Hot Rods chrome pricing?

Long time no see

Buick 1958 potmetal parts

 

,,,,,,,,,,,, anybody here in the US have anything more to report? Has several considered "going together" to ship over to Susdzhis,,,,,,,,,,,,,?

 

I was hoping that someone would have stepped up as the Hamb "guinea pig" and gave it a go

 

My 63 Impala (avatar) has had the bumpers, grille, headlight bezels, and all the trim chromed. The cost was over $7,000.00. Definitely not cheap in Nashville, TN. I'm sure sudzhis can get it done cheaper in Latvia. Also not sure about what the shipping costs to Latvia and back would cost.

 

Here's what I want,,, anyone know where to get it or what to ask for when I get there?

A bright plate coating that is corrosion resistant. That's it.

I don't want mirror polished, I don't want perfection, I don't care if the tooling marks show,

 

Unobtanium

 

Thanks, where do I get it?

 

Unfortunately, it's available everywhere.

 

Vicky
Honestly, the only "chrome" coating that I know of that is completely corrosion resistant is plastic chrome plating.

There is this.
http://www.chromefactorylv.com/chroming-process/

 

Wow, from high quality chrome plating to spray on gook
In the words of Seth McFarlane this thread went south in a hurry

 

I don't mean to parse words but "completely corrosion resistant" would be "corrosion proof" and that's another animal all together.

Most of the stuff in my tool box is bright plated and not corrosion latent. That would be plent good enough. Even beat up the stuff still looks more than 1/2 way decent.

Let's say chrome is like diamonds.
These guys are artists and try for Flawless quality jewelry. Rightfully so in some cases.
Some parts get to VS2 or even up to VVS1and are spectacular.
Some cheap parts come out of the box in I2 or I3 and do fine in most cases.
I just want diamonds that get up and go to work.


I'm not looking for diamond bling on cubic zirconia price either.

 

I've had lots of small parts plated with white zinc. Basically the same stuff that hardware store bolts are plated with. It will have the same surface quality that you supply to the plater (all your parts should be absolutely clean and bare when given to the plater). It's been a decade since I did some, but it used to cost $65 for a five gallon bucket of parts. There is a plater in Des Moines near me called Barrett Plating. Probably somebody in every bigger city.

 

Does it turn grey and fuzzy like the "bright plated" hardware store bolts do?

 

Not yet, but those parts don't live outdoors everyday.

 

Last year Sudzhis & I chatted back & forth re plating.
I think he's a great guy & does excellent work---
Here's what I found: Two problems---
1) Shipping from California is REALLY expensive,
and of course, you have to have it shipped back.
2) Should something get lost in-transit (either way),
recourse is limited; IE, insurance, etc., for parts that
may or may not be easily replaced.
Jim
In thinking about this a bit more, If, BIG If, a few fellows that didn't have a firm timeline got together and sent some stuff to Sudzhis, it might work out well for all parties.
If the shipping weren't so high, I would have gone with him in a heart-beat
Hope you're doing well, Sudzhis
Regards
Jim

 

Wonder if you could use that stuff that they wrap cars with. and just do it in Chrome finish and shrink it on your bumpers?

 

Looking at photos of his work it appears world class to me but I dont recall hearing from anyone actually pulling the trigger, just talk. You know, there are quite a number of HIGHLY rated chrome shops here in the good ol USA, sure, not cheap, but why would someone risk having their rare parts mysteriously dissapear in the middle of the Atlantic to save some money.
I don't think I would be sending my parts any further than I'd be willing to drive to go retrieve them.

 

Hi for all! Ohh, lot of answers. Since i thinked that this tread is dead, i stopped monitoring on it
Yes yes yes, this shipping problem is main problem. I am sure that it is not so hard to find some way to do it for normal price, but i have no time for searching....e

by the way, some images from some chrome jobs,..

 

For Caddy 59 as u see on photos from bumpers inner side photos- there was no place alive, they are like cheese with so many holes. Basic metal and our metal was 50%/50%

 

Wow !!

 

Just have the plater do a straight plate, no polish. A big part of the cost of the type of plating most want is the hand work involved to get a nice polish.

 

Yeah, you'd think that would be a no brainer right?
They won't do it!!

I was Doing a few small things on my Dads 100% original bike a true virgin .
I needed the front fender guard bumper trim rechromed, it's one year only piece. I wanted it to look like the factory, so it would match---not show polished perfection.
They wouldn't do it my way.

 

Because just like a painter spraying over someone else's work it is a reflection on their shop. So no matter what you tell someone about what you asked for the average person is going to think the plater does Shit work if they see scratches, flaws etc showing through the plating. If I owned a chrome ship there is no way I would risk my reputation on half assed work regardless of whether it's what the customer wants or not.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I 100% completely understand that, SOOO true.
Obviously what I'm looking for doesn't come from a show chrome plating shop.
Some other kind of plater but not that type. Obviously if you need a dumpster painted you wouldn't look up Foose to do it, right?
A few posts back I asked where should I go and what should I ask for to get a bright corrosion resistant coating.

 

I have a lot of parts including bumpers, grille teeth etc that I would like to get done but the chrome process in our country has become ridiculously cost prohibitive. As others have said here, it is the governmental regulations more than our hard working chrome shop owners and workers.
In this day and age of new progressive coatings, what is available for bumpers etc that will look decent and possibly keep the 50's style of the big shiny chrome look we are all after?
There has to be someone in our community who has an option . Let's here it!

 

See the springs?
See the inside of the springs?
Is that "Corrosion resistant Bright plating"?
That's what I want.

It's obvious nobody prepped and polished and fussed over the insides

 

Sorry, but a mirror polish with no tooling marks is more corrosion resistant. Corosion is little elecctrolytic cells that form in imperfections in the surface. Plate the most polished surface possible and keep it coated with a good wax film = best corrosion resistance possible.

 

You're thinking high visibility and easy access

 

Vicky
I think I posted this on one of the chrome threads, hard to rememher, there are a few.

The inside of those springs looks a lot like the stuff I had done in electroless nickle.
A lot of the time regular nickle is brighter but I pre brushed these parts and requested a satin finish. I specifically wanted the "understated look".
It is corrosion resistant but not corrosion proof, considering it was a quarter of the cost of chrome, I'm good.