I am going to be replacing the windshield hinges, upper and lower door
hinges, and hood hinges on my 2006 Wrangler X (just to prevent rust in
the future). I am torn between getting the 304 stainless steel with
the high polished mirror finish or the black chrome finish over the
304 stainless steel. My jeep is the Midnight Blue metallic (navy
blue) color. Which one would look better? I also am going to be
putting on nerf bars (preferably stainless) and would also like to
install the euro guard headlight/side marker/parking/tail light guards
but I am not sure which color of these yet (depends on the color of
all the hinges). Anyone have any suggestions or know anything about
the black chrome (i.e. does it flake, chip, peel, etc.)? Any comments
would be greatly appreciated. THANKS

I did that on my 1995 Wrangler when it was new. OK, the stainless doesn't
rust but that isn't why we do this sort of thing, now is it? The door and
windshield hinges are a sob to get adjusted right, and if you get the cheap
ones (any brand but Kentrol) you are going to be sorry. If you put Steel
Horse parts of any description on your Jeep you are going to be real sorry.
Stainless scratches if you touch it and then you make it look worse when you
try to polish it. The bolts that these parts tend to come with are a joke.
Go to your local Ace Hardware store and get some hex head cap screws in
stainless. You will love them. Much better than the Allen head joke screws
you get with stainless parts.

There is no such thing as "black chrome". The black hinges and such are
powder coated. This stuff chips and comes off unless it is primed right at
the factory, and sometimes even then.

Good luck.

Earle

"Tracie" <brainart (AT) upstate (DOT) edu> wrote

On Tue, 10 Apr 2007 12:03:59 -0600, "Earle Horton"
<apodo (AT) gracioso (DOT) usa> wrote:


It takes more than a touch to scratch it as it is pretty tuff and it
is not hard to polish out scratches if you do it right. You just need
the right method and compound.
-----------------
TheSnoMan.com

On Apr 10, 2:40 pm, SnoMan <a... (AT) snoman (DOT) com> wrote:
I have heard of Kentrol. They are supposed to be good. Anybody know
anything about Rugged Ridge stainless hinges?

Tracie wrote:
There are some 'real' bad suppliers of 'stainless' out there. The worst
was 'stealhorse' which had to dump the name and farm out under new names
because no one would buy their products anymore. Their 'stainless' came
rusted right in the package, literally, as I have seen a few.

I don't know what names they are trying to sucker people under these
days unfortunately, maybe others do?

Kentrol is known for stainless that lasts.

If you plan on off roading, plan on your hinges getting scratched. They
are the last place a branch hooks up on as it slides past your hood.
Snoman doesn't off road so he has no experience with 'custom pin
striping' on his J10 snowplow. LOL!

I have never seen any coatings that would stay on stainless over time.
They all chip off. Not saying some newer stuff might not stick, but...

If I ever get more money than I know what to do with, after I put a new
frame in my CJ7 Laredo, I might go with stainless hinges to match my
chrome and stainless 'Laredo' package.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view!
Jan/06 http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...?id=2115147590
(More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

On Tue, 10 Apr 2007 15:54:52 -0400, Mike Romain <romainm (AT) sympatico (DOT) ca>
wrote:


The alloy SS it is play a big roll in quality too. I would ask them
what alloy they are using because some SS alloys are not good for
this. (they use them because it is easier to machine)
-----------------
TheSnoMan.com

"SnoMan" <admin (AT) snoman (DOT) com> wrote

Heh, unless you're a metallurgist what they tell you will be meaningless.
There is of course a compromise between durability and machine-ability.
Watch out for "chrome" parts too. Chrome plating is a different process
than stainless. Are there lots of stainless and chromed J-10 parts
available?

Saludos,

Earle

In article <461beb7a$0$22696$9a6e19ea (AT) unlimited (DOT) newshosting.com>,
romainm (AT) sympatico (DOT) ca says...
You want to look for 304 stainless. Most other grades have to much
carbon.

Don't bother painting stainless... IMO it seems pointless even if you do
get it to stick.

On Tue, 10 Apr 2007 20:25:09 -0400, Heatwave
<m3lt1ng5n0wmen (AT) wah00 (DOT) com> wrote:

hi all,
304 SS is also known as muffler stainless, it isn't a high grade of
stainless steel, it is pretty soft (as SS goes), it is easily machined
(especially with an L alloyed in) or formed / bent. corrosion
resistance (penetration resistance) is pretty good but for cosmetic
applications it won't hold a high polish or resist scratches.

most u.s. built cars / trucks with SS exhaust systems use 304 SS.

it will not however red rust or white corrode which would already be a
big improvement over the hinges and mirror brackets on my TJ.

reboot


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On Tue, 10 Apr 2007 16:41:11 -0600, "Earle Horton"
<apodo (AT) gracioso (DOT) usa> wrote:


Not if you know how to look alloys up because you can find out in a
few minute or less on internt for ANY alloy or any metal. I used to
know the major alloys but I would have to look them up to. (I still
remember some steel and aluminum ones though)
-----------------
TheSnoMan.com