Copper Grill Shell

[Bill Sgro]

I am re-chroming my grill shell and it seems to be made of copper not brass.  I believe early in it was replaced (prior to 1987 when I acquired it).

Has anyone heard of aftermarket grill shells being made of copper?  I see now the inexpensive ones are made of steel.

Are there any advantages (other than originality) to the different materials?

[Garry]

I think part of the chroming process that they initially put a coat of copper on it prior to the chrome for adhesion. That may be what you are seeing.  The report bumpers and grills are sometimes being made from stainless steel and have a slightly less depth in the polished look than the chromed ones do.

[114015]

Hello Bill,

The original grill surround is for sure made of brass. I've seen and owned enough ( ) of them.

I do not know, however, what the different repros are, copper, brass or steel. You can easily find out with a magnet ....
I have quite some times tried to get some old original ones rechromed ... and I can tell you, it's always "an experience" again...

My 2 cents are these: You can go and rechrome yours as long as it is in decent shape without (heavy) dents and cracks. But if it has too many of this and especially if the upper (and lower) front nose/tip is damaged - forget it !

It doesn't matter if you go with original or repro - as long as the grill is a decent part and fits your car well before rechroming. This is absolutely mandatory !

And my last 2 cents: If you want to go for perfect look: only a factory new original will do it but there is no guarantee anymore that a new one will fit on your car well.
But if you like to go with a new repro instead, find suitable reference grills on fellow owners cars first efore you buy "the wrong thing". 

I only got (a few) original ones rechromed .... - with very mixed experience.
Let's see how the next one will be.

Good luck,

Achim
(usedgrilleframecollector)

[Benz Dr.]

From what I remember, brass only needs a nickle plating before chrome so I suppose the advantage is lighter thickness of materials once completed.

[paults1]

Had my bumpers & other parts re-chromed by Graves Plating Co.  They use the 3 part process, copper, nickel & then chrome. Really gives a deep shine.  Most pre war cars were done this way.

[Benz Dr.]

On steel yes, on brass no.

[Bill Sgro]

I did have a stress crack on the side and a little wrinkle on the top where it was dinged once and not repaired very well.  I am having it rechromed at Space Coast Plating in Melbourne Florida.  Has anyone used them? 

They repaired the stress crack and removed the wrinkle and the repair looks good, no trace of the crack or the wrinkle. 

They gave it back to me to be fitted to the car before rechroming as I am repainting it also. 

Thanks for the responses! 

[wwheeler]

Dan is right that brass just needs a nickel base for the chrome to stick. I would imagine not having the copper step alone is a cost savings. While brass may cost more by weight, it is far easier to form and can make delicate trim pieces much more consistent.

For a steel sub straight, copper is used to bond to the steel, nickel bonds to the copper and chrome bonds to nickel. The so called "triple plate" chrome (copper/nickel/chrome). The copper is also used as a "filler" and buffed to eliminate small irregularities. Kind of a "bondo" if you will. Buffing the copper on damaged parts is where all the labor cost is to make the parts prefect. All steel parts must have the three components, but the more expensive shops spend time buffing the copper. 

[mercakungen]

Hello,

Only "pot" metal and aluminium alloys (and of course plastic) requires copper before nickel.

The reason for using copper on steel instead of a thick layer of nickel is very simple. The copper is ten times cheaper than nickel and you can use the copper as "bondo" as wwheeler mentioned.

My experience of the factory chrome (steel bumpers):

-61 Karmann Ghia, copper under nickel
-62 MB 190D W110, copper under nickel
-61 MB 220 SEb Coupe, copper under nickel
-69 MB 280 SEb Coupe, no copper at all
-57 Continental MK II, no copper at all
-70 MB 280 SL, copper under nickel

So far I haven´t seen brass parts that have had copper under nickel from the factory.

BR,
Matti