Cost of getting bumpers chromed?

[Gil]

Anyone know approx. how much it costs to get a set of '73 02 bumpers chromed? Is there a low cost place anywhere that I could send them too? It seems to me that getting parts chromed can be VERY expensive.

Would it be smarter to find NOS bumper parts or complete bumpers, or ones in good condition?

I've also heard that you can get parts "rough" chromed and you can do the final polishing yourself? It seems to me that a lot of the cost is in the labor to do the final polishing.

Gil

73 02

[HarryPR]

I had a rear center bumper straightened and rechromed locally for $90.00. Came out nice and shiny.

It might be more expensive in the mainland, though...

[Mike Self]

I had a local bumper production shop do a center rear bar for me some years ago, and it was peeling within two years (one year warranty!).

More recently I had front and rear done on my 69--all six blade sections and the four bumper guards--it was around $600 but they look GREAT! I compared a section with a NOS piece I had, and they're actually nicer than a new bumper--holding up well too.

Talk to some street rodders in your area--they usually know the good and bad chrome shops. If you can't find one locally, we have a good shop (see above) here in Dayton--Blakely Polishing, 937 274-8448.

cheers

mike

[Guest Anonymous]

there is a lot of work to re-chroming a bumper. Unless the bumper s perfectly straight they will need to remove dents etc.

I have seen bad chrome jobs where file marks are visible under the chrome.

I think dave from aardvark has an exchange service. Maybe try that?

[jerry]

a GOOD chrome job involves plating three different metals

1. Copper is used as the filler metal base which is the least expensive and any imperfections must be polished out at this stage before plating with Nickel.

2. Nickel is plated after Copper and is used to minimize the internal strain at the interface due to the higher lattice mismatch between Chromium and Copper metal. Nickel is expensive and is typically avoided on lesser plating jobs.

3. Chrome is the thin top layer that will show every scratch, imperfection that was not smoothed out before plating.

If you have deeper dents/gouges you'll have to use lead solder to fill them up prior to the copper plate.

Insist on Cu-Ni-Cr when doing a lasting plating job.

Personally, I prefer Ni-plating as the final layer, but it was phased out decades earlier as it's expensive and doesn't stay as shiny as chrome but it has a nice warm patina.

[Guest Anonymous]

(nt)

[canadamatt]

Good info, I never knew that stuff...

thanks Jerry

Matt

[SteveJ]

And the cost will vary greatly from region to region due to air standards and haz waste disposal. Most of the hotrodders(who use chrome and then some) in the Bay Area head out to the Central Valley or even into Nevada to get a better price.

I imagine it is going to get that way with painting soon. Right Dubois?

[Craig74tii]

all the time. Looks like they do great work, but I haven't priced it out yet.

http://www.paulschrome.com/

[Guest Anonymous]

It's usually cheaper per piece, the more pieces you have. If you know of others needing the same, maybe you can go in as a group?

[02Nut]

Per Jerry's post - good decorative chrome plating will involve Copper - Nickel - Chrome layers.

Nickel plate is what actually provides corrosion protection on decorative chrome. Unfortunately, nickel plating will tarnish without a protective top-coat.

The chrome layer can really be considered a top-coat for the nickel plating - think of it as a protective anti-tarnish barrier for the nickel.

In my opinion, the expense of refinishing bumpers is when a craftsman takes a twisted, dented piece of steel and reworks it into a straight, dent free bumper that can be decorative chrome plated.

A properly prepped bumper is "easy" to plate because it will require minimal copper plate to smooth the imperfections (i.e. dents).

[Gil]

Do they have to "deplate" everything? Do sopme shops use thicker layers of Cu, Ni and Cr for a better job?

I sounds like it will really pay to shop around for a good plating shop.

Gil

[AlCanuck]

Do they have to "deplate" everything? Do sopme shops use thicker layers of Cu, Ni and Cr for a better job?

I sounds like it will really pay to shop around for a good plating shop.

Gil

Hey Gil,

Go no further than Superior Plating! They're just down in Cloverdale, and do outstanding work. I've used them before for 02 bumpers, and I've always been impressed. About $700-900CDN depending on metal work needed. Phone and ask for Kaleb.

Al