Hot Rods I guess I am living in the 80’s (chrome prices)

I did a 56 chevy, bodywork and paint. It's a 4dr hardtop. The owner sent 72 pieces of stainless and about ten pieces to have chromed and polished. It came back and he said...guess how much? This was 4 years ago. I said $3800? He said No. $9800.

 

The 1980s were 40 years ago...

 

I can only add “You ain’t no orphan “
Got the wife’s 56 Chev bumpers and bright ware done nearly 20 years ago and nowadays I don’t see chrome being in any part of my life.

 

This is the reason I’m painting my stuff. P. O. Painted most of it black, I’m going back silver metallic. It won’t look like chrome, but won’t cost like it, either.

 

Yep, I went to the variable power supply to control applications rates, if I slowed it down I got a better surface finish. I also had to base with copper to get nickel to apply evenly. Tested with different sugars in the solution and got a better surface finish - allowed for smaller particle transfer.

Did zinc at a slow rate and it polished up nicely.

Plated a lot of bolts with actual nickels 75% copper 25% nickel. Goes on in one pass and comes out blackish, but it's tough, easy, cheap.

All of that nothing, the finish was shiny, but not chrome shiny. Big parts are MUCH more difficult to get an even application.

 

Compared to chrome cost, what's it take to fab a bumper out of stainless, metal finish perfectly and polish it ?

 

I like shiny stuff on my car. Whenever I purchased new parts, I always chose the chrome or polished stainless ones because they would be a whole lot cheaper than sending them to the platers. The handmade parts I sent out for plating.

 

Just got my parts back from A&T Plating here in California and I'm impressed by their prices and quality of work on my '54 Ford parts. Here's a rundown:
Bumpers - $425 ea
Bumper guards - $85 ea
Hood ornament - $200
Backup lights- $200 ea

It seems the smaller parts cost more than the bigger ones. Their prices are pretty competitive. Call 'em for a quote. It may be worth it to ship the valve covers out here. Oh yeah.........turn around time from the day I brought them in, to the day I picked them up...........23 days!
https://www.atbumpers.com/

 

This is why I don’t need nice paint. I’m good with decent paint and driver quality old original chrome. Last time I checked on getting just a bumper chromed about 15 years ago, it was about $1000 including the three pieces and bumper guards on my 52 Chevy. I’m also stuck in the 80’s when it comes to what I think chrome is worth (at least to me). There are a lot of other things I would rather spend my money on with my limited toy budget right now.

 

This is the chrome on my chassis. The only things that went to the platers were the nerf bars.

 

And it looks like they haven’t returned yet! LOL

 

yo @Roothawg , I will text Chrome Troy (my shiny connection) in the AM and see how much he would charge to dip 'em. Send me a pic of the covers and I will get a price. I have a ton of stuff plated at his shop, he takes care of me and my cash. I can guarantee it is cheaper than what you were quoted even with the shipping expense.

 

I really don't begrudge a man trying to get paid for his hard and skillfull work. I'll gladly pay a man to do what I won't. What I don't understand is, When a plater passes on his EPA (tax) burden, which is a big chunk of this cost, where exactly does that tax money go? Are the feds magically pumping those dollars into a chromium contaminated ground water purification machine? Or maybe a chrome waste reclamation/fairy dust transformer? How does jacking this cost into oblivion improve the environment? If the answer is it doesn't, then all I can conclude is, Uncle is really just trying to eliminate all chrome plating, so they can tell half of the public what a great job they're doing making us all safer....

 

I was understanding the cost to stay EPA compliant was mainly in the proper disposal and monitoring of the equipment needed, additional paperwork etc. I/e a company has x amount of products, records have to be maintained for what is on site and what has been disposed of. I’d imagine the places that take the disposal charge a hefty price. I could ramble about the semiconductor industry from the mid 80’s and what I saw and the destruction of the environment it caused, right in the heart of the Silicon Valley.
Let’s just say digging a hole in the back yard and dumping your used motor oil in it pales in comparison.
Since it doesn’t pertain to this site, I’d gladly tell anyone my “Erin Brockawich?” tales in a PM.

 

Not long ago I had to modify a very rare front bumper for a very rare car to make it look like the 1 of 2 original bumper made that way (his was missing) I spent about 40 hours modifying the bumper and polishing it because it was cheaper and better quality than what the chrome shop was going to charge for it.

 

Thanks Billy. I’ll try and brave the ice and wander out to the shop today and snap a pic.

 

There is a chrome plating shop in Chicopee, Mass. that does a lot of plating for cars that are shown in Pebble Beach. The quality is what you would expect, but you pay for it. I just had him strip the chrome from some old Stromberg 97 carbs, and he treated me very fairly. He was just happy to do something that wasn't as labor intensive as most of his work is.

 

A few weeks ago I saw a 55 Chevy on a gas station lift with a chrome stock rear end. I had to stop and take a look. The car belong to a kid that work at the gas station changing tires, doing oil changes, and installing battery's (that is all that the gas station did for mechanical work). He said that he pulled it out of a car in a junk yard and paid 75 dollars for it. It was one of those big Pick and Pay junk yards located in PA off of 81. It must of been good chrome and that there is still stuff out there, just got to find it.

 

X2. There is no question that the EPA compliance standards raised the cost of doing business for platers. But, really, why should it have? The regulations only required what should have been done in the first place-record keeping, proper disposal of the chemicals and waste, keeping the air and water safe for our families. Who is against that? The true fact is that plating costs were too low because improper procedures were taking place.

 

I’m heading to bed but where do you think the spent chemicals were disposed of before regulations were enacted?

 

I figured the prices went up, but was just surprised to see how much. With that said this was for triple plating, nickel, copper , chrome. The way it used to be done.

And I realize the 80’s was 40 years ago…..I just don’t like to think about it. I graduated in 1986, but, I like to refer to it as “the other day.”

 

On the ground, into the drains, 55 gallons drums out on the wetlands? Out of sight, out of mind. Sleep well.

 

I blasted the covers this morning. One has a little corrosion on it, so I may have to find a single or just paint them.

 

And painters tape…..

 

Some Hildebrandt aluminum covers may actually be cheaper than chroming the stock steel covers.

 

They are nice, but the repops are not as nice as the originals. The molds are worn smooth out. Caddy stuff is stupid expensive.

 

So is chrome we've discovered. Tomato, tomahto.

I didn't realize those Hildebrandts were repros. I thought Mark was a purist.