Technical Chrome plating on the cheap

I used to work at a chrome shop. We had a couple customers who really knew their stuff and would pre-prep some things, but generally they were doing something custom or fitting it to the car, not trying to save money on the prep work.

Other people would bring in stuff they had worked on ahead of time and we would end up charging them more because first we had to undo whatever they had done and it was more work in the end.

I would talk to your chrome shop first before attempting any of that. If they're cool with you doing some work on it, then go for it. But depending on the shop, they might want to do it all themselves, or end up charging more if someone else has already been messing with it.

Yes, prep time is expensive, but a good chrome shop can strip a bumper guard and prep it ready for the first copper plating bath in an hour or less, the real work starts after the first copper is down. Even if you're really good, you're not going to save yourself very much. The incredible cost of plating chemicals and machinery is as much a factor if not more than the prep time is.

 

I get it, but, most chrome shops have several months or more of backlog. They don't have to take your business. Fight them if you want.
Like others have stated, if the prep work someone does at home is not perfect, the chrome shop can turn away the work or it could increase the price substantially.
One guys idea of perfect is much different than another just look at some different paint jobs.

 

Cheap chrome looks like what it is,
Cheap

 

You could check with Bumper Boyz . I hear they do cheap chrome work .

 

It gets worse, especially here in the Golden State. State lawmakers are getting ready to ban hexavalent chromium (chrome plating) in the state. They want to replace it with trivalent chromium, which doesn't look anything like the chrome we're all used too! That's why I brought my bumpers and parts in before the end of the year. Between that and our current inflation, I figured it was better to do it sooner than later! And, before all the California bashers chime in, you know what they say..............'as goes California, so goes the nation'!
California's upcoming chrome ban

 

Hexvalent Chromium would not need to be banned if it did not "somehow" keep getting into ground water and drinking water. Many facilities have had no trouble whatsoever preventing this. Others, not so much, and often on an impressively horrifying scale.

 

Totally agree! The movie 'Erin Brockovich' comes to mind!

 

This says it all. Oh, you can make up excuses, but how do you explain all of the platers that are still in business?

 

It costs a fair amount of money to operate a chrome shop that properly handles waste products. Not all are up for that expenditure.

Either that, or they got caught leaking/dumping and got shut down (often called "environmental concerns").

In the case of Sioux Plating, the owner pleaded guilty to tax evasion, and was sentenced to 5-years in Federal prison, so there's that.

 

Wow! a lot of feedback on this, a lot of great info, thinks. I will have to go a little further either a full polish or just finish up with 400 grit. The item in question is a bumper guard that was in very bad shape the bolt that it mounts with needed to be replaced, the front was pushed in and had some gouges and some rust pits along the lower edge. All of this is removed/repaired now so I don't see how I could have hurt the part ... so far.
At this point I will call the chrome shop and see what they say. Thanks for all the help.

 

Lmao, I couldn't agree more, the whole nation is goin to chit!

 

J&D plating, in west saint paul.

 

That was a sensationalized/fictional account of what took place; and since that time the whole thing has been debunked. Eric Brokovitch was good at one thing, bilking a state utility provider out of hundreds of millions of dollars, p***ed along of course to the rate payers. Thanks a lot.....
https://www.acsh.org/news/2017/08/02/california-repudiates-erin-brockovich-hexavalent-chromium-11644

 

Just to clarify on the issue of CA's ban on hexavalent chromium, here is an article that explains the issue; and it has to do with air quality and emissions, not water pollution.
https://www.pfonline.com/news/california-metal-finishers-react-to-proposed-hex-chrome-regulations

This will affect not only the decorative chrome plating shops, but also the hard chrome shops, which is going to be a huge hit for commercial business in the state. When I was in the heavy equipment repair business we used that type of service all the time for repairing bearing surfaces on transmission shafts and most often for repairing hydraulic cylinder rods that get damaged in the normal course of business (and by reckless operators). Almost every equipment repair business repairs leaking hydraulic cylinders on an almost ongoing basis, it's one of the bread & ****er types of things that helps a shop keep mechanics busy with work to do, and keeps cylinders from leaking hydraulic fluid onto the ground (and into the ground water). It's hard enough to keep a piece of equipment down for a few days while rods are out being repaired as it is, downtime costs equipment owners more than the actual repairs do. But once this goes into effect they're looking at having to send rods out of state to do the repairs, that's effin crazy! Once again, state regulators have no idea of the effect of their regulations they impose on business.

