68 Door Vent Chrome

[hemi-ed]

Has anyone had the chrome piece that sits on top of the door that holds the vent window rechromed?  I had pulled the unit from the door before and found that there are two pieces; the chrome piece and the  aluminum piece that the side window slides up and down in.  Do they need to be separated before having it rechromed?  By the looks of how they are attached, it appears that I may not get them attached again.  Can anyone suggest what to do?

[Dino]

Most chrome shops will tell you to remove anything you do not want chromed.  I have had an item chromed that had aluminum brackets riveted to and after cleaning they simply masked it, but that was a long time ago and the guy owed me.   

I think it's best to all the shop you plan on using and ask.  Seeing that it's an aluminum guide, I wouldn't have a problem that it had a coat of chrome on it.  You'll never see it.

Y3chargerrt had his vent windows chromed and I'm pretty sure they were disassembled at the chrome shop, shoot him a pm.

[stripedelete]

Use the search function.  There are some great how-to's on how to disassemble and re-attach.   The one I followed made it a piece-of-cake. 

[bill440rt]

How's this one? 
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,38431.0.html

The channel is not made of aluminum, but galvanized steel.
It is held in place to the main frame by peened over nubs. The only way to separate is to grind down the nubs, and then use the other nubs that are not peened over to reattach. They can be VERY tricky to reattach, and you can dimple the pot metal very easily if you are not careful reassembling it.
For this job, my chrome plater did not separate the two pieces. Once assembled, you can barely see the channel so I was OK with it.
The vertical channel can be separated by a screw up top, and rivets at the bottom.

[DC_1]

I took mine apart and rechromed them

[stripedelete]

How's this one? 
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,38431.0.html

The channel is not made of aluminum, but galvanized steel.
It is held in place to the main frame by peened over nubs. The only way to separate is to grind down the nubs, and then use the other nubs that are not peened over to reattach. They can be VERY tricky to reattach, and you can dimple the pot metal very easily if you are not careful reassembling it.
For this job, my chrome plater did not separate the two pieces. Once assembled, you can barely see the channel so I was OK with it.
The vertical channel can be separated by a screw up top, and rivets at the bottom.

And that's the one!

[fy469rtse]

I separated mine, the vertical piece that the window guide slides up and down is stainless steel , just separate this piece , it just usually needs to be polished, the guys are right no one will see inner frame chromed plated, much easier to do it this way

[hemi-ed]

How's this one? 
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,38431.0.html

The channel is not made of aluminum, but galvanized steel.
It is held in place to the main frame by peened over nubs. The only way to separate is to grind down the nubs, and then use the other nubs that are not peened over to reattach. They can be VERY tricky to reattach, and you can dimple the pot metal very easily if you are not careful reassembling it.
For this job, my chrome plater did not separate the two pieces. Once assembled, you can barely see the channel so I was OK with it.
The vertical channel can be separated by a screw up top, and rivets at the bottom.

And that's the one!

Thanks guys.  That's the problem like Bill440RT said, the pot metal piece that needs to be rechromed is attached to the galvanized steel which is held together by the two peened over nubs.  Like he said: you can grind down the nubs to separate the pieces but reattaching is the problem.  There are two other nubs to peen over and I am not sure I will be able to reattach properly.  Has anyone tried to peen those other two nubs with success?   It looks tricky to me.

[DC_1]

  Has anyone tried to peen those other two nubs with success?   It looks tricky to me.

Yes.....look 3/4 of the way down on this thread.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,28517.25.html

[hemi-ed]

I took mine apart and rechromed them

Hi DC1,

How did you reattach the galvanized steel to the pot metal?  Any suggestions on how to peen over those nubs?  I see you ripped everything apart.  I am afraid that pot metal will not hold up.  Did you use a chisel to or just a hammer or what to peen it over?

[DC_1]

I don't have any pics but I used Fusor panel adhesive http://www.lord.com/products-and-solutions/adhesives/automotive-repair-adhesives/product.xml/289

I also used a press and a punch I made that had a cross in it. I pressed (peened) over the one dowel that was not ground down during the disassembly.

After that and applying the panel adhesive I clamped it together over night.....It will never come apart.

