Chrome Plating

Itype2slo

Itype2slo

Well-Known Member
#2
#2
Nice polished chrome never comes at a reasonable price, unless you're really wealthy, try find a local shop from what I hear shipping to a chromer is painful and expensive. But get more input I am a dope:thumbsup:
 
J

Joe51

#3
#3
Hello, There is a chrome plater in PA. Called Paul's chrome. They do mostly restoration work. Never used them but was planning on giving them a call in the near future for some stuff I need to get done.
Regards
 
G

GTS225

Member
#4
#4
Sorry to say, but this is one of those things or services that the old adage of "Good, Fast, Cheap.....pick two" applies heavily. Thanks to more and more stringent controls by the EPA many smaller shops have been driven out of business, so chromers are limited.
Add to that increasing number of folks who are restoring old cars and bikes, and you get a compounding problem.
I suggest you're going to habve to bite the bullet and take what you can get. If you want good, then it's not going to be cheap. Just don't go with "The Bumper Boys" out of the Los Angeles area. You might never get your piece(s) back.

Roger
 
we4amigos

we4amigos

Member
#7
#7
I can say Pauls Chrome is good,resonable priced for car items. But as everyone has said good costs $$$ and great costs even more ! lol
California and Arizona have a edge as going over the border to those shops offers reduced labor and NO EPA . But with UPS turning into a high priced carrier it'll kill any savings.
 
H

Havasu Dave

Moderator
#8
#8
we4amigos said:
I can say Pauls Chrome is good,resonable priced for car items. But as everyone has said good costs $$$ and great costs even more ! lol
California and Arizona have a edge as going over the border to those shops offers reduced labor and NO EPA . But with UPS turning into a high priced carrier it'll kill any savings.
Click to expand...
Agree with you on Pauls. Right there in PA. I disagree on cheaper labor costs in CA. It costs more to live, and despite what you read on the internet, the quality chromers are not shipping their stuff down to Mexico. I have worked with a family owned business in San Diego area for a few years now. It is far from cheap, and far from having no EPA worries. The EPA is federal with regards to chroming.

Man, I do not know of anyone who uses a chrome shop with ties to labor across the border. Just on the internet.
 
C

control4userguy

New Member
#9
#9
we4amigos said:
I can say Pauls Chrome is good,resonable priced for car items. But as everyone has said good costs $$$ and great costs even more ! lol
California and Arizona have a edge as going over the border to those shops offers reduced labor and NO EPA . But with UPS turning into a high priced carrier it'll kill any savings.
Click to expand...
Me No Comprende...
 
Ding Ding

Ding Ding

#10
#10
My reply to the other chrome plating thread you made....

Ding Ding said:
Talking to owner of JR Custom Plating in North branch, MN he has told me this is the worst time of year for chrome plating as far as turn around time goes. People come out of hibernation and start back in on those restoration projects and send their parts out to be plated. He told me the best time to do it was the dead of winter. Despite the long lead time, the finish product has been outstanding and I considered the prices to be fair. In the end, you want to have perfect parts and spending a couple more dollars or waiting a couple more weeks/months can be worth it.
Click to expand...
 
cambo61

cambo61

#13
#13
1971_MB1A and anyone else interested in plating.

I gave up on the results from platers years ago. I got sick of grind marks, waves, or generally rushed work. What most people outside our hobby don't understand about plating is 90% of the outcome is in the prep. I do all my prep now and use the platers to plate only. Most shops are fine with this. My job from 2 weeks back would have been $900+ more had I not done the work myself. The added bonus is the jobs come back in under 2 weeks and not 6+ weeks.

If you're like me and always have a restoration going, the up front cost of buying the polishing equipment pays for itself the first job. Polishing is hard work, bad your your lungs, you're coated in compound, and can be dangerous with awkward parts going against a high speed buffer.
I don't want to drive people off the site, but here is a recent example of the work you could do.
https://www.vintagekartforum.com/showthread.php?tid=1331
 
Fantic Freddy

Fantic Freddy

Member
#15
#15
Good video, my chrome shop explained the whole process to me before the job. $350 for plating mini bike parts seemed crazy until I saw the labor it takes to get those rusty, pitted parts looking like new again.
 
S

stargazer7467

Member
#19
#19
i just send some wilwood calipers to where Joe is talking about. Pauls Chrome out north of Pittsburg iirc. Theyre estimate was very reasonable. Last set i send to a place in texas, they were about the same price, but it was almost 3 month turn around time.
 
we4amigos

we4amigos

Member
#20
#20
Havasu Dave said:
Agree with you on Pauls. Right there in PA. I disagree on cheaper labor costs in CA. It costs more to live, and despite what you read on the internet, the quality chromers are not shipping their stuff down to Mexico. I have worked with a family owned business in San Diego area for a few years now. It is far from cheap, and far from having no EPA worries. The EPA is federal with regards to chroming.

Man, I do not know of anyone who uses a chrome shop with ties to labor across the border. Just on the internet.
Click to expand...
No No I think you misunderstood my point. Not the plating shops shipping south of the boarder,,the people who live in these areas benefit by taking their parts across the boarder. At least when part of my family lived in Arizona it was happening...maybe it's changed in the last 3-4 yrs.
 
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