 

Sioux Plating failed more because of lack of demand in the Dakotas than anything else. Joe public has nothing on his car or in his house that needs chrome. And in the region that they covered you can count just a few thousand enthusiasts, maybe a few hundred into early hot rods and customs. They also lost their paint jobber status when two other companies expanded in the region. ABS and Sturtevants

 

I think a lot of folks are unaware of the population distribution of places like the Dakotas and nearby.

There are roughly the same number of people in my 46.2 square mile city as there are in South Dakota.

Within a 50-mile radius of where I sit, there are more people than North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming, combined.

It is hard to imagine any boutique industry surviving out there, when hefty regulations apply.

 

This why my family's custom shop will not paint any thing that is said to be ready because our reputation is on the line no matter what if it looks like ****. We have guys that come in and say just spray it "I am ok with the ****py bodywork" We aren't.lol

 

On the other end of the pendulum swing, if ranked by population against other states, Los Angeles County alone would be the 10th largest state, beating out 40 others. It has population that is larger than the 10 lowest population states, plus Washington DC, combined.

Population, and population density are the reason why regulations start here. If something bad is happening, it is happening here, and at scale.

Yes, there will be an impact from these regulations. Businesses were given the opportunity to comply, but not enough of them did. Allowing pollution to continue, irrespective of where it went, was never an option.

There is no more "away" to throw things.

 

As someone who unknowingly grew up playing in what was later proven to be a toxic waste site, where all of the area wells are contaminated, and who has to live with permanent health effects (and a likely shortened lifespan), it is really hard for me to listen to some of the comments on this thread.

Yes, the site contained Chromium-6.

Did you think I picked this nickname out for myself?

 

Towns, cities, states, and nations are made up of people. They are only as good as the people who inhabit them. Too many of those people put profits above all else. We could all be a little more responsible and have a little more respect for ourselves and for others.

 

Mk. 10:18

 

We lost our go to shop ( Omaha plating) Val was the guy to see for plating & would chemically strip parts as well if you wanted to remove old plating

 

I have prepped parts and then taken them to the plater, he makes no adjustment in the price. I ***ume it's for the reasons stated above. Now I only work pieces that I think they may have trouble with as far as maintaining the shape, etc. I too am getting all my bigger stuff plated now before they close up here in California.
My take on the new rules? I think the legislators are just picking the low hanging fruit, a small industry that is already shrinking and can't afford to defend itself. But they can point to their victory and it's HUGE impact on the environment to validate their jobs. My chrome shop guy has jumped through every hoop that the state has come up with at great expense. Some others have skirted every new requirement and now the whole industry has to pay for it. Personally, I think that they should more aggressively enforce the regulations instead of killing an entire industry.

 

I had this conversation with a decent local chrome shop, and they ask that if you're going to prep it yourself, it has to be down to at least 400. They've done some work for me in the past where I've needed pot metal bezels and parts stripped, which is a "reverse chrome" process. IMHO, that's where you should start, as you can strip the chrome off parts without easting into the substrate material. Just like body work, you want your chrome to be straight and give a clear reflection, not wavy. If you resort to grinding and sanding on the old chrome to remove it, you may well wind up making a wavy mess out of whatever parts you're stripping, which is ongoing to lead to more sanding and blocking in the copper phase of the plate job, 1 step forward and 2 steps back. Whereas reverse chroming will just take all of the old plating off without disturbing the metal part. In my case, I was inquiring about what we could do for prep after I smooth and weld on a bumper. He asked for it to be belted/sanded down to 400, and they would take it from there. I'd imagine the amount of money I'd be saving by doing the prep work myself would be negligible in comparison to just dropping it off there and telling them to call me when it's done, and I'd know the work was done by professionals.

 

The part should be perfect and shiney just like it's already plated, if not the chrome shop should do the prep

 

To clarify my previous statements I only have prepped metal that has not been plated previously, just plain bare steel. Good old HF has available agood quality bench type buffer with a 22"length shaft to hold two 8" cotton buffing wheels. I believe it is maybe 3/4 hp I feel it compares favorably with a $500 Baldor buffer. My cost 10 yrs ago was about $65. speedshifter Greg White

 

Sometimes it’s not the user/business that causes the problem. Search “Stringfellow Acid Pits”……We’ve learned a lot by screwing up….

 

Let us not just blame the businesses that cause pollution or contamination. Far as I know, congress sets the rules. In the late 50s, an Llc had a contract to mine and dry uranium in Bowman County. They left the tailings, which caused many health problems in people and livestock. Being an llc, they held no liabilities, name got swallowed up in parent company, no problems?‽ No different then Elon Musk's fued with Senator Karen. Congress writes the rules, then when people follow them, get chastised. Can not have it both ways. Just saying...

 

This went down a rabbit hole but I would let the pros prep the part to be chromed….I think the expense is in the fees, not the work….