imported_buick5563 Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 Hi there, I just recently took all the chrome off of my 55 and am sending the bumpers to have them replated. Has anyone ever found a chrome shop that did a good job on pot metal? There seems to be more pot metal on this car than steel, when you count the taillight housings, grille surrounds, portholes,etc. Should I buy new portholes and bombsight? I just know that the last time I bought chrome pieces (mirrors) they showed bumps two minutes after putting them on. Is it better to just rechrome my originals? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 I hope you didn't send you bumpers to Superior in Houston....I had real good luck sending all my pot metal to a place in Chicago. They redid everything on my 1950 wagon and it turned out looking great. If you want to see some, you are close enough.They are the Finishing Touch at 5580 Northwest HighwayChicago, Il 60630 (800) 403-4545. Talk to Mark.Their website is at http://www.thefinishingtouchinc.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad54 Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 A guy named George Iverson in Minnesota can restore your pot metal to concours quality. I've seen amazing examples of his work. (800) 325-0480. He won't be cheap, but the pieces will be perfect.You can save a lot of money on the bumpers at Northstar Plating, also in Minnesota. Again, concours quality work (templates to match bumbers to ensuring they're straight, 3-foot long belt sanders ensuring no waves in the chrome), and the prices are amazingly low. I was quoted $225 for a one-piece '57 Chevy front bumper, and $1500 for all the front bumper on a '59 Caddy. (800) 432-3720.-Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_buick5563 Posted August 7, 2004 Author Share Posted August 7, 2004 Thanks guys,No Bill, I didn't send them to Superior, but thanks for the heads up. I've heard about both of the places you guys mentioned, just wanted references, thanks.Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxops Posted August 7, 2004 Share Posted August 7, 2004 I have to concur with Northstar Plating. They did my 70 Electra bumpers, and the results were great, and it was a pleasure dealing with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_buick5563 Posted August 7, 2004 Author Share Posted August 7, 2004 Oh yeah, what about the buy new vs. restore for the portholes and bombsight?Thanks Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrg50 Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 Sometimes portholes and bomb sights are hard to replate, might be better to find N.O.S. Sometimes when you mix N.O.S. and rechrome they don't look the same, although it might not make any difference with portholes and a bombsight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_buick5563 Posted August 12, 2004 Author Share Posted August 12, 2004 I dropped off the bombsight with my other stuff. The shop owner said he would do his best and charged me an additional 10 bucks since all the other stuff I dropped off hit the 1k mark. If it doesn't look good I didn't really lose anything, I'll just find another one(mmhmm). Who knows? Maybe it'll work out. He did say there was no way for him to do the inner chrome on the portholes and since the outer part of the housing isn't exactly seen, I'll get some repops for those. Interestingly enough there was actually another batch of 55 parts in a box that had come in yesterday. What are the odds? Who says Texas is Ford country? Thanks guysMike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 One issue with the "new" vs. "replated" items being mixed could involve the "color" of the chrome plating. Look at the chrome bumpers on a Ford pickup and then look at the same things on a Toyota pickup and it's quite obvious.Factory chrome can also have grinder marks in the base metal (usually only seen under a light at a particular angle to the part) whereas the rechromed items will be totally smooooooth--although each one will look smooth until you put them both side by side and checked for buffer marks. I've seen this on door handles, for example. Once you know what you're looking at, you can tell if it's OEM, repro, or rechromed.Iverson does advertise that he does pot metal items in addition to his other products. He also has some stainless steel polish too. From what I saw this past week of his display nameplate scripts that were redone, they are definitely better than concours quality, but would certainly make OEM items look like they need to be plated too. One thing leads to another . . .Just some thoughts,NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_buick5563 Posted August 17, 2004 Author Share Posted August 17, 2004 ...and another. Thanks Willis.Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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