09-20-2012, 12:18 AM
I think I should clarify what my beef is with the plating on Scott radios. Scott, as everyone knows, was a high end brand with prices to match, in fact they touted themselves to be the best. There is an old adage something to the effect that to that much who is given that much more is to be expected, so why is it unreasonable to expect that a high priced radio should be made to a higher standard.
Flash chrome plating is a quick and cheap method of chrome plating, it means that they polished the bare steel and chrome plated right over it, it's the sort of thing that was done with cheap bicycle parts. Auto parts, even those dating back to the 1920s and 30s, used a different method often called triple chrome plating. Triple plating means that a object is first plated with copper, one or more times, polished, then plated with nickel one or more times, polished again, and then finally plated with chromium.
Even the cheapest cars of those days had triple plated bumpers, the reason being is that chrome is porous and that it would rust through and bubble off in no time if they did not. I do not have any car parts from the 1920s or 30s but I have some of the 1940s, the chrome may be dull, may have rust spots, but it is still mostly intact, and these were from vehicles that were left in back yards and fields.
The people that purchased Scotts expected, and rightly so, that they would receive the sort of high end product that they thought they paid for. The chassis were indeed meant to be displayed, I haven't seen a stock Scott cabinet yet that did not have a hinged top to show off the workings, so I think this was part of what closed the sale. Most of these Scotts cost more then the average Ford, Plymouth, or Chevrolet from that era yet the quality of the plating was inferior to that used on the cars or to that used by their arch rival, McMurdo Silver. So why did a company boasting about how much better their products were use a standard of plating quality akin to that of cheap bicycle parts made in Hong Kong? If they had had these chassis cadmium or copper plated they would have fared better.
In any event this is why I warn people who are interested in these sets that unless they find a real bargain it's best to get one with the chrome in the best condition possible for the money, if you can get a chassis and cabinet like this for under $500 (for example) then you have plenty of head room for spending money on rechroming, if you see something in this condition for $1200 or more RUN AWAY and find something better!
Regards
Arran
Flash chrome plating is a quick and cheap method of chrome plating, it means that they polished the bare steel and chrome plated right over it, it's the sort of thing that was done with cheap bicycle parts. Auto parts, even those dating back to the 1920s and 30s, used a different method often called triple chrome plating. Triple plating means that a object is first plated with copper, one or more times, polished, then plated with nickel one or more times, polished again, and then finally plated with chromium.
Even the cheapest cars of those days had triple plated bumpers, the reason being is that chrome is porous and that it would rust through and bubble off in no time if they did not. I do not have any car parts from the 1920s or 30s but I have some of the 1940s, the chrome may be dull, may have rust spots, but it is still mostly intact, and these were from vehicles that were left in back yards and fields.
The people that purchased Scotts expected, and rightly so, that they would receive the sort of high end product that they thought they paid for. The chassis were indeed meant to be displayed, I haven't seen a stock Scott cabinet yet that did not have a hinged top to show off the workings, so I think this was part of what closed the sale. Most of these Scotts cost more then the average Ford, Plymouth, or Chevrolet from that era yet the quality of the plating was inferior to that used on the cars or to that used by their arch rival, McMurdo Silver. So why did a company boasting about how much better their products were use a standard of plating quality akin to that of cheap bicycle parts made in Hong Kong? If they had had these chassis cadmium or copper plated they would have fared better.
In any event this is why I warn people who are interested in these sets that unless they find a real bargain it's best to get one with the chrome in the best condition possible for the money, if you can get a chassis and cabinet like this for under $500 (for example) then you have plenty of head room for spending money on rechroming, if you see something in this condition for $1200 or more RUN AWAY and find something better!
Regards
Arran