[Charger-Bodie]

I don't have any pics but I used Fusor panel adhesive http://www.lord.com/products-and-solutions/adhesives/automotive-repair-adhesives/product.xml/289

I also used a press and a punch I made that had a cross in it. I pressed (peened) over the one dowel that was not ground down during the disassembly.

After that and applying the panel adhesive I clamped it together over night.....It will never come apart.

I also used panel bond on mine after rechrome. I used the 3m Panel bond though. Worked great.

[Dmichels]

I seperted mine. As said above there are 2 sets of tabs one set is usally unused. I did not grind the tabs. I carfully punched the tab threw the channel so I could restake it. . This left a fresh tab and a once used one. I used a dull chisel to restake the tabs. Backed everything up with a 1/2 inch sheet of hard rubber. I was concerned that I may screw things up but it went well. Panel glue will work fine as well. Once everything is bolted in place there is not much stress. Take your time and you will do a fine job.

[bill440rt]

x3 on the panel bond adhesive, I as well used 3M.

I also peened over the nubs, using a dull chisel. You NEED to properly support the pot metal frame when peening over the nubs. I used a metal body dolly with a hard rubber squeegee taped to it. This gave a firm surface for support, but soft so not to mar the chrome. DO NOT USE A BLOCK OF WOOD! Wood is too soft, and will allow the pot metal to "give" and you will be left with dimples on the other side which are visible when the door is opened. Don't ask me how I know, I just do.   
Peening them over carefully combined with the body panel adhesive is a solid repair. Just make sure you sand/scuff the mating surfaces to the the adhesive something to bite into. 

[hemi-ed]

Thanks guys.  That's what I needed to know that the pot metal can be peened back again.

[hemi-ed]

 

  Has anyone tried to peen those other two nubs with success?   It looks tricky to me.

Yes.....look 3/4 of the way down on this thread.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,28517.25.html

If a picture is worth a thousand words then a thousand pictures are worth millions  .  Thanks for the pics.  Where did you get the replacement springs that I see?  I always have a problem finding springs.  I also see that you drilled and tapped a hole in that pot metal then used a screw to attach.

[DC_1]

  Has anyone tried to peen those other two nubs with success?   It looks tricky to me.

Yes.....look 3/4 of the way down on this thread.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,28517.25.html

If a picture is worth a thousand words then a thousand pictures are worth millions  .  Thanks for the pics.  Where did you get the replacement springs that I see?  I always have a problem finding springs.  I also see that you drilled and tapped a hole in that pot metal then used a screw to attach.

That thread was put up by a member that hasn't been around much lately. Not sure where he got the spring. Does he not say in the write up? He was always good about giving suppliers and sources he used for parts.....Also, keep in mind when he did some of his restoration threads back in 2008 there may not have been the same amount of repop parts that are currently available.

[stripedelete]

  Has anyone tried to peen those other two nubs with success?   It looks tricky to me.

Yes.....look 3/4 of the way down on this thread.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,28517.25.html

If a picture is worth a thousand words then a thousand pictures are worth millions  .  Thanks for the pics.  Where did you get the replacement springs that I see?  I always have a problem finding springs.  I also see that you drilled and tapped a hole in that pot metal then used a screw to attach.

It might be Shakey, or another thread, were they mention going to Home Depot and findng something pretty close on a hardware drawer.

[DC_1]

 Has anyone tried to peen those other two nubs with success?   It looks tricky to me.

Yes.....look 3/4 of the way down on this thread.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,28517.25.html

If a picture is worth a thousand words then a thousand pictures are worth millions  .  Thanks for the pics.  Where did you get the replacement springs that I see?  I always have a problem finding springs.  I also see that you drilled and tapped a hole in that pot metal then used a screw to attach.

It might be Shakey, or another thread, were they mention going to Home Depot and findng something pretty close on a hardware drawer.

Yep, Shakey mentions where he got the spring

My Father-in-Law had a miscellanous box of springs at the farm and we were lucky enough to find a couple of pairs that we could work with.  We chose the slighly more robust pair on the left (last photo) and had to cut them a bit shorter and re-loop one end.  It seemed to work out pretty good.