Years ago - I heard that "all the REALLY good chrome" was done in Mexico - because the EPA couldn't prevent them from using cyanide baths. Was this true or a wives tale?? I dunno.
My dad knows some places down there. He grew up in Tijuana. What he told me is that if you have an issue, they dont have much of a warranty. He also says its not a whole lot cheaper than here. When you add in gas, food, and time its almost no worth all the trouble.
probably make for a good story though, kinda like when me and the guys went to Mexico and bought a donkey to carry our passed-out and our tequila.
my pop has a house in san carlos, so getting it there and back isnt an issue. the problem is, we are working on a 57 buick 4d ht wagon, so there is a ton of chrome. if we have it chromed here we will have as much in chrome as we will the whole damn car. i have spoke with several people that said that is the place to get your chrome done, but nobody seems to have a name of a shop.
Yes, I have. About seven years ago though. The chrome shops were close to the upholstery district. Costs were half then and quality I got was equal. With chroming prices in California now going through the roof due to environmental requirements, fees, etc... I believe it could not even be MORE lower costs comparatively. Haven't tried it in years though... -scott noteboom
I'm lucky to have a shop up here in CT, New England Chrome Plating, that does reasonably priced work. The nice thing about this shop is that if you don't want a show job they'll do a lesser expensive job for you. I brought a 54 GMC front axle there a couple months ago to be chromed only and it was ony $75. I just brought another one there and asked them to polish the edges only and then chrome it - $150. Well, I think it's fairly reasonable anyways. http://www.newenglandchrome.com/ Ask for Dean.
The shops in TJ are not that good. Seen a lot of bad chrome in TJ. You can't control what they do or really complain about how the parts come back. Painting is a little different. There are a lot of guys with a lot of experience over there, and have managed to do it many years in not so good conditions. I dont think its worth the hassle to go over and get things done. If you look in Traditional Lowriding Magazine, issue #1, the Monte Carlo in their had the interior and chrome done in TJ. Didn't look bad at all, but i think they knew the plater really well. I dont have a copy of the issue in front of me, or I could tell you the shop name. If you PM me, so i remember, i can give you the name of the shops.
Yep if you want Mexican Chrome see the f**king Bumper Boyz.I can tell you first hand about their work.Grab the Yellow pages or ask around I'm sure you can find a reputable shop in your area.Dave
You get what you pay for; we use to chrome lowrider stuff in Monterrey, Mexico, via Reynosa, (Mexican side at the southern tip of Texas) dropped it off in Reynosa, they would drive it to Monterrey and have it chromed there, then bring it back. Monterrey is about a 3 hour drive from Reynosa (Reynosa is about a 6 hour drive from Austin). It was really cheap and nice when you got it but would discolor after being handled soon after, and would eventually yellow out. From what the shop owner told us, all they would do is powerwash it, let it dry and chrome bath it. The cleaner we sent the piece the cleaner the chrome would look . aahhhh good times .
Does El Paso, Texas qualify? In the middle 1990's I was sent to El Paso for a business training class. I had researched chrome platers in El Paso near the border. So I made arrangements to arrive on the weekend before my Monday class. (I thought I would do some sight seeing and a mini vacation - NOT) I boxed up all my small parts (up to the window frames) for my 1957 truck and took them with me as checked baggage. On Monday morning before my class started I dropped the parts of with the plater (hole in the wall place) and confirmed I could pick up the parts on Thursday afternoon (I was due to leave on Saturday). On Thursday afternoon I went to pick up the parts, he had not even started them yet! I told him that I needed the parts by Friday afternoon since I was leaving town. I did pick up the completed parts Friday afternoon. The plating was "okay" but the backsides of everthing looked really bad and rusty.
This threads pretty old man. Im thinking that youd do better going down to ensanada. I would just go find someone with lots of chrome and ask where they got it done.
I think if you bought a house down there and took up residence for a couple of months, you could familiarize yourself with the best shop...hang out there...get all your plating done, bring it back with you after selling the house. Buy lots of switchblade knives, too...Excellent markup here!
We do have a shop here in Phoenix that does the polishing and prep here in town and takes load after load south to Mexico for the actual plating work. I have several friends that have used their work and the quality is very good. It's also the older looking, heavy, slightly blue cats plate that used to be so common here in the states. The companies name is Fernando's Metal Polishing.
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