chuckfmtexas Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 (edited) thought I would share a couple of photos of my five #853 Rally wheels for the 1969 Riviera I recently bought. I had two #853 wheels in my collection of Buick 'stuff' and thanks to this site and several forum users I found two more wheels and one more through V8Buick website. Now I am off to the powder coater to get the black paint applied carefully. Some one here or in the BCA forum posted that Pulido Plating in Mesquite, TX South of Dallas had done their wheels and they were very happy with the results. Pulido's is 45 minutes East of Fort Worth so I drove over a couple of weeks ago with my wheels and left them. I noticed Pulido's now advertises in the Riview Riviera magazine www.pulidoplating.com. Price has gone up per wheel which started some months ago at $140/wheel and is now $200/wheel. According to the owner at Pulifo's the price of nickle has exploded in the past few months hence the price increase. The wheels appear to be very nice and they use the 3 layer process including copper under the final nickle. I will post some photos with the wheels on the car with new Firestone radial thin whitewall tires and NOS center caps. Expensive to complete this change over. Chuck Edited July 13, 2020 by chuckfmtexas (see edit history) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbinator Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 (edited) Chuck, the wheels are nicely done. You are having the appropriate sections powder coated? The opening for your center cap is two inches correct? Yes, I’m sure your investment in the changeover is significant. Good quality chrome plating is expensive. im certain your wheel and tire pairing will look great with your car. Turbinator Edited July 13, 2020 by Turbinator (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 #853 wheels have a 2-1/8" center hole. For reproduction caps and centers, check out http://buickcenters.com/riviera.html MItch also has the acorn lug nuts as well. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerage Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 Beautiful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnulfo de l.a. Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 Very nice! Compared to Cali prices $200 per wheel is still a great price. Also I think they will last being they were triple dipped. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seafoam65 Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 Looking good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckfmtexas Posted July 15, 2020 Author Share Posted July 15, 2020 (edited) On 7/12/2020 at 11:08 PM, Turbinator said: Chuck, the wheels are nicely done. You are having the appropriate sections powder coated? The opening for your center cap is two inches correct? Yes, I’m sure your investment in the changeover is significant. Good quality chrome plating is expensive. im certain your wheel and tire pairing will look great with your car. Turbinator Yes, took the wheels to powder coater early Monday. Unfortunately he is very busy so it will be 4 weeks before they are ready. 2 1/8” centers on these wheels. Edited July 15, 2020 by chuckfmtexas (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbinator Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 I powdercoat and can do it now. Shipping to Maryland back and forth is expensive.i do have credible references in the ROA. id fiberglass tape all the chrome for protection. In order to powder coat the area that gets powder coated must media blasted so the powder sticks and cures. Here is some of my restoration : the vanes and webs are powder coated. If you don’t feel comfortable doing business long distance no feelings hurt. I understand. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckfmtexas Posted July 16, 2020 Author Share Posted July 16, 2020 Appreciate your comments. iI have discussed the process with my powder coater and he described His process virtually the same as you did. He has a special tape he talked about when he does a light blast to create the surface for the paint to bind. And the tape is heat resistant for the oven baking process. The owner of the company is a real quality guy and has done nice work for me for 10 years+. I amazed when I visit the shop and see the variety of projects he is working on. I am waiting on some suspension work to be done on the Riviera so the 4 weeks works with my schedule. Thanks again for the interest, Chuck 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbinator Posted August 7, 2023 Share Posted August 7, 2023 On 7/13/2020 at 9:45 AM, arnulfo de l.a. said: Very nice! Compared to Cali prices $200 per wheel is still a great price. Also I think they will last being they were triple dipped. Arnulfo, here we are three years later. Do you think the chrome plating is still $200 a wheel? I would bet it is really expensive. In Maryland I got prices at $600 each and $450.00 each. In the mid 60’s I chromed almost everything on my Honda motorcycle. Then the cost to chrome plate was affordable even for a 16 year old. Turbinator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnulfo de l.a. Posted August 7, 2023 Share Posted August 7, 2023 10 hours ago, Turbinator said: Arnulfo, here we are three years later. Do you think the chrome plating is still $200 a wheel? I would bet it is really expensive. In Maryland I got prices at $600 each