Thread:

Cermachrome

Anybody ever done a block?

I hope you're considering a sunglass's and possibly a sunscreen mod with that upgrade. I've always wanted to go into the dmv, and when the asked what the main color of the boat was just say "chrome".

If you are talking about the original cerramichrome used in aircraft cylinders, its not used any longer do to problems with high wear rates. I found it to work ok on the smaller air cooled N/A Lycomings, but any of the high HP turbo motors cylinder walls just flat wore out in a few hundred hours. The newer Nickle Chrome process is suppose to work better, but I only use old school channel chrome. You have to be very aggressive in breaking the cylinders in during the first 40-60 hrs of run time, but then they wear like hardened tool steel. Last forever and don't rust, which is great for seaplanes that sit in the marine environment. Another problem with the induced carbide type cylinder process, is that once its had a set of rings run on the surface, you can't just do a quick hone to break the glaze and run a new set of rings. You have to start all over again with a new plated cylinder. Old hard chrome will tolerate this. If for some reason I was entertaining the idea of chroming a boat engine block, I would not use anything but hard channel chrome. There are only a very few shops that know how to do this correctly. Its a lost art. To get the correct amount of oiling channels in the surface requires just the rite amount of reversing the current during the plating process. Probably one of the best shops is Harrison's in La Port Indiana.

As far as chrome goes ,I thought chrome weakened the metal, something like hydrogen embrittlement?(sp?)

I was more thinkin the outside of the block....like headers......any reason this cant be done.....dont know much about it.

How hot do they need to heat the parts before they cermacrome them...heard like 1700deg could be way wrong...

Originally Posted by H20MOFO

I hope you're considering a sunglass's and possibly a sunscreen mod with that upgrade. I've always wanted to go into the dmv, and when the asked what the main color of the boat was just say "chrome".

....gota approach the mini skirts from all angles.

400-600 degrees. for an extended perios of time (couple hours)
I just looked into it for my new engine build. But I had already had the boring done.

The powdercoater felt it could distort slighlty. If the block has not been bored/finish honed yet you should be in business.

Looks almost like chrome too, and very durable.

Racer

Originally Posted by Racer52

400-600 degrees. for an extended perios of time (couple hours)
I just looked into it for my new engine build. But I had already had the boring done.

The powdercoater felt it could distort slighlty. If the block has not been bored/finish honed yet you should be in business.

Looks almost like chrome too, and very durable.

Racer

Thanks guys...I was worried about core shift exc.....guess I will give it a go.

Originally Posted by sleekcrafter

You will have to tell them what you don't want coated, such as lifter/cylinder bores, cam bearing, main bearing bores, oil filter/oil galley's.

Good point...think I will bolt parts to it and scribe the lines for them to go to.