How do you change the color of the mainbody

[Laser]

of a mag?

Also 1 more question. Is polished and chromed the same thing and if not is there a noticeable difference?


BThttp://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=52099


I am new here and would like to say hello

[personman]

Welcome to AO and what you are looking for is a powdercoat job.
And no, chromed and polished are diffrent, though it is hard to explain.

[Laser]

Thank you personman.

Where do I go for powdercoating? Is the finish smooth, rough etc?

Also I know the polished you can see the sanding marks in bright sunlight, do you see that in chromed?

[Laser]

Alot of people viewing but no responses :mad:

[Dayspring]

They're probably in chat.

[Laser]

Does that keep them from responding?


I am sorry for the newbie questions

[Vegeta]

You could get yourself some nice automotice paint, some glossy clearcoat, paint it, clear coat it, then bake it in an over for a little bit.. looks pretty good, i did it. Would post pics if i had camera.

[petefol]

i think powdercoating is smooth, and a guy named junky here on the boards does powdercoating. you can find the info here http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=48205
i think the difference between a chrome part and a polished part is that a chrome part is just chrome, and a polished part can be a different metal that is just polished untill it is shiny. and if you polish something good enough you shouldnt be able to see any sanding marks.

[Tunaman]

Chrome is actually an Electroplate. Usually all chromed parts get nickel plated first. Nickel tends to yellow a bit and needs to be polished more often then chrome, but chrome tends to chip more, and a polished body will never do that

[spazzed]

So Polish > Chrome.

[Tunaman]

not that its better...its all user preference...Quality Chrome lasts a long time...Ever see those old cars? Some of that chrome is 50 yrs old.:D

[petefol]

oh yeah, i meant to say most chrome stuff is just chrome plated. but i dont like chrome anyway, i remember when i was little i bought a really cool bike that was chrome and they said it wouldnt rust but then it did and since then chrome is no good for me.

[Mossman]

All chrome stuff is chrome plated.

While many people say their mag bodies are chrome plated, they are mostly misinformed.

When you mentioned sand paper marks in the son, thats when someone does a home-job and doesnt get it to the polishing level of say...a truly polished body straight from AGD. For the most part a polished and chromed body wouldnt be distinguishable from more that a few feet if that, and polished is cheaper :P

[Creative Mayhem]

My mag is chrome plated and I'm not misinformed. I sent it to a plater to have it chromed. With mags it's a three step proccess;

1- brass plating because nickle won't stick to stainless

2- nickle plating

3- chrome plating

Because of the layering, expect to add some(very little) thickness to your body.

Polishing is when you sand the body with different grades of sandpaper or emery cloth, usually coarse grade and working your way up to fine grade. This means a lot of repetitive tiring work. Since I'm lazy, I opted to go the plating avenue.

I like the chrome because, if you scratch it and it goes into the plating you can just replate it. With polishing if you scratch it, depending on the depth your in for quite a bit of work to get it out. My mag has been chrome plated for 10years and it looks the same as it did the day I brought it home from the plater's.

As for coloring your body, you can't annodize stainless steel. Your only real route is powdercoating. You can paint it yourself, but it will eventually peel and fade with constant use and abuse.

Hope this helps.

C Mayhem
AKA Purple Wang