blower vent cowl's

mdidomenico · October 17, 2018, 03:15:02 PM

has anyone had their blower vent cowlings re chromed or polished up. not sure what the coat is on mine, but they're looking a little ragged. the silver is coming off where the hose attaches and the part above the deck is a little pitted. i was going to take them to a metal re-finishing place here in NJ, but it's a shot in the dark since i've never had to do this before. any suggestions welcome.

i looked at just getting new ones. which are cheap at $40 each, but the bottom plates of the new ones are all plastic, which i don't like.

Roc · October 18, 2018, 05:02:30 AM

I'm in NJ and would like to do the same thing! I understand, however, that to re-chrome something is very expensive. Probably several hundred to do those two little cowl vents. I never investigated it but would be interested in what you find.

Jim Hardesty · October 18, 2018, 06:13:08 AM

I wonder if anyone has tried painting them, white or chrome paint. Think paint would last for years.
Jim

Stu Jackson · October 18, 2018, 07:06:07 AM

I used to polish them up. Then the Admiral said, "Why bother?" They are now dull, but still solid. Nothing wrong with plastic if it's thick enough.

mdidomenico · October 18, 2018, 08:10:15 AM

Quote from: Stu Jackson on October 18, 2018, 07:06:07 AM
I used to polish them up. Then the Admiral said, "Why bother?" They are now dull, but still solid. Nothing wrong with plastic if it's thick enough.

my aren't just dull though, they have like pock marks, which is pretty unsightly. i'll try to post a picture

mdidomenico · October 18, 2018, 08:11:50 AM

Quote from: Roc on October 18, 2018, 05:02:30 AM
I'm in NJ and would like to do the same thing! I understand, however, that to re-chrome something is very expensive. Probably several hundred to do those two little cowl vents. I never investigated it but would be interested in what you find.

yeah, that's what i'm afraid of. there's a place in asbury park that looks like they have walk-in's on saturday's. i was going to stop and check it out. if it's going to cost more then $100, it's probably not worth it. at which point i'll try to fix it myself either through polish or paint. worst case if it looks terrible i'll replace them

Ron Hill · October 18, 2018, 02:31:47 PM

mdid : Sometime cadmium plating or galvanizing might be cheaper than chrome.

A thought

Freedom · October 20, 2018, 10:54:08 AM

My cowl vents we're looking really shabby for years so I finally took them off and took them to a chrome shop that specializes in mostly hotrod and Harley chrome. They did the set for $80 and it was totally worth it, they look brand new now. The only issue I have is that I was unable to re-attach the hose to the underside of the cowl vent, I simply cannot reach the underside of the cowl vent where the hose attaches. Any suggestions?

I have a 93 M1.5

Jim Hardesty · October 20, 2018, 12:43:18 PM

QuoteI simply cannot reach the underside of the cowl vent where the hose attaches. Any suggestions?

Can you feed the hose through the hole, attach it outside the boat, then put the vent on with the hose already attached.
Jim

Freedom · October 22, 2018, 05:15:29 PM

Thats what I was hoping but that was a no go. The flex hose with clamp is bigger that the hole, there is very little clearance when putting the cowl back in the hole.

Dave

Jim Hardesty · October 23, 2018, 05:05:53 AM

QuoteThe flex hose with clamp is bigger that the hole

Can you use a little tape, good duct tape or electircal tape. Or try to borrow a Clamptite tool. I bought one at a boat show a few years ago and find a use for it a couple of times a year. FWIW not to replace hose clamps. Should be fine for blower hose.

https://clamptitetools.com/

Jim

paule · November 04, 2018, 08:59:17 AM

Go to your local sign shop and see if the have a piece of chrome wrap or or some silver vinyl that you can
buy and cover them with that.

Roc · November 05, 2018, 05:27:55 AM

mdid: Did you go to the place in Asbury Park? Wondering what the fee is....

mdidomenico · November 05, 2018, 06:15:16 AM

Quote from: Roc on November 05, 2018, 05:27:55 AM
mdid: Did you go to the place in Asbury Park? Wondering what the fee is....

No, sorry, i haven't been yet. Things got in the way.

mdidomenico · May 12, 2019, 07:43:46 AM

Just an update, i finally made it up to the chrome place and dropped off my parts. i elected to just have them strip the chrome/nickel off and not have them rechromed. the pitting is a little more then i expected, but a quick push through the buffer wheel seems like they'll clean up good. here's pics just after the stripping. the fuel vent has about 5mins of polishing done