TOPIC: ok my first set back

i drove out to a chromeplater this morning he said he was good.
and evidently they are also very well off, cause he told me right off , he couldn't do anything my bow light .. too pitted, then he got down to the rails and the ends , he said 150.00 per rail there's 6 and the end caps and centers about 50.00 there is 20 of those and the step plate rings and the name plate were pot metal so he couldn't do anything with them either. my heart sank. i was looking at 2500.00 and not all of it would get down. i am thinking now to get them powder coated aluminum .. chroming doesn't look good. for that price i could learn and buy the chroming stuff myself and do it. if anyone has any suggestions i could use them. i have a few more places to go im not done just broken.

thanks for letting me vent.

billy

my suggestion is, get a few more quotes, watch some youtube videos on how to prep the parts for chroming yourself to save on labor cost at the chromer, maybe be able to high mirror pollish the rails yourself, if they are stainless, or aluminum I would go that route on the simple parts that don't have a lot of nook and crannies..... Good luck.

I have heard that chrome plating has gotten extremely expensive, sorry to hear about your disappointment Billy. (It's labor intensive, and EPA regulations on the chemicals involved have tightened considerably from what I understand.)

That being said, I agree with Joe about getting some other quotes on your job if you're really wanting the chrome process done. There are several around Atlanta and eastern TN that offer the service, I can ask around for recommendations if you'd like? "Too pitted" and "can't do it because it's pot metal" are lousy excuses IMHO, I've seen them turn some pretty ratty looking stuff into like new again!

They're also doing some pretty radical stuff with powder coating these days, there was a thread here not long ago about some of the newer surfaces that are available now - I'll see if I can find it for reference.....

Hang in there buddy, keep you chin up and we'll try to find something that will work for you!

All good suggestions. If you know any classic car guys, they usually have a good handle on who does re-chroming at a good price. That bow light and step plates show up a lot on eBay and buying a good set there would be cheaper. The emblems may be an issue. Look around to see if anyone has reproduced them in a better material.