Does anyone here have much experiance with Chrome plating? The reason I ask is I just spent over $12,000.00 to have the chrome re done on my 1929 Hudson Resto Mod. When I got it back I opened up some of the smaller items like the dome light ring, and the door pulls etc and things looked beautiful but then I got to the grill and it has a lot of pitts left in it Like they started to fill them but didnt finish all along the edges of the detail that go up and down and across the top of the shutter openings. The windshield frame, Headlight stands and bumper eyelets at each end along with other pieces still had rust up inside, The Center Bumper medalions have pin holes in the center fields where they are normally painted, the cowl light brackets have grown and no longer fit the light buckets, The lettering on the Headlights no longer exists. I would think that paying this kind of money to have the chrome restored these things would not happen. Am I being too picky? I just feel that if the car gets wet the rust from inside these pieces will begine to run and stain both the finnished chrome surface and also the finish on my car.
I worked at a chrome shop for a few years and I can answer some of this. "Growing" (plating buildup) is a common problem and there's not a whole lot you can do about it, just like with powdercoating, the plating has a thickness to it that you have to be prepared for. Leaving the pits inside recessed areas that get painted is kind of a standard practice, since they can be filled and sanded before paint. Fixing them in the base metal before plating just so the paint can go on smooth would add a ton of extra work to the part. Rust in any area of a plated part is unacceptable to me. If there's rust showing in a recessed area, even in a spot that doesn't show or doesn't require plating, then it wasn't properly prepped before plating. Very surprising to hear since rust on a part will contaminate plating tanks, unless the rust formed on a bare area after plating, there's really no excuse for that. The pits left on the grille shell is also poor prep work. It does take an immense amount of work to rechrome a grille shell, but if you paid to have it done right those things should have been done. The only excuse I could think of is they didn't think those edges showed once the shutters were in place, but they should have asked before leaving it. Lettering on headlight buckets and the like is very hard to keep looking crisp after plating, especially if there is a dent or pits there that need to be worked out. A bit of a "washed out" look is kind of expected, but they certainly should not have completely wiped them out. Again, that sounds like poor quality. To me, without having seen the stuff in person, sounds like you have some legitimate complaints there (and a few things that are just to be expected with any plating job). Who did this stuff? Have you contacted them yet? A good shop will stand behind their work and correct the things that need to be corrected. I ***ume (based on the price) that you both agreed ath the beginning this stuff was supposed to be show quality, correct?
I agree, it would be hard to make a call on some of the issues without seeing them, But I can tell you that I had an hood ornament rechromed for my 37 Cadillac and it is a very detailed item with hair blowing back and detail in the face. After it was rechromed all the detail was still there. they must have recut the detail back in after the prep work. This part had many pits that needed to be sanded out or filled, don't know how they did it, but it came out great. Did cost alot $550 but it looks good. I think it was Advance chrome out of Pa.
Yes the owner gave me a bid on the work befor starting I explained to him I was not looking for just show Chrome I was Looking for Chrome that would win at Pebble Beach and he ***ured me it would all be perfect. LOL
I'd definitely take it back if that was his ***urance! Be polite, but be sure to point out which flaws will be clearly visible when installed and see if he will stand behind his work. Unfortunately, the headlight lettering is gone forever, but most of the other issues should still be fixable.
If you paid for Pebble Beach then you should get Pebble Beach. Explain to the plater that you feel you can't win a concourse event as you had hoped, and ask him to redo things to the agreed upon standard...............politely reminding him that his name will be on them.
Yep, Take it back if that's the case. If its sub par to pebble beach standard take it back. But you need to be sure he's capable of reaching those standards and understands what they are before you can expect that level of craftsmanship. There's a chance he did best he could.
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