chrome pricing question

??? have all the peices been fitted up and all work now ..
all body tweaks all done ?

the prep is the killer in chroming having all the very best you can find will help lower your bill at the end

lots of trim from lowly for doors are out there ..
make sure that the pieces all are in proper condition no cracks, bends,missing bolt inserts ....

look for a donor car maybe it can save you $$$$ in the final chroming .. then sell the donor with your sloppy seconds .. spares are good to have giving you choices as to drivabilty whille waiting for the chrome to come home........vs the final assembly

$$$$$ final price vs shipping ,loss , time ... tough call....
good luck

 

Korean chrome huh? New one to me, maybe that's why the original stuff was in such bad shape considering the condition of the rest of the car I'm working on. The stuff we bought looks good now, guess time will tell.
I still think it's a good way to go on the stainless. As far as being "marked up nos, the nos stuff is cheap compared to straighting and polishing the bad ones and some were bad enough they would never look perfect anyway.

 

You can't go wrong with ChromePlaterJosh. He did amazing work for my Kaiser. I can't wait to hang all that perfect chrome on my car!

 

Thanks, NTPHSE!

As far as the "Korean Chrome" I know exactly what you are talking about.

i have chromed many original parts over the years from the 1953ish era that had chrome plating directly over the copper and no nickel; on pot metal and steel grill pieces. The brands I remember specifically are Dodge, Desoto, and of course Pontiac. All had a clearcoat over the chrome front and back. I realized this when they wouldn't strip properly in the electrostrip bath (the clear coat is nonconductive and shielded the plating.)

And a clarification: Copper plating has nothing to do with the "depth" of the shine in the chrome. Copper plating is a tool for the plater, and makes it easier and faster to get that deeper shine and allows the plater to not need the nickel for the leveling work the copper offers. Copper doesn't even add any significant durability to the plating, unless its rediculously thick. It is a tool that can be used poorly. I can make a part look absolutly beautiful show quality by using extra nickel instead of copper, but it will take longer to polish because the nickel is harder and it will cost more because, as a metal, nickel is far costlier than copper.

"Triple plating" is a buzzword and nothing more. If you are counting plating layers, custom work many times ends up with far more than 3 layers of plating anyways.

However, any custom chrome plater worth their salt better have acid copper, or they are at a huge disadvantage. For plating new parts production-style, it isn't nearly as important.

 

If I can help clarify this a bit, this was as a result of the war going on in the early 50's in Korea, not Koreans doing chrome. Here's a quote from 'Mopar' oriented restoration board, my '51 Caddy had poor quality trim as well :


" As the war in Korea continued to divert needed materials from the industry, the cars’ quality began to suffer. Chrome plating took on a dingy look, as first copper and then nickel were eliminated from the plating process by government regulation (quality chrome plating consists of three layers, first copper, then nickel, and finally chromium). Copper shortages also affected the availability of radios and heaters."

 

I had a 53 Chevy back in the 1960s with faded chrome.......due to the
above.

 

When I got a $4500 estimate to plate the die cast grill for my Diamond T, after I regained conciousness I started hunting, and found a PERFECT stainless grill from another Diamond T thanks to the HAMB! I'm making my own hood trim, fender spears and bed grab rails from stainless, my brother in law is getting my hood ornament done by one of his vendors (OEM plating) and bought off shore brand new bumpers from Chev's of the 40's.

$3500 to do all the stuff you need done sounds dirt cheap, better ship it off to Josh right away!

Brian

 

jesus idk where some of you guys go for chrome?

4-5k?

hell no.... maybe in a midwest shop or something, but send your stuff to california... call pete at anaheim chrome 714-391-5133... tell him one of the Stylistics guys sent you... fantastic chrome that will last a looong time for a low price.. i know guys that had stuff done 8-10 years ago by him that still looks GREAT.. he also polishes etc..

hes one of the many good affordable platers in california and AZ area...

for those parts triple plated (i know its a bad word, but we will use it for short for copper/nickle/chrome) im gonna say call him you will be shocked with teh deal and his work is FLAWLESS as possible... grill will be one of the most expensive parts... you could also "street chrome" it which would be a 2 step process on teh dipping instead and would be 2/3 the price.. but i would never do that, might as well do the real thing..

some people trip me out with what they pay for chrome, and the turn around times they deal with.. i always tell people to ask lowriders.. for $2k i can get my whole front and rear suspension triple plated from several different places in LA area (front upper and lower A arms, steering linkage, sway bar, a arm bars, rear trailing arms, rear end, panhard bar and banana bar or ybone/slingshot, drums and baking plates)....
also a 2 week max turn around instead of the 2+ months some people deal with

for $4-5k i could do my suspension, engine bay, all the trim, and still have money for somethin else.. if you guys are paying these prices you really gotta start lookin around

 

Chrome is like a woman. You want it pretty and good looking, but it sure costs you.

 

now thats funny!

 

i've had freinds get plenty of stuff made shiney here in sioux city with out any hassles, i dont know for sure were you are in iowa but its as local as i can tell ya with out more info

 

Go th Odgon chrome in utah best prices and service

 

heres there website

http://www.siouxplating.com/

they have a giant price list for what the charge to plate what, but its fairly confusing to disect. im sure a quick phone call and theyd get you taken care of.

 

I know it's not gonna help you but you don't want to know what chroming costs you in Switzerland!!
For the window frame of my 32 Roadster they took $ 700 from me!!! And that was 4 years ago...

 

I have two places I deal with.. one does perfect high end work & the other is the 99cent store of chromers. I don't think there's an answer, really. The big money is in the labor that the grinding & polishing requires. The plating itself isn't really that bad, but it isn't getting any better around here