65VerdeGS Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 Anyone have recent experience having their '65 rear bumper straightened and re-chromed? What would it cost, more or less, to remove a minor dent, and re-chrome the bumper? These aren't light pieces, so shipping would be expensive. I haven't located a local source for the work, but am open to using a bumper plater in BC Canada, or Washington State. Thanks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seafoam65 Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 I had my bumpers rechromed and small dents removed.....cost was 400.00 for each bumper. Show chrome costs more than that.......I was looking for an original appearance on mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrlforfun Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 OK Alex: Be careful. Many chrome shops do exchanges and the bumpers are tweeked and don't quite fit right. If your bumpers fit nicely insist on re-plating and knocking the dings out of THEM rather than exchange. Mitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bodayguy Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 I used Queen City Plating in Mukilteo WA to rechrome a transmission plate for my 64. But they told me they don't do bumpers anymore because of the labor (the shop is just one guy I think now). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seafoam65 Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 (edited) I'll tell you a nightmare story regarding rechroming a bumper. My 69 GTO convertible which I've owned since it was two years old had a perfectly straight never hit rear bumper. When it was about twenty years old I sent it out to be rechromed by a supposedly reputable chrome shop in the local Dallas area. When I got it back the chrome looked great but the entire top half of the bumper had waves in it. I wasn't happy but I lived with it for a few years more, then I did a frame-off restoration and started showing the car at shows, so I sent the bumper off to a renowned chrome shop in another state and they charged me 650.00 and the same waves were there as before although the chrome was real nice. I kept improving my GTO until it was winning lots of Best of Show awards, but the wavy bumper kept looking worse and worse as I improved other things and it was driving me crazy. About ten years ago I decided that I had to get the bumper back to the way it used to look before the first chromer put a bunch of waves in it. A guy I met at a car show told me the best chrome shop in the U.S was "The Finishing Touch" in Chicago. They do the chrome on serious Riddler Award cars, and million dollar builds by the top builders in the country, so I sent my bumper off to them. They told me on the phone to expect the cost to be around 1100.00 before I sent it to them. When you send them a bumper, they have a rating scale of the bumper core from 1 to 10 with ten being perfect. They only guarantee a perfect job if your bumper core is at least a 7. Mine was a 7 minus, but they agreed to do their best to get it straight again. They told me the waves were caused by the first Chrome shop grinding off the original chrome instead of chemically stripping it. When I got the bumper back this time it was straight as an arrow and the cost was 2100.00!!!!!! OUCH! , but I don't have to look at that wavy bumper anymore! Edited September 11, 2018 by Seafoam65 (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DualQuadDave Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 I spent $3500 rechroming the front upper/lower bumpers and the rear bumper. That was the "cheap" guy in town. Quality came out ok. Chrome is highly dependent on location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummerboy Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 Had the front and rear chrome done in Cloverdale here: superiorelectroplating.com Not cheap but filled a small hole in the rear bumper and I was satisfied with the results. In 2010 the cost was slightly north of 2G for both bumpers. Mind you, the 71 has more chrome than a first gen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimm63 Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 I used Tri City in TN to do mine some years ago. Wasn't cheap, but he quality was good and they have held up well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Curran Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 I used Paul's Chrome in PA for the rear bumper on my former 65 and was very pleased. That was back in 2006 and it was $1,800 then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeJS Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 Outta curiosity, has anybody ever used or even seen up close and personal, chrome that's been painted? Aside from on-line, and one of the car building shows on TV, I've never seen if firsthand (at least not that I was aware of...), From what I understand if applied by a 'professional' painter it can represent chrome pretty good to the average eye. I certainly wouldn't think it to be as tough and durable as real chrome, but if one's paying the chrome costs I'm reading here, I suspect the bumpers are as 'fragile' as the rest of the paint job on the car... Again, just throwing that out there, but for a budget conscious, non-show build, it might be an option for some to save (or postpone) shelling out thousands for real chrome... For what it's worth, the following was one of the first pages that came up in a 'net search... I have no idea if these guys are good, bad or ugly.... (caveat emptor...?) https://alsacorp.com/easy-chrome/ Later, Mike Swick Edmonton, AB ---- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KongaMan Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 Duct tape is silver. Just sayin'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seafoam65 Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 (edited) It's unbelievable the prices you guys have paid for chroming a bumper that just has a ding in it. My bumpers were 400.00 each on my Riviera and they are beautiful. I used Dal-Chrome in Dallas. I had Paul's chrome some trim rings for Hurst Wheels about 12 years ago and it cost a fortune and about a year later the chrome started coming off of them, on a car that is never wet and never sits outside. Edited September 12, 2018 by Seafoam65 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyntre Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 And every day you wait ... and think about it ... and ponder ... it gets ,,, more ... and more expensive ... Keystone did mine , lifetime warranty , not cheap but if you want cheap sell all the classic cars and collect rocks ...... ??? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bodayguy Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 (edited) I don't know about Texas but around here I think we have environmental fees for disposing of the chemicals used in the process. It adds up. If you got $400 for a bumper, that's astounding. My assumption with chrome has always been, if you have ask, you don't wanna know $$$. Edited September 12, 2018 by bodayguy (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KongaMan Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 All of this underscores the fundamental truism of old cars: buy the nicest car you can, because it will be cheaper in the long run. As for the plating itself: chrome shops look at car guys like caterers look at weddings. If you want a part plated or an event catered it's $X. If you tell them it's for an antique car or a wedding, the price doubles. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jframe Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 Had a rear bumper on my 65 replaced with a used one when I had my accident. The guy I bought the quarter and bumper from, who shall remain nameless since he was an ass and refused to do anything about it, INSISTED on having the bumper redone before the parts left Texas to me. I got the bumper, and you could see hash marks from sanding or grinding in it. I took the rechromed POS to a guy in Adamsville, Tn., who redid it for 600.00 bucks. Looks great now, and I hope the parts supplier is happy with himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalowed Bill Posted September 14, 2018 Share Posted September 14, 2018 Queen City plating was already mentioned. I haven't used them in years, but at one time they were as good as any plating shop in the world. But they are expensive! For an honest show quality job I use "Art Brass" in south Seattle. I have used them for fifty years, without a complaint. Plating is an art and as such is only as good as the polisher who does the work. Whenever you want a job that is done right ask about the polisher, and the cars that carry his work. It doesn't hurt to let the polisher know that you have seen his work, and that is why you are there. This is a tough job for which appreciation is not often voiced. Dare I say a personal gratuity might be a nice gesture. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted September 14, 2018 Share Posted September 14, 2018 On 9/12/2018 at 4:10 PM, KongaMan said: All of this underscores the fundamental truism of old cars: buy the nicest car you can, because it will be cheaper in the long run. Even better, buy a nice 10 to 15 year old car, live long, and prosper. 1978. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
65VerdeGS Posted September 17, 2018 Author Share Posted September 17, 2018 On 9/11/2018 at 8:53 AM, drummerboy said: Had the front and rear chrome done in Cloverdale here: superiorelectroplating.com Not cheap but filled a small hole in the rear bumper and I was satisfied with the results. In 2010 the cost was slightly north of 2G for both bumpers. Mind you, the 71 has more chrome than a first gen. On 9/11/2018 at 7:02 AM, DualQuadDave said: I spent $3500 rechroming the front upper/lower bumpers and the rear bumper. That was the "cheap" guy in town. Quality came out ok. Chrome is highly dependent on location. Boy, am I out of date on today's cost of bumper chroming!!! Thanks everyone for relaying your experience, and for being honest enough to actually quote what it cost you for bumper plating. My rear bumper is quite presentable but has a couple of annoying flaws from when I had it done last time about a dozen years ago. I probably should have returned it to be re-done but was anxious to get the car back together because the body man who restored it had already had it for over 18 months. Considering how bloody expensive it will likely be ($1,000+ here in Canada) to have my rear bumper re-plated today, I might just have to get used to it as it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chewbacca Posted September 27, 2018 Share Posted September 27, 2018 Anyone tried chrome wrap on bumpers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted September 27, 2018 Share Posted September 27, 2018 (edited) Is that a wrap or has this car been painted using the water chrome process? /www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up_CLJXRyaM You might not want to do your bumpers with it but it would surely work for interior pieces or to rechrome that dual snorkel air cleaner. Edited September 27, 2018 by RivNut (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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