Chrome

Anyone have a favorite place to get stuff chromed?
(Like a bumper or smaller parts). Thanks

Depends on the type of parts. For bumpers, Tri City Plating in Tenn offers a lifetime warranty on the work. For pot metal, I use Qual Krom in Eire PA. They have the capability to fix even broken parts. Expensive, but you get what you pay for. For small parts, I have been using New England Chrome Plating in West Hartford CT. There is also Sandy's Bumper Mart in Syracuse, NY. They run a special in the fall for 20% off to get work into the shop for the winter months. Finally, there is Sioux Plating, Sioux City, IA who did the bumpers on my 1969 Miller Meteor Cadillac. They had the best price, and I gave them a try. I am happy with the work, and only time will tell how well it stands up. There are a lot of other good shops around the country, and if you find one that you are considering, post the question here for comments about the quality of work. I have used all of the companies that I have mentioned over the years, depending on who's time schedule works best for my need.

I have used Qual Krom, Sioux platting and Black Hills Plating. my favored guy is Smitte's in Oshkosh Neb. but what eats up the money is shipping. you add 40 or 50 bucks each way if you have to ship. big stuff is more. check around in your location. there is some one getting there platting done right now and see were they do it. I have had good stuff and bad stuff everywhere I have tried. the local boys will clue you in on quality and price. right now I'm paying right at 125.00 bucks a piece. you send in 10 pieces and it cost you 1,250 to get them back. aluminum is high, pot depends on the amount of repair, they love brass but charge you anyway and steel is usually easy to do but big. I was really surprised on this Eureka most of the big castings were brass. it does take a beautiful finish.

A couple years ago I talked to the guys at Ogden Chrome in Ogden, Utah and they told me they offered free shipping, even if you didn't have them do the job after they gave you a quote. I asked them how they could offer a deal like that, and he told me they do about 90% of the parts sent to them. It was their way of taking shipping costs out of the equation, and they make up for it with volume. Don't know if they still offer that deal. At the time, I was hearing good things about their work.

Www.ogdenchrome.com

Thanks everyone. This is helpful.

Depends

If you want real quality I would recommend Speed and Sport Chrome in Houston Texas. The shipping will make them a bit more expensive but the results are well worth it.

Jim, you're looking at a chunk of change for shipping if you have to use someone on the mainland. Supreme plating in Inglewood, CA does the show chrome for B&M and they're fairly close to the port of Los Angeles/Long Beach.

Brady D Smith said:

If you want real quality I would recommend Speed and Sport Chrome in Houston Texas. The shipping will make them a bit more expensive but the results are well worth it.

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Please define what you mean by "real chrome". I know that the chroming process has changed over the years, but that is more of a mandate by the EPA, then it is a choice of the platers. The major difference between platers is that some will copper the item, and buff it more than once, giving the part a smoother base for the nickel to go onto. Once the part is nickeled and buffed to a high luster, they don't re nickel it a second time, like they would with copper. Copper is the metal that gives the part its smooth appearance. Nickel is then applied, and it is what gives the part its silver look. Finally, the chrome is put on, and it is about extremely thing and translucent, so the brightness of the nickel below "shines" through.
Automobile parts were originally nickel plated, but that required constant polishing to maintain the bright shine. I don't know when the automobile manufacturers switched to chrome plating to avoid the tarnishing of the nickel, but I would guess that the transition happened in the late 1920's to the early 1930's.

there is a trick to doing the pot also that not everyone has mastered. but like I said the local people are getting it done somewhere. they would be the ones to ask. there are a number of people advertising this kind of service in all the trade publishings. most of the good ones are swamped and expect 30 to 90 day turn around time. guys like Keven are the bread and butter to them and there work comes first.

There are lots of advertisements that say that "we can do every type of plating work that you need for your car". Problem is that many that advertise that they can do it, just don't do it well. You want a shop that someone else has used, and that they have been satisfied with the work. I have a part that was done by a shop (won't mention the name) that was destroyed as far as the embossed lettering on it, but the plating was nice. What good is good plating, if they mess up the part in the preparation, by grinding and buffing out the detail of the part. For white metal parts that are hard to find, and need that light handed, expert touch, I only use Qual Krom in Eire PA. They are by far, the most expensive, but you get what you pay for, and they get it right the first time, every time. To repair / weld and re-plate the hood molding on my 1969 Miller meteor Cadillac ambulance, it cost $300 plus shipping, but you can't find one that isn't broken. Now that it has been repaired, you can't see the repair, and it looks as good as new, or better.