The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Chrome plating questions

I have a grill off the 41 3ton that I used to have that I planned on rechroming and putting it on my 46 1/2 ton. I called a place for a price for chroming it and it was $1800. Does this seem reasonable? I almost fell off my chair! The grill is not in great shape so it will need some work done on it. My other option would be to buy a repop chreomed grill but I've heard that the chrome peels after like 3 years, they rust and they don't fit right? What do you guys think I should do? I'm not even sure the 41 grill will fit perfectly on my 46 but the grill off my 46 fit pretty well on the 41 but I only ziptied it on to sell it.

I was also quoted 1300 to chrome both bumpers. Should I sell my bumpers on ebay and buy repop stainless or do you think I could get a better price for chroming?

sounds pricey, but note that to chrome a grill it has to be disassembled, hand stripped of previous chrome, replated, and then reassembled .... if you take it apart and do as much straightening as you can, then put it back together yourself you may save a few hundred ... good quality chrome is never cheap

Bill

Chroming is pricey especially if the item needs repair. The estimate I got for my hood bird, hood hinge strip, wiper towers & park light trim was $1000+/- with no repairs needed. I'm going to get a second opinion but none will be cheap. If your bumpers are undamaged (no bends, dents or twisted) the quote you got does seem high. If they need straightening it's not a bad price. I'm suspect of repop parts in general, especially chrome, plus I prefer using (re-using) the original parts when possible so I'll pay the price to re-chrome.

Wow! I only paid 450 on my grill and it needed repairs aswell. Came out perfect. I paid 175 each for rechroming my bumpers. But that was 4 or 5 years ago.

Wow! $450??? If that is a redo on your grill shown in the "sad" picture, they did one hell of a job on it for 450!

Hey Guys,
Chrome is not cheap anymore. It used to be very resonable. I was told by a chrome plater that the price of nickel has went up significantly, thats the main reason for the jump in price. I now use HANLON CHROME PLATING in RICHMOND, Va. They are an old school type of business with anj old factory in business for a long time. I have found these guys to be the most resonable. They do good work in about a 2-week turnaround. They do mail order. Not the greatest website, but they are: Hanlonplating.com
GOOD LUCK

Chrome plating is not cheap. I sent my bumper ends and bumperettes to Paul's in Pa. The estimate on the bumper ends was $1250, bumperettes $300. Repop bumper ends were $675 so I opted for those and am (still) having Paul's do the bumperettes ( the little things in the middle of the Cameo bumper). I am so sorry now that I went to the repop bumper ends. They were cheaper, but, the fit was terrible and had to be re-shaped to fit - only one done so far, and the metal finish is uneven and visibly wavy, even to the least discerning eye, plus they now will need rechroming. Probably will get the original bumper ends rechromed anyway in the end and put them back on, and make somebody a good deal on the repops - like almost free. Lesson learned - quality costs - but so does the cheap stuff - if you care at all about the end result..
Dale

There is a place in Houston, Texas...called: Superior Chrome Plating, Inc. Does anybody have any input about them? I just had my Hood Ornament welded and rechromed. I haven't received it back yet. Should be a couple of weeks or less. Does anybody have any history-knowledge of this company? I'm just curious about them. They've been around for awhile. Thanks, diditanole

There was a previous thread on chrome plating probably a month or more ago. Superior was mentioned and as I recall not altogether favorably. A search through previous chrome plating posts and threads should locate it for you. Dale

Do a search of this forum using "chrome" as the search criterion. You'll find a lot of reading. I used them & think they're too high priced for the quality I got. Cletis is more unhappy with them than I am.

I just got a quote on my 46 grill from custom chrome plating in Grafton Ohio.. At first they said $1500 - $2000 depending on condition. I shipped it ($90) to get an accurate quote and they quoted $2500 for their mid-grade chrome.. It was in good shape. No dents just rust on the sides of the bars, but the surface of the bars was fine. When I called them the sales guy said they could not repair the pitting on the sides and plate over the pits for $1400. I hope they ship it back in good shape ($90 again). Lesson learned, get in your car and go there..

By the way, I was cautioned about using Superior in Houston; however, I have no personal knowledge..

Check this site out.
I have used them for parts on my Mercedes and was very pleased with them.

http://www.qualkrom.com/

I bought a new grill with chrome outer strips for 400.00. 1,200.00 and up would make me choke.

The cost of metal going up is no justification for inflated prices. You would be amazied at how little metal especially nickle and chrome is deposoted during the plating. 95% of the cost of plating is in the prep and polishing. If it's badly pitted and needed a lot of fill, then that would require a little more copper but not nickle or chrome.

Denny G

I sent them an e-mail asking for an estimate. I'll see how they compare.

I use HANLONPLATING.com ...... Richmond, VA. Decent prices. Quick turnarounds.
Old school chrome factory with workers just as old as the building. Check em out

I saw your first post about them & visited their site. I was a bit turned off because they want your item already blasted and they don't take credit cards. They say they only do COD. Not consumer friendly IMHO.

A little more update on Paul's in Pa. I just got my bumperettes back (after 2+ months waiting) , and they are simply the nicest deepest, shiniest chrome I have seen, with absolutely not one mark or flaw. Worth waiting for when you see that kind of quality. I think $300 was a fair price when I see this kind of quality. I have to say that the $1250 they wanted to do the bumper ends was probably not bad in retrospect (now that I see their work first hand) since they are really badly rusted and rotted and would take a lot of time to weld and fill before even getting close to the polishing and plating. Dale

Yea,Paul and crew are the best !!! I need them to do the bumpers on my Studebaker but don't have the $$$...

I contacted the qualkrom folks for an estimate on my hood bird, hood center strip, wiper towers & park light trim. They shot me a pretty reasonable estimate so I'll probably be trying them this winter when I have the last of the work done on my 38.