I have received several quotes for chrome plating my bumpers on a 1953 ford. The quotes range from $320 to $800 each. What is a reasonable price? I realize sometimes you get what you pay for, but the highest price does not always mean better. Has anyone had any dealing with the bumper shop in Los Angeles? Any info would be appreciated.
Do a search on here about the bumper shop and the bumper boys.... etc. Seems like they are a rip off. I am using Advance Plating in TN. They are real good and do great work. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
We have not had any dealings with the bumper shop. We use Highline Plating in Cuba MO. (573) 885-7651 I understand it is far from you, but they do great work, have very reasonable costs and great turn around time. They will straighten and rechrome a bumper for us for around $375.00-$425.00 I currently have 5k worth of chrome and polishing at their shop.
MJB Chrome Plating 236 South Riverside Ave Rialto,Ca 909-875-1910 Fast turn around ..... Good people... Good pricing Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Here in Washington the price of chrome platting has gone up so high that most of the shops are gone or charge a lot. It is because of environmental laws. If you got a quote here it will be very high compared to other states. There was 3 chrome platting shops in South Park that were very good but now are very gone.
I personally wouldn't get anything chromed in los angeles due to the environmentalist prius driving clowns have ruined that and the paint industry. Arizona is where I do my plating now
Do not use Bumper boys, or The Bumper shop in LA. They are one in the same and both have a very bad reputation.
These guys did the work on my Merc stuff: Custom Metal Finishing IN 9705 State Road 38 Hagerstown, IN 47346 866-489-4089 www.ChromePlatingIN.com The quality of the work they did was excellent. The shop owner is an ass, but they do it right, and for about half of what Advanced in TN or the mope in Cuba, MO. quoted me. PlaterJosh here on the HAMB is family.
Northstar in Brainerd Minnesota also does super excellent bumpers. Price varies, but I would say around $450 each, plus shipping. If you're considering the Bumper Boyz, you can save some money by gluing some tin foil onto your old bumpers. Leave the ends unglued so they are peeling off around the edges, maybe wrinkle up the foil before it goes on. Will give you the same look without having to talk to any of the assholes that work there.
I don't know if they are still around but there was a shop in the pnw that specialized in redoing chrome bumpers for body shops. I used to see their truck go from body shop to body shop every week or so here locally but never found out where they were located. One thing to remember about shipping bumpers off to other states is that you are going to have between 50 and 100 dollars shipping each way on each bumper plus shipping both ways for what ever else you have done to factor into the costs when you decide between having it done locally and shipping them off to be done.
Please,save your hard earned money...stay away from Bumper Boyz there plating is so poorly done the chrome peels prematurely,,I learned a valuable lesson. I had Tri-City Plating in Elizabethan,Tennessee do the bumpers on our '54 Ford Bumpers,They will repair and plate your bumpers or they will work on a exchange basis, I went that route because mine were bent up.they do excellent work. HRP
You definitely get what you pay for when it comes to plating, I had John Wright "Custom Chrome Plating" do mine, wasn't cheap, but they look awesome for as much cutting and welding that was done to them. Also one of the nicest guys you will deal with. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Did you check with American Plating in Centralia? They have done some stuff for me by no means cheap but nice job.
I have used J.V. Polish Metal from Lynwood, CA 213-440-1571 - they travel the West Coast for most swap meets/car shows, even to Washington. not likely traveling right now. charged $250 each to replate my '54 Ford bumpers. came out good. whoever you have do bumpers make sure to mark yours to make sure that you get yours back - don't do an exchange unless you can see how they fit right away. just because bumpers came off the same year, etc as your ride does not mean that they will fit properly.
I like to sandblast the back side of my bumpers before I have them plated that way the backside gets a better plate. Before I did this the chrome on the back would not stick or have rust under it and peel off the back of the bumpers. I also paint the back after plating which gives them a nice finished detail. I also use Advance plating. You get what you pay for!!
What are you painting with? I have a grill at Advanced but I thought they completely strip the piece before they plate it.
A good plating shop would never, ever put a piece in their tanks that still had any trace of rust on it, it'll ruin the plating chemicals. Blasting bumpers on the back sides isn't a bad idea, saves them a bit of work maybe and you can pre-inspect for rust out, but I have a hard time believing any good chrome shop would plate a bumper that still had rust on it. I agree with painting the back sides though, chrome won't "throw" into a concave bumper on the back, so paint is a good idea to keep it from getting rusty. I use that fake chrome paint on mine, you dont really see it anyway unless it's in a reflection.
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