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Expert
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Location: Jamaica Plain, MA | Hey there, we've been through this before, but the world and the EPA are rapidly changing things. Any thoughts on re-chroming bumpers for a 61 Chrysler? They are simple in design, not much more surface area than a modern pickup truck. The questions-- for a hotrod driver (not show car) does anyone have any idea how much stripping and chroming a basic, straight bumper is these days? And any thoughts on chrome alternatives (which will eventually be the only option, I imagine) such as chrome powder coat or that Spectracolor stuff? |
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Location: Under the X in Texas | There are so many variables between what the shop is capable and willing to do for you, to what you want them to hand you back in levels of quality that it is virtually impossible to give a range. At shows or cruise nights ask car owners who have chrome work that impresses you what shop did the work, what they paid and how long ago it was done. Low quality work looks great for the first year but might not after two years. High quality work can still look great after 20 years with reasonable maintenance. Good luck! |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 323
Location: New Orleans-ish | About 2-3 years ago I paid $550 for the front and $450 for the rear on my '61. |
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Expert
Posts: 3575
Location: Netherlands | Don't forget 'chrome wrap' as an option as well these days.
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Expert
Posts: 2312
Location: Arizona | How durable is that chrome wrap? It is just vinyl? |
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Expert
Posts: 1493
Location: Jamaica Plain, MA | Thanks Brian. Wise thoughts, Wayne, but, at 18 degrees with no end in sight, shows and cruse nights are a bit few and far between up here, so, I need to plan based on other input. This is a 550 HP rod, not a show car. I just want it to look respectable. The chrome wrap stuff seems viable, has anyone used it? I imagine it's just as durable as body color paint, which is an option, but I'd rather have something more stock looking. |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 5008
| Chrome wrap is like polished aluminum, very very bright. It doesn't have quite the mirror finish as real chrome.
The stuff does look great though, almost pure silver looking. I am looking around for more true chrome options. There is the chrome paint which is even better I think.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQrDImRSFHQ
I am going to take a look at spectrachrome also.
http://www.sprayonchrome.com/index2.html |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 5008
| there is also hydro chrome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TDtUHo5cSE
another spectra chrome https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYMLTvDDNM8
you can probably find someone who runs a spectra chrome system.
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 5008
| Cosmichrome also. And good powder coat chrome is supposed to be near perfect. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 873
Location: ALABAMA, HEART OF DIXIE | JT Vincent - And any thoughts on chrome alternatives (which will eventually be the only option, I imagine) such as chrome powder coat or that Spectracolor stuff?
Theres chrome .......... and there's everything else. Nothing compares to triple chrome plating. And one of the best and most reasonable is Tri City Plating in Elizabethton Tenn. Straightening your bumper is part of the process there.
Email or call and they will provide a quote...... http://tricityplating.com/ |
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Expert
Posts: 1493
Location: Jamaica Plain, MA | Thanks Mike and Will. |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 5008
| oh and for small stuff at home
this is a job though 
http://www.caswellplating.com/electroplating-anodizing/chrome-plati...
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Expert
Posts: 1497
Location: Fairfax, Minnesota | BigBlockMopar - 2015-01-13 4:49 PM Don't forget 'chrome wrap' as an option as well these days. From the little that I have read, one of the products on the market may not hold up well in cold climates- stored in an unheated space. I am planning to do more research. Thanks for the information. |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 5008
| that is some nice wrap. Wrap would be good for guys who want to protect their chrome also. Its a great option to be able to drive your cars actually and not have to worry about your chrome getting scratched or hit with a rock. Mine will be a driver so I will probably just wrap or powdercoat. Needs redone? pull the bumper off an rewrap it |
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Expert
Posts: 1493
Location: Jamaica Plain, MA | For $40, it might be worth buying a 5X1foot roll and experiment with it. http://alsacorp.com/strechchrome/buynow.html The website says: "PERFORMS BEST WHEN USED
IN A WARM ENVIRONMENT." I'm not clear if this means simply for doing the wrapping, or it it also pops off in the sub-arctic climate I'm living in at the moment. I think I'll buy a roll and try it on some small stuff inside my house. Like a motorbike helmet or something. Then f it works, I'll take a bumper off and do it inside. Who knows? It might be a ridiculous disaster; I've had a number of them. |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 8445
Location: Perth Australia | Never hurts to try
I think a helmet would be exceedingly hard to do because of the ball shape
I look forward to seeing the results though
All this chrome stuff is getting stupid (as far as price goes), to me, its an industry thats pricing itself out of existance and with the prices the platers charge now, it opens the doors for stuff like this and the spray chromes ect
Most (if not all) of the alternatives to real real chrome arnt quite as good, but not everyone can pay multiple thousands of dollars just to get a couple of bumpers chromed
As for durability, well if its a paint on chrome, it will chip and a wrap will scratch or peel, just like any sticker (decal), but my nice $1000 bumpers on my dodge (that hasnt even seen the road or rain yet) are peeling and rusting already
I can see myself heading down the road of what happened with trying to get my interior done, I will start looking at alternatives to chroming or I will get the chemicals or whatever and learn how to do it myself
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 5139
Location: cornpatch county, Southwest IOA | The spray on chrome looks pretty good. I used it on some interior dash plastic parts. It is only as durable as the urathane clear coat paint that is sprayed on last.
Check into Keystone auto body products-materials. They sell to body shops. They also have a bumper straightening and plating business. They are in Minn. They offer at least two-maybe three chrome options as to quality . I know they have OEM quality and triple chrome quality. They will pick up your bumper at your nearest auto body shop that they call on and deliver there at no charge. That is worth a lot in shipping cost $. Their prices are as reasonable as can be found and my brother was very pleased with the work they did on his 63 T bird. ............................MO |
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Expert
Posts: 1493
Location: Jamaica Plain, MA | Steve, did you buy the whole system for the spray stuff? Eg; the undercoating, the chrome water stuff ,the over coat...etc.? |
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Expert
Posts: 3575
Location: Netherlands | If you have a freshly rechromed bumper, there's also a transparant wrap to protect it.
