Bryan's track: what's the alternative to chroming?

[alan57]

Before I go down the expense of re chroming the track, what if any is an alternative?

Yes I could leave the track as it is, but as you can see it's badly rusted. So is there an alternative finish to the track, has anyone rubbed the track down to a smooth shiny finish and then left it, or maybe then sprayed it with car paint, or maybe painted it with a hard wearing paint like Hammerite or will painting it just make it look worse?

You hear a lot of bad press about re chroming especially on this forum, it would be bad news to see the chrome begin to peel again after a short period, as the track takes a lot of hammer from the steel ball.

[treefrog]

I can hear the wooden box brigade turning in their boxes, painted track......

They may be brass, not sure, so if polished would be a different colour... You have had feedback from one person who has rechromed, yes there is always a risk and expensive.

[bryans fan]

I don't think they can be brass, they must be steel to have rusted. I would not paint them.

[treefrog]

I don't think they can be brass, they must be steel to have rusted. I would not paint them.

Good point, another alternative is to wait for some track to come to market and clean as best as possible in short term. You do see it occasionally at the auctions. I have some wonders track, but different and grooved heavy old stuff. Some track is brass as you see it when worn..

I am sure widget can advise on cost and where he goes, I reckon at least 100 to 150 notes

[pennymachines]

A rechrome is probably the answer. Most other allwin manufacturers used non-ferrous track, so polishing is possible when the chrome or nickel is worn, but I don't think Bryans rusted steel runners would look good just polished or painted. The flashy chrome-work is part of the machine's visual appeal and makes for fast, friction-free game play.

The problem of flaking is associated mostly with chromed aluminium. I wouldn't worry too much about what could go wrong. Flat steel runners would be fairly easy to replicate if the plater either lost or ruined them (worst case scenario). I've had a lot of plating done with very few problems.

The main challenge is finding a plater (preferably in your area) who'll do a decent job at a fair price. Assuming you don't wish to do it yourself, it's good if you can actually meet and talk to whoever will be doing the polishing, because that's the crucial part. It's a skilled job and the unskilled or lazy will over-polish and destroy detail on intricate castings. Your runners should present no difficulties. They don't look too corroded, so it should be straightforward to produce flat, even polished surfaces.

[bill gates]

Why not have them nickel plated instead? Might be cheaper and more durable

[pennymachines]

Nickel might be a bit cheaper but chrome is usually more durable and wear resistant. Chrome will be mirror bright while nickel will be slightly softer and warmer.

Getting a bit technical, a decorative (or bumper) chrome finish is applied over nickel anyway. Most of the chrome on our machines is of this type. On the other hand, a hard chrome finish can be applied directly to steel and forms a molecular bond with the metal, so there's no underside weakness. Consequently, it's very hard, durable and scratch resistant. For most purposes, I believe this is less shiny than decorative chrome, but a similar shine can be achieved by mirror polishing the steel before plating.

[livinginthepast]

Have you looked around for some new strip? I had a quick shifty and saw clickmetal offering new strip in brass or stainless steel in lengths or your choice. You may find just what you need if you search a little.

[pennymachines]

That's an option, particularly for runners which are so corroded they won't polish up without undue thinning. Obviously you then need to bend to shape, drill holes for split pins - and get them chromed, if you want them to look right.

[alan57]

Just got my first estimate in for re chroming the parts in the picture
I think the estimator must have thought of a number, then doubled it, then take away the age of his wife and add 3.
My first estimate is £195 plus delivery, no wonder some machines being sold on a certain online auction site are asking for high prices for them to enable them to get back the cost of refurbishment

[alan57]

the quote didn't include VAT!!

[badpenny]

I don't think £195 is bad.
I think it's worth £150 but wouldn't have been surprised at £250+

Bless the EU for closing down all of the back street engineering shops in every town that would get into a bit of cheap chroming ..... mainly for these reasons

[widget2k4]

until my chromer ruined my parts i was paying £80 to get a full bryans allwin done, my last one cost me £200, my jenning is over £500, and yes the bandit i have on a certain online auction site cost me well over £300 just for the chrome to be done
its an expensive game, if you dont want to pay the price look for one that's already been done and saves you the hassle of then having to get all the parts to fit back together when they come back because they chrome everything including threads etc.

forgot to add, thats a minimum of 10 week waiting also

[widget2k4]

Just got my first estimate in for re chroming the parts in the picture
I think the estimator must have thought of a number, then doubled it, then take away the age of his wife and add 3.
My first estimate is £195 plus delivery, no wonder some machines being sold on a certain online auction site are asking for high prices for them to enable them to get back the cost of refurbishment

for 195+vat i would snap it up but i would of got all 4 corners chromed.
its in a bad way and there is a lot of work involved getting that lot shiny again.

[JC]

My first estimate is £195 plus delivery......

That's not expensive. The first Elevenses I restored was over twenty years ago and cost £65 plus VAT....but, that was for just the door furniture - it didn't include the track and gallery shield. Plating the track will add quite a bit to the bill. Firstly, being steel, it will require more polishing than brass. Second, it will require copper plating first, which is an additional process.
All in all, I would suggest that's a pretty good quote.

[alan57]

It just sounded a lot of money for a number of small parts, I must admit that particular chrome plater did a good job on a Bryan's clock that I had refurbished a number of years ago.

[alan57]

Ok, all the re chroming quotes are now in, ranging from £120 - £530
I will probably go for the one that has done work for me before at £250 all in.
If he makes a good job, it could be a good contact to have if anyone else requires chrome plating in the future.

[widget2k4]

Always people looking for chromer so keep us posted.

[alan57]

Picked up my chromed parts for my Elevenses today, and I am very pleased with the finish.
I can certainly recommend them to anyone who is looking for a chrome plater.

They are -

R+S Electroplating Limited
(Chrome Plating Specialists)
The Smithy
2 Crown Street,
Failsworth,
Manchester,
M35 9BD
Tel: 0161 6834908
sales@rschrome.co.uk
www.rschrome.co.uk

Ask for Mark Bray-Cotton.

Mark informs me that certain alloy metals cannot be chromed, but certainly brass or steel is no problem

[widget2k4]

Thanks for sharing Alan