The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk whos good at rechroming small items

anyone close to va lmk thanks

I wasn't going to say anything about this until my issue was resolved, but....

I highly recommend you don't use Superior chrome. This is the company that did a guest forum here in November. It sounded good so I sent them my '54 GMC hood bird. They broke it then daubed some solder on the bottom and chromed it and sent it back to me. I guess they figured I wouldn't notice it was broken.

Of course I noticed. This piece never should have made it to the chrome tank in this condition, let alone out the door. Apparently they have no quality control.

He claimed that after the old chrome was removed the bird was corroded this way. If it was I should have been notified.

I asked for a refund so I could find someone else to fix it. He refused. I reluctantly sent it back for him to re-do it.

As I said, I was going to wait for the outcome before mentioning it but I'd hate for someone else to go through this because I waited.

picture

If thats the way it came back, I don't blame you for being mad Cletis. I sent them a small piece and it came out very good. It took a lot longer then they had told me, but I was happy with it when I finally got it. I've tried 3 different shops over the years and they all seem to have a problem of one kind or another. Maybe it just goes with the territory when you deal with a chrome shop. Cecil.........

Cletis,

I got a call today from Bobby about the work he is doing for me (grills, crowns for 1940 truck).

He said "they turned out really good for a driver . . . but that if I got close enough to put my tongue on them that there were a few imperfections that they were not able to get out" He said "you will be happy with them".

I would say that he followed up in a timely manner with a phone call when I sent Lillian an e-mail asking about the grills. I'll let you know how they look.

Ken

Good luck. He told me mine looked really good when he called asking for my credit card number. Then after I saw it and called him back I confronted him with it he said he doesn't personally inspect every piece. In other words he lied about something he hadn't seen or he lied about something he had seen. Either way, he lied.

Brown's plating in KY........ not cheap, but excellent. They have a website

Here's Browns link However, It appears they like to do only motorcylce parts.

I've heard Pauls Chrome Plating is good.
CHECK OUT THEIR INTERESTING SITE

hey thanks for the replys

I just found out there is another company named Superior Chrome in San Jose. This is not the company I used and I know nothing about them.

The Superior Chrome I have a dispute with is in Houston and is run by Bobby Baker.

Well Cletis, if misery loves company - you and I need to go have a beer.

Suffice to say, I am not happy. My recomendation at this point is that while Superior Chrome might be good for bumpers or easy to chrome stuff, the attention to detail and care required to straighten, polish and chrome grills and grill crowns is lacking.

I will end up having this work redone locally on the parts that can be salvaged, one grill crown is damaged beyond repair and I need to grind out welds that were used to stabilize grill bars that need to float in order to be assembled.

The crowns were both bent sharply in half due to poor packaging causing the chrome to pop off and tears to form at the center of the crowns. I sent the parts to them in a wooden crate and got them back in a mixed bunch of used cardboard boxes. I am not happy and it looks like I now need to hunt up a new crown and gently grind out all the welds on one grill.

After spending over a grand in chroming costs, to wind up with unusable parts that cannot be assembled . . . I asked Bobby how he wants to address this and am awaiting a response.

Ouch, I was considering using superior... I thinking I'll consider it a bit loner.

i used superior for my horn ring and its not the greatest of quality and for 170.00 i shoulda gotten a better peace i would suggest a differnt place

In my opinion, Superior Chrome is a lousey company. I still have not gotten my hood emblem back after receiving it initially and sending it back as it was a terrible chrome job. All I get is lies when I talk with them. I have given up essentially. I now use a chrome shop in Quincy Illinois, they did a great job on my dinged up grille, and price was reasonable.
RUN, DO NOT WALK, AWAY FROM SUPERIOR CHROME PLATING!!!!

What Brian said -

Got tired of typiing

Brian,

Do you remember the name of the plating shop in Quincy?

Thanks

Precision Plating

thanks

Well, I wish I had seen some of the posts about Superior Chrome plating before I gave them my parts on Feb 4th. I'm still waiting on one part that 2 weeks ago all they needed was to find a box for it. I'm pretty sure they've lost it and just won't admit it. My 3-4 week turnaround time turned into over 5 months. I finally got my 40 chevy grill, grill trim piece and hood ornament back the week of July 4th, but it wasn't the quality I expected. On the grill, the center piece behind the grill has been welded on crooked and 3 of the bars have got dings in them that could have been fixed prior to plating. The trim piece that fits above the grill was allowed to flex, splitting it in the front. The piece that I haven't received yet, and don't expect to, is from a 1920 Bowser oil pump that is pretty much irreplaceable. I've never once received a call from Bobby. I waited about 3 months before I called him and it was always the same story after that, we're just about done and we should have them out next week. I just don't understand how anyone can run a business and treat customers in such a way. He could have gotten several new customers from the local VCCA club, but there's certainly not going to be a recommendation from me.

Sorry to hear all the problems folks are having with crappy chroming and customer service. There is a place not far from me in Fayetteville, NC, but their reputation is as bad as when I've read here today.

I'm planning to get the interior side-glass and windshield garnish mouldings chromed in my '53 1/2 ton and have been considering the following shop. They don't sound cheap or fast, but it does sound like they have a process and are upfront about expectations (which counts for something).

Anyone have experience with them?

http://www.advancedplating.com/

Best of luck to everyone trying to get their stuff sorted out.

-murph

leagl, Superior Chrome screwed my '40 grill too. Same problems as you described. They left dents, welded the backside center piece. Keyword is CENTER. They couldn't get it centered left to right or top to bottom. I noted that when I sent it back to them for 'correction'. Came back worse. Bobby Baker is a total fool. I told him I was going to get my refund in the way of diverting business from him. Imagine how much work he could get just from this site if he wasn't such a no-talent hack.

Murph
I was going to say your moldings are stainless steel and only need to be polished, but now I see you have a 53, those may be just regular steel due to the Korean conflict.
Someone told me a good way to find a good chrome shop is to ask at the local Harley shop. So I did, in Tulsa. They quickly said "no one in this town". They use Brown's in Kentucky.

DennisM or motionguru, I didn't pay close enough attention to the backside centerpiece on the 40 grill before I sent it to Inferior Chrome, so could you answer a question for me? Where should the centerpiece be welded to the bars, on the top and bottom bar only?

Thanks Brian,

Yeah, I have an earlier set of side-glass mouldings and you are right... stainless. But, the ones from the '53 are painted steel. Since the earlier mouldings are for the thicker, earlier glass (and there is no cutout for the vent window latch), I'm gonna have the '53 mouldings chromed.

I'm gonna try your technique and talk with with the guys at Ray Price HD. Getting pieces chromed is expensive and time consuming... would be nice to have at least some frame of reference for selecting a shop. I really feel for the guys dealing with the clown-induced headaches from Superior Chrome.

-murph