Few years ago after I bought my "80's style overpainted" '57 Chrysler, I decided to 'rechrome' the taillight-units with some adhesive chrome-vinyl as some clown had dechromed the entire car.
Since the material was too thick to fold over the edges, I had to cut it and lay strips of the vinyl on all the 'sides' of the to-be chromed edges.
Came out fairly nice, and pretty much no-one noticed the units where chromed this way unless I pointed it out to them and they had a closer look.
Before
During;
After
Edited by BigBlockMopar 2015-01-18 6:16 AM
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 5139
Location: cornpatch county, Southwest IOA | JT Vincent - 2015-01-17 5:41 PM
Steve, did you buy the whole system for the spray stuff? Eg; the undercoating, the chrome water stuff ,the over coat...etc.? No I didn't. I used a shop that does this as one of their services....................MO |
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Regular
Posts: 50
Location: New York | Stretch Chrome Film has been mentioned but not reviewed yet.
There is also Silver Nitrate coating or copper infused paint for plastic parts. I haven't tried any of them yet but have some projects in mind.
Stretch Chrome vinyl plastic,
http://alsacorp.com/strechchrome/showcase.html
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Silver Nitrate coating, (like silvering for a mirror. needs to be sealed with a coat of clear paint to protect)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaFJsiBclb0
http://customcreationpaints.co.uk/spray-on-chrome/DIY/20-discount-3...
...and this is what can happen when silver plating goes wrong(check the video comments, in this instance it may have been applied incorrectly),
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW1Iuk5iqZY
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Copper paint (this is for plastic parts so that they can be chrome plated the real way)
(paint and plating is discussed at 2:00),
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKflhTrRh2k
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Expert 5K+
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Location: cornpatch county, Southwest IOA | MOPAR-TO-YA - 2015-01-16 1:39 AM
The spray on chrome looks pretty good. I used it on some interior dash plastic parts. It is only as durable as the urathane clear coat paint that is sprayed on last.
Check into Keystone auto body products-materials. They sell to body shops. They also have a bumper straightening and plating business. They are in Minn. They offer at least two-maybe three chrome options as to quality . I know they have OEM quality and triple chrome quality. They will pick up your bumper at your nearest auto body shop that they call on and deliver there at no charge. That is worth a lot in shipping cost $. Their prices are as reasonable as can be found and my brother was very pleased with the work they did on his 63 T bird. ............................MO
Update---I was at their Omaha store yesterday. Now , for chrome plating, they only offer high quality triple chrome plating and straighten on bumpers. I saw some display samples and they were very nice. They give a lifetime warrantee on their chrome and workmanship. Bumpers for a 1964 Dodge--front $367---rear $344. And they will pick up and deliver at a body shop they call on, only 20 miles from me. No shipping charges. Turn around time was 3-4 weeks...................................MO |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 5139
Location: cornpatch county, Southwest IOA | MOPAR-TO-YA - 2015-02-25 12:47 AM
MOPAR-TO-YA - 2015-01-16 1:39 AM
The spray on chrome looks pretty good. I used it on some interior dash plastic parts. It is only as durable as the urathane clear coat paint that is sprayed on last.
Check into Keystone auto body products-materials. They sell to body shops. They also have a bumper straightening and plating business. They are in Minn. They offer at least two-maybe three chrome options as to quality . I know they have OEM quality and triple chrome quality. They will pick up your bumper at your nearest auto body shop that they call on and deliver there at no charge. That is worth a lot in shipping cost $. Their prices are as reasonable as can be found and my brother was very pleased with the work they did on his 63 T bird. ............................MO
Update---I was at their Omaha store yesterday. Now , for chrome plating, they only offer high quality triple chrome plating and straighten on bumpers. I saw some display samples and they were very nice. They give a lifetime warrantee on their chrome and workmanship. Bumpers for a 1964 Dodge--front $367---rear $344. And they will pick up and deliver at a body shop they call on, only 20 miles from me. No shipping charges. Turn around time was 3-4 weeks...................................MO
Keystone is also known as LKQ . I think some kind of merge.......................MO
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Expert
Posts: 1493
Location: Jamaica Plain, MA | The stretch chrome stuff kinda works. It's like contact paper, only made of mylar or something. I'm not good enough at using it to come up with an acceptable looking large part. |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 5139
Location: cornpatch county, Southwest IOA | MOPAR-TO-YA - 2015-01-16 1:39 AM
The spray on chrome looks pretty good. I used it on some interior dash plastic parts. It is only as durable as the urathane clear coat paint that is sprayed on last.
Check into Keystone auto body products-materials. They sell to body shops. They also have a bumper straightening and plating business. They are in Minn. They offer at least two-maybe three chrome options as to quality . I know they have OEM quality and triple chrome quality. They will pick up your bumper at your nearest auto body shop that they call on and deliver there at no charge. That is worth a lot in shipping cost $. Their prices are as reasonable as can be found and my brother was very pleased with the work they did on his 63 T bird. ............................MO I got this wrong. I sent in my 64 Dodge bumpers and was told that there is only top line triple chrome plating. available. My brother was real pleased with his bumpers---Waiting and waiting for mine to get back. They did say 4-8 weeks...............................MO |
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Veteran
Posts: 131
| I just talked to a Keystone rep last week. They quoted me $416 each ( 4pcs) and currently they are up to 16 weeks out.
Silly me, I thought I'd have them back before Carlisle. |
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Replating Bumpers
