James Bailey

Usually the bath used to strip off the chrome also eats away some alloy plus the caps need to be polished BEFORE being plated and confirm what process they are using. lifted from a site.... "The most important issue for durable chrome plating for outdoor exposure such as on a vehicle is that it should have at least two layers of nickel plating before the chrome: namely semi-bright nickel followed by bright nickel. The reason for this involves galvanic corrosion issues. The bright nickel is anodic to the semi-bright nickel, and sacrificially protects it, spreading the corrosion forces laterally instead of allowing them to penetrate through to the steel. OEMs demand very close control of this factor, and there is a test (the Chrysler developed STEP test) which large shops run daily to insure the right potentials. Careful control of this issue is probably the principal reason that today's chrome plating greatly outlasts the chrome plating of earlier times. If a restoration shop offers only single layer nickel plating, they must apply it really really heavy if corrosion resistance is to be guaranteed.

Experts argue whether copper plating provides any additional corrosion resistance at all, but with or without copper plating, chrome on top of a single thin layer of nickel will not hold up to the severe exposure of a vehicle! Industry professionals call the two layers of nickel "duplex nickel plating", and that would be a much better term to use than "triple chrome" and such."

WyattsRide

Thanks for info James.

Here is where I will be getting these caps re-chromed. They are a very well known quality chrome plating shop and they are local.

http://www.paulschrome.com/

SteveG

Rick: I'm glad to hear you found a solution. Funny thing, I have a similar problem. The GTS has polished Cup 2s. The emblem part of one of the center caps was missing when they delivered the car. I think they are after market and use only epoxy, no rivets. I bought a replacement; it is not polished, so it is slightly "off." I need to take pictures of it and a polished one and contact your shop.

WyattsRide

Steve,
I don't think "chromed" will match "polished". They may be close though. Or are we talking about the same thing?

SteveG

No, I just thought I would query them. Haven't any other place to start.