and $450.00 each. In the mid 60’s I chromed almost everything on my Honda motorcycle. Then the cost to chrome plate was affordable even for a 16 year old. Turbinator I would be pleasantly surprised if that was still the price BOB. Chrome plating prices here in Cali has gone through the roof as has quality. The main culprit for that is the EPA. They have put so many restrictions / regulations in place that many shops just closed their doors. The one shop that I did business with ( CHRISTENSON PLATING in VERNON) did concourse quality plating that has lasted DECADES on my HARLEY. I recently tried a shop that has been around since the 70’s hoping I would get same quality as CHRISTENSONS provided but it was not to be. The work was mediocre at best. Am still in search of a quality plating service that is local. I am not a fan of sending car or motorcycle parts out of state or country . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbinator Posted August 7, 2023 Share Posted August 7, 2023 4 hours ago, arnulfo de l.a. said: Am still in search of a quality plating service that is local. I am not a fan of sending car or motorcycle parts out of state or country . Arnulfo, I’m with you on the EPA restrictions, etc. As much as government ties our hands there is some good science proving some chemicals in chrome plating causes cancer. Somethings are not to be played with. The shop I was using down South was great, but I couldn’t stand the costs. The chrome costs are Just out of my reach for added value resale items. There are other methods for achieving a great shine and metal protection for metal, but a great shine for some people is not a chrome mirror shine. Additionally, the shops doing other than chrome plating, are not all that keen on automotive gear. Thank you Turbinator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted August 7, 2023 Share Posted August 7, 2023 2 hours ago, Turbinator said: There are other methods for achieving a great shine and metal protection for metal... Hydrographic film? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted August 7, 2023 Share Posted August 7, 2023 When I first started paying attention to chrome plating, the "best" was on OEM car bumpers. If the bumper had been reconditioned and rechromed, it was usually obvious to me. IF it was that good at all. Many variations in chrome plating back then, just as there were for vehicle painters. When I began getting involved with friends who had "show cars", then I became aware of "show chrome". There were a few shops in town that did that work, very well, as I discovered. But oin some types of body parts, it could take a few pieces to get ONE good one (especially if the base metal was "pot metal"). Then, one day in the later 1980s, I was taken with how much better Toyota pickup truck bumpers looked that similar GM items. The Toyota items just looked better/brighter, for some reason. That "reason" was the COLOR of the chrome. The GM chrome was more "whiteish" and the Toyota chrome had a blue tint to it, which made it look brighter. FIRST time I had ever noticed different colors of chrome! Then I came to realize that "show chrome" was a slightly different color than OEM chrome, in addition to the higher gloss. One year in the 1990s, I was at Mopar Nats and happened upon a space on the edge of the vendor area. It was for a chrome shop in a regional town. Of course, he had some samples of his work hanging on a board. Plus some example where the original piece had been ruined by other shops. That's when I really discovered how easy it might be for that to happen, especially on an ornate casting! The multiple layers of underlayment coatings were the issue. Too much build thickness smoothed the ornate designs of the original casting. If done correctly, the ornateness was still there. If not, they were buried. Which led me to understand that the "best chrome is the thinnest chrome", at all layers of the process. With the re-chrome looking just like "the first time" it had been chromed. I suspect that anything on a Harley should be (or normally is) "show chrome", all things considered. At the last small chrome shop I took some stuff to, the basic charge was for a certain base amount of items to be chromed. Not charged "by the piece", but "by the pound" until the vat was filled. So I got a chrome air cleaner top re-chromed, courtesy of our service manager. In the case of INTERIOR chrome, that's a whole 'nuther conversation and learning curve! Take care, NTX5467 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbinator Posted August 8, 2023 Share Posted August 8, 2023 4 hours ago, EmTee said: Hydrographic film? EmTee, Electro polishing, Electroless nickel plating. The Hydrographic film is all new to me. Thank you Turbinatir 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 (Hydrographic film . . . is that related to "body wrap" material for vehicles?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 (edited) Hydrographic film is a design on film that is floated on water in a basin. Dipping a part into the basin allows the film to bond to the part. A really good technician can dip the part in such a way to get a perfect bond. A really good way to replicate the old “wood toned” metal dashes from the late 30s. Google or YouTube for some Edited August 10, 2023 by RivNut Added video. (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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