funny when I tell them their usual process turns out "too nice." Go figure...
If anyone finds a place that can successfully flash chrome a set of original covers, I'd love to hear about it.
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