Removing blemishes from bar

Michael Breid · Post by **Michael Breid** » 3 Sep 2022 2:34 pm

I recently purchased a Lap Dawg dobro bar and noticed some tiny blemishes in the bottom side of the bar which touches the strings. The bar is chrome plated brass. Is there any way to fine sand and buff these blemishes out and get a smooth bar? I can feel the roughness when I play and would like to take care of it. I'm at mbreid@cox.net Thanks.

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 3 Sep 2022 3:33 pm

No, I defer to the experts here but I don't think there's anything you can do with hard chrome plate without messing it up. I did that once on an old Stevens bar. I got it smoothed out but it took the chrome off down to the brass.

I don't know for sure, but it might be possible to have it re-plated, at what prep and cost I wouldn't know.

Paul Redmond · Post by **Paul Redmond** » 13 Sep 2022 12:00 pm

The chrome can be removed with muriatic acid (available at most hardware stores). Then the brass can be reworked. When complete, take it to a competent plating shop that uses the "triple" plating process....copper, nickel, then chrome. Remember hard chrome is hexavalent cromium....if you saw the movie Erin Brockovich, you learned a lot about the stuff. It's nothing to mess with, so after stripping, dispose of the fluid safely.
PRR

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 13 Sep 2022 12:41 pm

Rather than going to all that trouble, I'd just invest in another bar.

Erv

Carl Gallagher · Post by **Carl Gallagher** » 13 Sep 2022 12:58 pm

Try some 0000 steel wool and or some 800 to 1200 grit emery paper.

Mark Eaton · Post by **Mark Eaton** » 13 Sep 2022 1:07 pm

Paul Redmond wrote:The chrome can be removed with muriatic acid (available at most hardware stores). Then the brass can be reworked. When complete, take it to a competent plating shop that uses the "triple" plating process....copper, nickel, then chrome. Remember hard chrome is hexavalent cromium....if you saw the movie Erin Brockovich, you learned a lot about the stuff. It's nothing to mess with, so after stripping, dispose of the fluid safely.
PRR

Piggybacking on what Erv wrote - the Lap Dawg goes for around 27 bucks. Along with going through all the trouble then having a shop re-plate the bar, what would something like this cost?

I have multiple high end bars where the retail is $80-$100 these days. Getting those re-plated might make sense depending on the cost.

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 13 Sep 2022 1:21 pm

Of all the years I've been playing, I never had a bar go bad.

Erv

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 13 Sep 2022 3:54 pm

Erv Niehaus wrote:Of all the years I've been playing, I never had a bar go bad.
Erv

There's always a first time, Erv. Like when two farmers were talking, and one of them told the other that his horse died. The other farmer turned and said..."Did he ever do that before?"

Paul Redmond · Post by **Paul Redmond** » 13 Sep 2022 6:10 pm

Back in 1985, I made up several 15/16" bars of S-7 tool steel, had them hardened to 54/56 Rockwell C, then ground them on my Harig head. I then polished them in a lathe and took them to my plater who put .0009"/.0010" of hard chrome per side directly on the steel....no copper or nickel. I'm still using those bars and they don't look any different than they did back then. ebb has one of those bars complete with a sitar flat. It didn't cost much to make the bars back then as I already had the steel in stock and just sent them out with the rest of my regular heat-treating. Today they'd probably cost over $100.00 each to make.
PRR