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The chrome and nickel work on my 34 was 21K and change. Many of the pieces were in poor condition, and not everything was replated. For example, the hub caps were swapped with Bill H repros, the grill shell was replated during an earlier engine rebuild, and some of the engine nickel just needed polishing. Several other easy to remove, and not too beat up, pieces were left for a later time.

I just finished getting most of the shiny bits for the 30 engine bay replated (nickel) at a somewhat local shop. The cost was $2100 for 128 mostly small pieces. They appear to have done a good job, but time will tell.

Cheers,

Tom

Pick your rechromer wisely......I used a man that appreciated cash anf thoroughly liked the idea of putting classic cars back on the road! There are true car lovers everywhere around us.

Pick your rechromer wisely.....

You can't easily do that without feedback from those who went before.....

Apparently very few of you are willing to provide as muvch as positive comments, let alone negatives. Angies list publishes negatives about vendors; why are we so intimidated?

..........you make a good point............ but cash works too when want to get the desired quality. I won't post the man's name here; as most viewing will not spend the $$$ to have a piece rechromed. Call me, PM me or in some way start a relationship, and I might share a good man that will do an expert job.

Apparently very few of you are willing to provide as muvch as positive comments, let alone negatives. Angies list publishes negatives about vendors; why are we so intimidated?
I'll start off using the same tone that you have employed. Go ask Angie! Second, if I recommend anyone and they don't do a first-class job OR they make a mistake, then it's MY fault. I don't care to be blamed for others errors. I have said before that any plater is going to screw up a piece sooner or later. Plating is a very controlled process - it is not adding a row of numbers up to get the same result every time. There are so many factors that can go wrong in plating, that sooner or later a less than perfect result will crop up.
I have read your posts for a while and perhaps what you regard as humor doesn't come across that way. You can't hear voice inflections while reading the printed word.
Please don't berate the very people who want to help you.
Last - contact Kevin in AZ who seems to know a very good plater and is willing to recommend them. Good luck.

Quote:
I'd hope that we are all here to help and maybe have a good time at the same time. I am grateful to all my Packard friends here, for my baby wouldn't be on the road without you.
Now back to chrome - I am facing the same rechroming decision and think I have made up my mind. I chose to use the same person that did my interior, a long time auto restorer/customizer here in town. I've seen his work and am very comfortable with his pricing.

Geez! I'm in monetary shock based on some of the prices for replating that I'm reading in this thread. It really reconfirms that the price I paid for the car was very resonable as I could never afford refinishing the britework if I had to pay for it today. There was a receipt in the glovebox from Advanced Plating in Nashville for $3200 that included rechroming all the outside pieces except the windshield wiper stancheons and door handles. They also had to perform repairs to some of the pieces before the plating was accomplished. Sounds like once Advanced established a reputation for themselves as a top notch replating entity then their prices soared out of the average restorers reach. Does sound like we need to establish a list of sources that offer plating and other services at a more reasonable cost.

First of all I want to say that I posted my invoices so someone with a 1940 or parts similar to 1940, or someone with a convertible, could see what an individual part MIGHT cost.

Budgeting $25K-35K if you want decent re-plating may be true for certain cars. It's not specific enough to give you a level, but it's a great heads-up.

I didn't find that to be so with my cost, though my hood vents and ornament had been done and wrapped 25 years ago, those beautiful script hub caps came from Kanter, and belt molding from Max Merritt. Re-chroming my belt molding which had already been done in 1971 would cost about $1200. The stainless belt molding from Max was $600, you just have to polish it. Those items would be added to the $5,800.

Besides getting a heavy duty buffing/grinding machine and polishing any stainless, you can get a set of needle files and work on your parts to preserve the original lines. I did that for my door handles. It was a lot of hours and I stabbed my fingers several times before I handed them back to the plater. There's was more work on them to be done. I just didn't have the skill or maybe the patience to do any more. What I gained what a respect for the prep work platers do for the money.

Secondly, I wasn't providing a commercial or even a testimonial for Oregon Plating, other than it is my LOCAL shop, and I believe that's an important piece of advice, choosing a local resource. As Randy mentioned, soon or later... I my case it was the horn ring. You know how horn ring in the center is split. That caught on a buffing wheel after it was plated. It twisted it. But they showed me and then they sent it out to a metal repair shop and re-plated it. But again, eyeball to eyeball makes a difference.

Also, you can tour, as I did, the local shop. Meet the people face to face, see how they inspect your parts, point out what's needed. I mean, deep down you know when it's in fairly good shape, few if any pits, and when it's a mess.

1. Your parts will be stripped to bare metal, etching the part a bit, exposing mostly good old pot metal, the metal odds and ends off the factory floor thrown into a melting pot and used to make ornaments, door handles, and similar heavy parts.

2. It's glass beaded to clean out crevices and sanded to a finish. Now you see the pock marks and pits.

3. If they are big, it's silver (check market prices) soldered. If small it's plated with copper. Acid copper is better than cyanide copper. Sanded until smooth. If the pits are not filled, then copper plated again.

4. Then it's nickel plated, and flashed with chrome, which goes to the outside. This is triple-plating...3 different metals...not three platings of chrome. If the chrome is on too thick, it's actually dull. Chrome is hard and thin.

My manual says keep it clean, wipe it with kerosene, and wax it.

I thought I was paying a very healthy price for re-chroming. There were times when I thought, forget the show quality and do the daily driver version. But I didn't. The chrome on the Duchess is like jewelry. So I'm glad I stuck with it, and now it appears I didn't pay too much at all, maybe less than elsewhere. I wouldn't have known that if it weren't for this place to share info.

Normally (including here) nothing I say is meant to be pejorative or nasty. It is intended, on occasion, to spur some new approaches, and yes, some reactions.

I am well aware of what a great site this is.....but like everything else, it still could be better. Unlike many sites, this one is something I would drive towards perfection.

Just from these reactions we can readily see that chrome plating is a complex issue.

I was a photographer for my career. I can't remember the number of people who asked for prints, apparently thinking they were free. What I do remember in a 40+ year career is the one person who asked for prints and backed it up with a sizeable cash on the spot offer. I gave him his money back and sent everything he wanted.....

Plating is also a bit like making photo prints: you could get a 4"x6" from Costco for 13 cents (great value) or a custom dye transfer for 300 bucks (perfection+). Here, as with chrome, the question is what offers the best value for the least money. What is the best compromise.

I disagree, and that is all I'll say.