The cost of chroming

Hi there

I recently contacted a reputable chroming company and requested an estimate on how much it would cost to chrome a trunk bezel from a ´67 Coronet 500 measuring 48" x 15", slightly pitted.

The company replied that they had done these bezels before and the price for an average bezel was $2500- $3000.

My question: Is this a fair price or did they mean $250- $300?

Thanks for informing me

Ragnar in Iceland

the cost that they quoted you was more than likely high due to the repair of the pitting of the pot metal, the repair to pot metal is costly

Pot metal repair ...

1) drill out EVERY pit
2) copper plate the part
3) fill each pit with solder
4) blend every pit to the original surface
5) copper plate the part again
6) check for imperfections - repeat steps 3 to 6 if any found
7) buff and nickel plate
8) chrome plate
9) hope to hell the part is perfect for the money charged !!

VERY labor intensive !!

Thanks for your replies.

Ragnar

Spot on!!! It's even worse for me having to heat up the metal to cure chrome-replica and other powders -- it brings all the air bubbles and impurities (trapped in the typical low quality pot metal when it's cast) to the surface, creating new adventures in filling and smoothing to perfection.

What has not helped our cause in the automotive restoration hobby is the plain and simple fact the EPA has cracked down severely on chrome shops the last couple of decades. Forcing mandatory closure versus crippling financial upgrades for more environmentally-friendly procedures has sadly closed most of the "good mom and pop shops" we all used to use and love.

This in turn brought the spray-on chrome industry which has yet to prove itself, at least to me, on comparable UV protection, durability, and especially the longevity of real, triple-plated chrome. I want to see how that stuff looks five, ten, fifteen years down the road sitting in the sun of southwest Arizona first. I tell those SpectraChrome folks in New York that same thing every six months when they call me to try to peddle the $25,000 "start up package." LOL Noooo thank you!!!

With all that being said, I think the only alternative with a public decent reputation these days is Tri-City Plating. Even the famed Brown's in Paducah closed a couple years ago.

Good luck with your quest!

I got a set of rechromed bumpers from Tri-City at Carlisle this year for my car and they were $500 each with the core charge ! I remember when bumpers were around $300 each.

In my area (inland Pacific NW) I've paid about $600 per bumper, and that's with supplying good straight cores. Two companies in Spokane, one is pretty indifferent about his work - if it's flawed, too bad - but the other guy's good.
Last place I used was Ogden in UT: beautiful work, but even more expensive.
Either shop, plan on multiple weeks and taking longer than quoted.
Tri-City sounds pretty good by comparison.

Leanna is correct on this ^^ In my part of the world, there were several good chrome shops, and if you wanted great work at a better price, a trip to Buffalo was in order. We used to have shops that also dip-stripped parts, chassis, bodies..... and as far as I know, the shop owners lived to a good age, despite the 'risks'. Chrome costs in upstate NY are crazy, and none will guarantee a part or quality.

SpectraChrome has it's place, but it's not on a restored car or show rod. It looks fine on a Plasti-dipped BMW or Honda, though.

If you are talking about a pot metal part then yes, it is going to be super expensive. The bad thing is that the part could very well be ruined in the process. I just had some pot metal parts for my '65 Coronet "re-finished" and now they are junk.

Chrome plating steel parts isn't too expensive as long as you are working with new parts. There is a local plating shop that does a lot of chrome for Freightliner but the trick is that they are chroming new parts. I can take new parts over to them for triple chrome plate and it is more expensive than any other plating process but it isn't outrageous.

Re-chroming steel parts that were triple chrome plated from the factory is very difficult and very expensive. There are a few places left in the country that are doing it but I doubt I'll send any more parts out for it. From now on I'll most likely just polish what I have and live with it. Re-plating requires stripping the original chrome which is difficult to do. They have to reverse the plating process with enough power to knock off the old plating, but not burning up the part. Then once the part is stripped they have to do metal repair and then start the plating process all over. There just aren't a lot of shops left who have people who are skilled in all of those steps.

I remember back in the 70's and 80's that it was easy to get parts chrome plated. I was just a kid and I'd take car parts over to the local chrome shop and they would strip them and polish them for me. I don't remember it costing very much money and the stuff came out looking good. Those days are long gone......

When I was working at Chrysler, I did a project for accessory chrome step bumpers. It involved discussions with the manager of the Chrysler plating lab, a long time employee.
In an off conversation he recounted that when he started in the chrome business (before any pollution controls) it was easy to spot a guy who worked in a plating shop - the fumes would eat holes through his nose after a few years!
Love the look, but chrome plating is nasty.

so that's where those kids today that have diamonds and rings in their noses work ?

yah, the last restoration i did, the chrome cost a fortune. Pot metal especially if its pitted, sometimes cheaper to get an nos part if possible or a cleaner core.

Is your trunk bezel pot metal or aluminum?
I restored my 1966 Dodge Coronet Deluxe and all the exterior trim is aluminum, not pot metal . All the emblems and door handles are pot metal though.