Brightwork solutions

[chrisbladen]

Hi, just wandering if any1 has tried any sort of restoration on any of the brightwork themselves?

I understand if its serverly pitted then it needs to be taken to a specialist but i have been quoted £1200 + the dreaded to have the bumpers, door handles, bonnet latches, filler cap etc off my 1500 spitfire restored.

Obviously this is a huge expense and a few of the bits may be more efficient to buy new, but im just looking into the options of doing anything with them myself.

Never looked in to this before so not even sure if it is an option but any advice will be appreciated 

Thanks

[RogerH]

Hi Chris,

if a good cleaning still leaves them tatty then you have done more or less all you can do.

If new parts are of good quality then buy new. If the new parts are 'iffy' then it may be better to get them refurbished.

Have you considered stainless steel bumpers - if they are available.

Have you shopped around for prices. Some plating shops charge interesting prices others charge sensible prices.

I have used a very good Metal Refinishers in Wembly (London). They mainly work on industrial stuff but do classic's as a side line.

The prices are good the quality even gooderer

 

Roger

[chrisbladen]

Thanks for the reply roger. I have tried 4 or 5 that i could find within my region and they all come in around the same price give or take a little bit.

Can i ask what you had that company do and what they charged you, just so i can compare to what i am being quoted?

Things like the exterior door handles for example are expensive to have restored and also expensive to buy new because you have to buy the complete unit. Which i find unusual that nobody supplies just the chrome outer plate as it is easy enough to just replace this bit rather than all the internal workings. A new pair of these costs around £270 when its only the chrome section i need to replace.

[Colin Lindsay]

I know that a lot of Herald stuff is Mazak, which pits heavily and few restorers will touch it - I think bonnet catches and horseshoe trims on the Spitfire go the same way? 

Spitfire door handles have really gone up in price and the best option may be to keep an eye out for really good second hand items. Bumpers can be easily rechromed, as can filler caps and other brightwork but as you say it may cost as much to rechrome as it does to buy new. I've seen everything tried, from silver paint to tin foil, and nothing looks like the original - or as we say over here, good from far and far from good. Even with rechroming, it takes a very good and therefore expensive company to do a proper job, otherwise it will always be marked or dimpled and in some cases you can't even see your reflection.

The original handles were made by a company called Weston Body Hardware (WES) - they're still in operation and you could contact them directly to see if they'll supply the chrome parts only.

http://www.westonbodyhardware.com/our-products/section-b-handles/

[chrisbladen]

3 minutes ago, Colin Lindsay said:

The original handles were made by a company called Weston Body Hardware (WES) - they're still in operation and you could contact them directly to see if they'll supply the chrome parts only.

http://www.westonbodyhardware.com/our-products/section-b-handles/

Thanks colin i will definatly give these a try tommorow, these are located only 30minutes from me aswell 👍

[RogerH]

1 hour ago, chrisbladen said:

Thanks for the reply roger. I have tried 4 or 5 that i could find within my region and they all come in around the same price give or take a little bit.

Can i ask what you had that company do and what they charged you, just so i can compare to what i am being quoted?

Things like the exterior door handles for example are expensive to have restored and also expensive to buy new because you have to buy the complete unit. Which i find unusual that nobody supplies just the chrome outer plate as it is easy enough to just replace this bit rather than all the internal workings. A new pair of these costs around £270 when its only the chrome section i need to replace.

Hi Chris,

I had my bits and pieces done along while ago so prices wouldn't  compare.  However as a comparison the TR4/4A light fitting cast apprx £50 each side.

New ones were not very well made. They are better these days.  The Wembly bunch can refurb the mazak casting. They copper plate and polish back until the corrosion pits are full of copper then they copper/nickel/chrome the whole lot - mirror finish

The bumpers were apprx £250 (mid 90's) but they also straighten all the bends and dings.

Door handles were not expensive. Handle in the shops at the time were the wrong variety and did not have the internal locking capability - Bedford TRuck I understand.

 

Roger 

[ChrisJB]

Chris,

I had the bumpers and quarterlight frames for my GT6 MkIII rechromed last year by Doug Taylor nr Weston-super-Mare, they did a good job.  Total cost was around £900 of which around £720 was the bumpers.  I was fortunate in that I had a selection of decent spare door handles and filler caps come with the car so didn't have to worry about the mazak.  I will have a look at my spare door handles and see how good they are.

[chrisbladen]

55 minutes ago, ChrisJB said:

Chris,

I had the bumpers and quarterlight frames for my GT6 MkIII rechromed last year by Doug Taylor nr Weston-super-Mare, they did a good job.  Total cost was around £900 of which around £720 was the bumpers.  I was fortunate in that I had a selection of decent spare door handles and filler caps come with the car so didn't have to worry about the mazak.  I will have a look at my spare door handles and see how good they are.

Ok mate thanks, appreciate that