Our Vacuum Metalizing Chamber
Your interior chromed parts are not triple chrome plated like a metal bumper is. Vacuum Metalizing is the process of evaporating metals (most commonly aluminum) inside a vacuum chamber to achieve a thin uniform highly reflective metalized layer. Thermal evaporation otherwise known, as vacuum metalizing eliminates the need for caustic dipping tanks that produce heavy metal hazardous waste.
Your original interior parts were vacuum metalized by the factory. They were coated using lacquer paints in a flow coating process, meaning the parts were run on a conveyor line and highly reduced lacquer paint was poured on the part then drip dried. This was effective for mass part runs, but the thickness of the top coat protecting the aluminized surface from oxidation was very thin and as we all know did not hold up over time. We use premium quality UV protected urethane coatings to protect out metalized surfaces. This offers the best wear and age resistant qualities.
The parts are cleaned, stripped and damage is repaired. They are then ready for a base coat application. Great care is taken to preserve the fine details of you dash surface. Fine lines, grain textures and lettering are masked so the base coat does not fill these areas and reduce their sharpness. We bake the part at 160 degrees fahrenheit to fully cure the base coat, This is the surface the aluminum will vaporized on to.
The parts are then placed in the vacuum chamber and all the air is pumped out. Since the vaporizing process is line of sight, some parts needing front and back chroming must be rotated. Once a predetermined vacuum is achieved small aluminum canes are vaporized, and the parts come out looking just like chrome. The aluminum is a vary thin film from 300 to 30,000 Angstroms thick and is protected with our special UV protected urethane top coats.
Once the top coat has cured the colors specific to your part are applied in OEM finishes, lenses are polished and assembled. The parts is now ready for your installation.
