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My front bumper finally showed up around Jan 3rd.
The label was created on Dec 11 so I had given up tracking it when it suddenly came off the UPS truck.

It was only the upper half. I am not sure I will press them for the lower half that I paid for. I feel lucky to have got this much. I know that good, lower halfs are hard to find but I will see what I can do.

We are ice/snowed in at the moment and it is to cold to be in the shop.

Before too long I'll have a nice straight front 1955 bumper but unfortunately the lower half, which is quite straight, will have to be rechromed.

It always amazes me how much 3 different grades of steel wool can improve a nasty old piece of chrome.
The first two images are an interior piece.

Not sure if I have already posted an image of the bumper or not so, here it is sitting on the floor.

I am attempting to straighten out my original, lower bumper piece that I have. I'm not holding out hope for it as I do not have a great workplace for this task. I need a big ass anvil as a base and an extra set of hands for support.

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That's how I cleaned up the sad chrome on my 54. Also a vise works great to squeeze the dents out of the bumber along the edge. Especially the ones from wayward bumper jacks!

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Good call on the vise. I hadn't thought of that. What about dents in the center of the bumper? Have you tried an air hammer on the inside of the bumper? Curious if that works.

Bumper metal is thick, closer to frame thickness vs body thickness. A body hammer used for sheet metal isn't going move it. Something that "presses" the crease and dents out or at least less is also going far less destruction on any remaining chrome.

Another option is to use a press with a couple dies. The you could get more towards the middle. Your aiming for better vs perfect. If you want perfect, send it out for rechroming.

An air hammer may work with right crowned hammer. But you need to back up the work somehow.

I'm sure chrome shops are also probably using torches in addition to hydraulic power to help smooth bumpers before rechroming.

I got the lower bumper reasonably straight as suggested. The lower portion is not as heavy a gauge as the upper section. It's only about a 14 gauge by my sheet metal gauge.

I contacted a chrome shop I have used before in the Nashville area.
They quoted me $1200 to repair and rechrome only the lower piece.

I am working on installing the interior panels in the rear seat area. I need to cut the holes for the spring "clips". Has anyone tried using modern plastic clips to hold the panels in place?

The last one I had done not too long ago was exactly $1000 but fortunately they are in the general area so I was able to arrange for them to pick it up while they were nearby picking up something else. That included the straightening but the only problem is that the new chrome has a slight bluish cast to it against the original upper bar.

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I've been working on cleaning up some of my chrome. My rear bumper in particular needs as much help as I can give it. What three grades of steel wool are you using. I assume you're working to finer grade as you go?

I start with #1 for heavy cleaning.
Then go down the #00, then finish with #0000.
In the end I put a little polish on the #0000 and go over it again.

That's what works for me.