C3 Trim Rings Flash Chromed?

[Pat M.]

Greetings everyone. Should NCRS correct C3 trim rings be flash chromed or bare, polished stainless? I can't seem to get a straight answer on this.

Several people in the archives have claimed they were originally flash chromed, and that bare stainless has an incorrect yellowish tint.

Others, including trim ring expert/restorer Rick Miller, insist they were bare stainless, and Rick also says that chroming them would be very difficult.

Rick did a great job repairing 2 rings for me, but they do now appear somewhat yellow, which I'm not crazy about. Yet I'm told chroming them would be difficult and incorrect.

Help! Thanks, Patrick Moresi #45581

[Joe L.]

Re: C3 Trim Rings Flash Chromed?

Patrick------

I agree with Rick. I believe they are polished stainless.

[Pat M.]

Re: C3 Trim Rings Flash Chromed?

Hi Joe. Wow, that kinda surprises me. When I put the bare polished stainless rings on my car, their yellow appearance noticeably clashes with the color of the front bumper and windshield molding. I would've thought they would've all looked similar.

Also, my other original rings appear to be chromed, yet one clearly shows a spot where chrome has been buffed off revealing what appears to be the yellowish stainless below. And I have no reason to believe the previous owner would've gone through the effort of chroming them, based on the condition of other parts of the car.

Short of chroming them, is there anything I could do to minimize the yellowish appearance of the bare stainless?

Thanks for your response and advice, Patrick Moresi #45581

[Joe L.]

Re: C3 Trim Rings Flash Chromed?

Patrick------

I have never seen the "yellowish" appearance that you describe for polished stainless trim rings. The only thing that I know of that will yellow stainless steel is high heat----much higher than these trim rings are ever going to experience.

I have never noted any sort of "plating" peeling off the trim rings. Very often, the edges experience curb damage in which, if they were chromed, the chrome would be "peeled" or "flaked" off. I've never seen it, though.

[Denny J.]

Re: C3 Trim Rings Flash Chromed?

Joe
#3966 and I had a long talk about my 72 trim rings.Flash chrome it is.That yellowish color I think was nickle plating so it can not be Stainless.You cleaned threw the chrome into the nickle and will never get it back. Ebay a set is the only help.But to be certain wait till #3966 chimes in.Denny72

[Terry M.]

Re: C3 Trim Rings Flash Chromed?

I don't remember the trim ring talk Denny -- and I can not claim chemical alterations any longer. My vote is with Joe -- I too doubt they are chromed. Just polished stainless. I can't tell you what the yellowing is from. Stainless steel exhaust will yellow from heat. So will chrome plated pipes -- witness motorcycle pipes -- but as Joe says those are temperatures well above what your trim rings encounter, unless you make a habit of parking next to steel making facilities. I suppose they could yellow if someone tried to cover them with a clear coat of some kind, but that too was not how Chevrolet did it. I have seen some reproduction trim rings that had a yellow cast to them, but other features, including the configuration of the grippers, were not like original.

[Pat M.]

Thanks for the responses...

Terry - these rings are defineately OEM and NOT repos, so that can't explain the yellowing, and they have no clear coating. But whatever the cause, it doesn't look right to me.

I'm going to try to flash chrome one to see how it matches my unrestored rings that have twice passed judging with no deductions. I'll be happy if it's a close match, regardless of whether rings originally came chromed or not.

Patrick Moresi #45581

[Denny J.]

Re: C3 Trim Rings Flash Chromed?

Ok Archives
Denny johnson march 29 2007 #180
Patrick said stainless with a chrome coating not nickle
Judges will be able to tell by the color that the chrome is missing.
4 months ago could be a long time for some. insert funny face here.

[Dick W.]

Re: C3 Trim Rings Flash Chromed?

Several years ago when we had the Corvette parts business we sold the original trim rings and some reproductions from Taiwan. The reproductions had a yellow "cast" when beside the originals. Maybe this style is what you have

[Pat M.]

Re: C3 Trim Rings Flash Chromed?

Dick - I feel certain they are not repos based on various sources, including the recent Restorer article by Rick Miller. These rings have the thin metal double bands around the back edge, with four clips tack welded between the metal bands, and of course one of the clips is situated at the valve stem hole. Repos don't have these features, do they?

[Tracy C.]

Re: C3 Trim Rings Flash Chromed?

Pat,

It is a very rare occasion that I would disagree with Joe or Terry, but I believe your trim ring should be flash chromed.

I've restored alot of stainless trim and know the yellowish tint of polished stainless vs, flash chromed stainless. The effect is VERY noticable on a cloudy day.

I've used Rick Applegate at Areba Services to do the flash chrome. Very reasonable and excellent quality.

Call him at (731) 422-0567 or (731) 499-2325 (cell).

tc

[Pat M.]

Re: C3 Trim Rings Flash Chromed?

Hi Tracy. It sure seems to me that they must have originally been chromed. The yellow tint of bare polished stainless rings is so noticeable, especially in person, and it badly clashes with the silver-blue appearance of unrestored rings, bumpers and windshield molding.

And again, these are OEM rings. Why would they clash with known chromed items, like the bumpers, unless the rings should be chromed as well? And as I said before, on one of my unrestored rings I can see where chrome was worn through revealing the yellow stainless underneath. This all seems pretty persuasive to me.

I found a local chromer to do my rings. He claims he's done a lot before, and based on our discussions I'm pretty confident he can do the appropriate flash job.

But I had gotten Rick Applegate's name and number from the archives and called him as a backup. He referred me to his partner in Adamsville, TN, Dan Kilburn, who I called at (731) 632-0103. Dan said he could easily do the job for a very reasonable charge, if I end up having to use him.

I really appreciate your response. It makes me feel much better knowing that a trim restorer like yourself confirms what I thought to be true.

Regards, Patrick Moresi #45581

[Denny J.]

Re: C3 Trim Rings Flash Chromed?

Tracy
If you need to, use my name if you disagree with joe or 3966 Don't take any "unnessary heat"
But the score is Joe 2 Denny 2

[John M.]

Re: C3 Trim Rings Flash Chromed?

I also agree with Tracy! I have repaired and buffed LOTS of stainless trim, and have found every bit of it to be flash-chromed. I can not speak to C3 rings specifically, as I do not work on C3 cars, but every single bit of original stainless trim on C1 and C2 cars is without a doubt, flash chromed! You have to strip the flash chrome off with acid before you can restore the trim. Failure to do so will yield a part the still has patches of flash chrome showing after buffing, which looks really bad.

Freshly polished stainless looks very good, but does have the slightly yellow cast to it that gets worse as time goes by without some hand polishing. The yellow cast is caused by the nickel content in the stainless, and it does slightly tarnish over time, so you will need to hand polish it to keep it at it's best. GM put the flash chrome on to make a no-maintenance shine to the stainless, and to make it match the chrome plated trim on the car. Rick Applegate has done flash chroming on trim and wheelcovers for me, and it is a real straight forward process. The Chrome can be plated directly on to the freshly polished stainless without the need for a nickel "strike coat" like most plating.

Regards, John McGraw