Excuse me, this is gonna cost HOW much???

The last big ticket item on the list of things to do for the Diamond T is getting the grill and hood trim re-chromed. The hood trim is plated steel, the grill is (I think) die cast. Knowing that it takes time and won't be cheap, I'd started searching for a place to send it out, get an estimate, and have it done by late spring so I'll have everything at hand.

A pretty well known plater advertised on their website to send detailed photos, and they could ball park a price, depending of course on what the stuff actually looks like when they recieve it. So, yesterday I took some close up, high res photos, and emailed them to see if they could give a rough idea before I ship the stuff off.

Late in the afternoon, I got a very nice email back with an estimate of (grab on to something solid) $5,000 to $5500 to plate the grill and 10 pieces of sheet metal hood trim.

Now, I realize that times are tough and things cost what they cost, and that the actual amount can't be determined via a photo in an email attatchemt, but holy crap, am I that out of touch? The truck cost $4700, and I thought that was too much, I'm sure as hell not spending a thousand more than that to plate the grill. I'll have it stripped and polish the die cast (and touch it up every week), use plastic stick on trim on the hood if that's what it takes to get it done rather than spend 5K + to get this relatively small amount plated.

All the chrome on my wagon had been done when I bought it, the last car I had the chrome done on was a '41 Chev about 15 years ago, and I spent about 500 bucks for the grill, door handles, and misc. stuff, I've never had much stuff done, so I wasn't ready for that. I was absolutely floored with this estimate.

Not to disparage the company that gave me the guesstimate, but what are the rest of you guys doing? This is a small amount of stuff, compared to many restoration projects. If this is what chrome plating costs, the average hot rod or restoration job could entail 10's of thousands of dollars, which even by todays prices seems pretty extravagant to me.

Any input, leads or advice about where to send this stuff out there? I want stuff shiney, but I'm not taking a 2nd mortgage on the house to get a grill for an old truck plated...

Brian

 

Were they in Tennessee?

 

It was the midwest, that's all I'm say'n...

 

A nice satin finish would look nice.

 

That price doesn't surprise me at all. Especially for pot metal.

 

this is an option http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=422901&highlight=bumper

 

Call Ogden Chrome in Ogden, Utah. Fair chance they may treat you O.K.

http://www.ogdenchrome.com/

 

Yup, if your staying on the less expensive side give hotrodhabit a shout and see what he would do the grille for.

 

You could try finding some one who does the Spectra chrome

 

Yup, that was exactly what popped into my head when I got the estimate too. I've seen a car with spectra-chrome bumpers and trim, didn't know what it was at the time. I knew it was different (I though maybe black chrome or a variant) but sprayed I didn't guess.

I'm a pretty good painter, and (obviously) I'm cheap, so I may try. The option is to strip the chrome plating from the grill and just polish it. Die cast tarnishes quickly, but for 5K I'm willing to get out the Mothers polish every other week. I'm not opposed to stick on trim for the hood either. There is a practial limit to what I can spend on this thing, I'm not throwing money I don't have, or dipping into my 401K for this.

Jet Hot or similar coating also is a thought, in silver, which looks sort of like polished nickle to my eye...

 

On one jalopy, I stripped off the chrome with flap disc, exposing the brass. After a couple of years, I'm asked all the time how I did that, it looks fantastic, and different. On the other one I run my original grille shell with pitted chorme and like it. That ain't rust man, it's patina.

 

I'm curious to know what you were expecting the bill to be.

 

Wonder if that included the K-Y Jelly?

 

you mite try a silver powder coating too looks good aat ten feet

 

I could just throw a thin coat of Tractor Supply International red on the new box, sand thru it a few spots, drag it outside and let it rust and fade to match the original paint on the cab and front fenders, and call the whole thing good too...

 

I was honestly expecting to spend about a thousand to fifteen hundred on the grill and hood trim. Guessing shop time at $100/hr, how long could it take to polish a non pitted, non bent, non damaged grill? I guess about 50 hours...

 

Seem like the sprectra chrome could be a good option...

If you polished the die cast, could you have a clear powder coat applied to keep it from tarnishing? I am not sure how that would turn out.

Cool truck, BTW

 

Here are a few shots of my bro's F-100 Another buddy of mine owns Wheel Tech out here, Everything you see in the pics is powder coated Chrome done by Wheel Tech..

Note the intake and Valley were not polished, i brought them to him and they were just sand blasted. He has it down..

I imigine you could get everything done from him for about $4 to $500.00 maybe alittle less.

 

You might try chromeplaterjosh here on the HAMB and see what he quotes.

 

E.p.a.regulations have hurt platers big time.Im sure its for the better of all but it cost lots to dispose of any hazardous chemicals these days.Platers should chime in just to enlighten everybody on how much this adds to the cost.Burl.

 

I wouldn't even expect to get a bumper chromed for that these days and a bumper would be way less work then that grill with having to polish between then grill bars and all the corners etc. involved.

 

I understand your pain and was thinking of posting my own "shock". Not to hijack your thread but to let you know that "buisness must be good" to be able to charge big bucks. I sent a well known insterment/gauge company an e-mail with pic's of a '60 ish Willys wagon gauge bezel to retro fit newer gauges into. Got an E-Mail back saying $3000 to $3800, I still haven't found the rite words to respond back.

 

You might give Mickey Hale Restorations in Ohio a call. Seem like he was getting set up to do Spectra Chrome a couple of years ago.
Larry T

http://haleperformance.com/

 

Many many industrial and decorative platers have been forced out of business by stiffening EPA regulations about chemicals and disposal and handling, as well as cleanup costs for past sins at their locations. Yes, they did actually dump their tanks in the back lot for decades.
The platers that survive have kept themselves ahead of the curve in chemical treatment and disposal and concentrated on speciality work such as decorative chrome, or "gone underground".
I'm not surprised at that "outrageous" estimate for plating your grille and hood trim.
That shop is probably a specialty decorative plater whose repitation is based on nothing but top quality work and their prices show it. A local shop might not do quite as good a job polishing or might not include the copper underlayment for the nickle and chromium but would be a good bit cheaper.

 

time to find a MEXICAN chrome shop we can trust.............not to be confused with the bumper boyz!

 

I've noticed a very marked increase in prices compared to a few years ago. I have offered chromed CE I beams, both drilled and undrilled for years but the increase has made them unaffordable. I offer chrome packages on my chassis, but that price has gone up the last few years. On my own projects that I am going to keep I've been stepping up to stainless. Cost a little bit more but is forever!

 

It wouldnt matter if you said they ask you $15,000 ,there would be some guys chime in and act like that was reasonable, like thats what they pay for stuff all the time.............its almost funny............Not really

 

Yikes. I knew chroming stuff was expensive, but damn.

 

I think the price is a bit high at first glance, but most likely that price is assuming you want the pieces to be as nice as humanly possible.

The grill is not a one unit deal. Every single piece must be restored separately by skilled hands. It is so much more than polishing the metal and plating the metal. There will be rot through on possibly all of the pieces. Not only do these pieces need lots of filling, they will need to look like they were not filled, as in undetectable, requiring hours and hours of copper plating, and hours and hours of detailed sanding.

Without doing or witnessing it, it is hard to understand how much skilled work is required to restore brightwork (the term "rechrome" is a bit misleading in this instance,) especially sheet steel and pot metal. They are the hardest.

I could give an estimate if you are interested. Just PM me.

I have posted some progress pics of a Kaiser custom's brightwork I am working on. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=272171&page=16&highlight=51+kaiser

That gives an idea of restoring some rotten small pot metal pieces.

 

That is amazing! Looks identical in those pics.