Seat rail disassembly

[Sven]

I was hoping to be able to separate the two halves of the sliding seat rails for refinishing work. But there does not appear to be an obvious way to do this. Were the crimps/stops pressed into the metal after the two pieces (and the roller bearings) were put together? Or am I missing an obvious way that these can be separated?

Thanks,

 

[Henrik]

Hi Sven!

I have tried to separate them, and it can't be done without destroying them.
Recently I electroplated them in one piece with good result.

Henrik

 

[Sven]

Thanks, Henrik. I could try this. Did you simply remove the rust & old plating from the outside of each rail, clean the grease off the insides (where accessible), and then dip/electroplate new finish onto the outsides? Normally when I have electroplated finishes I first suspend the part in an acid bath to remove the old finish and rust. I would not want to use this same preparatory process because I do not want to strip any finish off the interior.

 

[Henrik]

Hi!

I send nearly all screws and hardware to a workshop for electroplating. It's not so important whether it's a little surface rust, oil or grease. Heavy corroded areas and paint must be removed, the acid bath can't match up with that.
It is not advisable to electroplate cast iron, for instance brake calipers. The acid eats
the threads for brake hoses and bleeder and calipers become useless.
It is cheap to galvanize. If you come with a bucket full of bolts, it costs no more than 50-60 USD. It's always a pleasure to get it back in near new condition. Not to mention the joy of fitting it back in the car.

Henrik