Anybody know of a good chrome shop for bumpers? Need my rear bumper on 66 442 done.. Show chrome not needed. Just a good job. Thanks

 

Sandy's did mine. They were the cheapest around. I think I paid Like $300 each 12 years ago. It might have even been some special they were running like $350 for two, I can't remember for sure.

https://sandysbumpermart.com/

Definitely driver quality though

 

Tri city plating in TN does well. Ogden, I think, too. Do not use Bumper Boyz or Tamraz.

 

X2 for Tri City. Don't expect to see a $300 price these days. Also, price will depend on the condition of your core. Any straightening or filling of pits will increase cost.

 

X3 on Tri City ... just received front and rear for 70 Cutlass on Tuesday. Excellent work and beautiful chrome!
Chip is great to deal with 800.251.7536...
Turn time was 7 weeks.
Good luck
tim

 

Thanks, I will call tri city..i figure its going to cost me 700-1000 to do a rear bumper..Its in great shape, just needs replated..

 

Being out in CA I heard bad stuff about Bumper Boyz but what is the closest option and what is everyone's experience with long distance shipping? (To Tri City, etc.)

 

You said you didn't want show chrome and I think you're in NY. What did Sandy's quote you?

 

I've heard good things about the guys in Tennessee but haven't used them. I had mine done by Ogden out in Utah. They offer 3 options which they call something like 'street', 'show' and 'concours'. I went with 'street' and was extremely happy. Both bumpers came back straight with no imperfections and chrome quality was top notch. I don't know how they could have gotten any better if I'd paid for 'concours'.
It was about $800 each (~2 years ago). The front had a few tweaks but the rear had a lot of corrosion on the back side plus some dings. They still honored the $800 and didn't skimp on the quality. They had to run it through the plating process multiple times as they kept finding things they weren't happy with and started over.
I'd highly recommend them. Someone also mentioned shipping. That's another scary story for another day! I get nervous shipping anything through UPS or FedX, regardless of size.

 

Sandys quoted me 600 without seeing it, they said it could go
higher obviously. I live in Florida, I need to see what try city is.. my car is a real nice driver so either company will be fine I am sure..I was planning 700-1000. So then shipping etc..ugh..

 

Tri City X 4
Very happy with their work.

 

Thanks. They're about an hour away form me. I typically recommend them if you're not looking for show. They used to be the cheapest around but at $600 they're probably close to other places now.

Many people used to use Keystone

https://www.keystoneautomotive.com/

I haven't heard much about them lately. They used local regional places to chrome so the quality would vary a lot. You could drop a bumper off at a local auto parts store and they would ship for free

 

I remember talk about the big 3: Tri city, Northstar(?) and maybe Keystone?

 

Run, don't walk, away from Bumper Boyz. I've never heard a single person who was pleased with their work. I've head lots of people who were not.

 

We've had this conversation before. I can't speak for anyone else's experience, but both bumpers on the '73 Custom Cruiser I purchased from the original owner in 2010 (and sold in 2014) had been rechromed by Bumper Boyz. The job was done in 2004, six years before I bought the car. When I sold it 2014, which was 10 years after the rechrome job was done, the bumpers still looked like new.

The photos below were taken in 2014, so you're looking at a Bumper Boyz rechrome job 10 years after it was done. Looks pretty good to me.

 

How close are you to Melbourne? I had Space Coast Plating do mine and they turned out great. They were a little pricier than your limit. I think my bumper that was completely straight was about $1100. They also have a long lead time.

 

I've had two '66 bumpers done at Qual Krom in Erie, PA. Very pleased with the results, and prices were reasonable.

https://qualkrom.com/

 

I used Qual Krom for the bumpers from my 64 Vista and they did a very nice job, but it depends on you definition of "reasonable". These were $750 for the front and $800 for the back. They did need quite a bit of straightening, however. TriCity did the bumpers for my 67 Delta, which have a LOT of surface area and the separate end pieces for the front, and prices were a touch less. In both cases I did drop off and pickup at Carlisle, so no shipping charges. I use Qual Krom for pot metal - they do a phenomenal job on pitted trim.

 

Qual Krom was $550 for a good core, and $750 for a not-so-good one. I travel through Erie a few times a year, so drop and pick up. Family business, happy to provide a tour and show off their work.

 

North Star in Twin Cities, did one hell of a job for me. I won't bother telling you the cost as it was 20 years ago. Show chrome triple plating. They still look new. Clean them carefully so as not to scratch and coat with carnauba wax annually. You are looking at 2002 applied chrome here. I still hear good things about North Star.

You want triple chrome. If not you may be able to see the grinding and other metalwork under the new chrome. Spend the money you'll be happier.

https://www.northstarplating.com/

A couple more the NCRS guys and Ridler Award guys use.

Pauls:
https://www.paulschrome.com/

Advanced for high-end custom work:
https://www.advancedplating.com/site/

 

I used to work for a shop in high school.

The Finishing Touch Inc. in Chicago. Great work, absolutely beautiful stuff. Mark is the owner, give him a call. He'll take you on a tour of the facility if you're local and want to stop by!

www.thefinishingtouchinc.com

• 5580 Northwest Hwy. Chicago, IL 60630
• 800-403-4545

 

Pauls chroming is excellent, but they were $1000 for a clean bumper 20 years ago, but they still look perfect today

 

I’ve had excellent luck with Bumper Boyz over the years. Recently picked up a set for another project (1938 Ford Convertible Sedan) at the Turkey Rod Run at Daytona Beach (saved on shipping).
Chrome was excellent and personnel was friendly and professional.

 

Seems like a mixed bag. I'm surprised I didn't reply to this thread years ago. I had bad luck with North Star plating. The father of a friend used TriCity plating for his 50 Ford years ago and it was beautiful.

 

Bumper Boyz if you like to watch them peel like my bud's did after a few months. Can't beat the look of rust showing thru.

 

Crap on Bumperboyz all you want. To each his own.

I bought a '73 Custom Cruiser in 2010 and sold it in 2014. The previous owner, who was the original owner and who had passed away (the car was being sold by his family) had had both bumpers rechromed by Bumperboyz in 2004 at a cost at that time of $650 for both of them. The guy was meticulous and kept receipts for every dime he spent on the car.

The bumpers looked great when I bought the car six years after the rechroming and still looked just as good when I sold it 10 years after the rechroming.

 

Glad you had good luck with them. Maybe they were much better 20 years ago. That is a great looking wagon. Would like to find one like that.

 

Beautiful car and the pictures look great, just like they did in 2020!

 

Like everything else in this economy, chrome prices have sky-rocketed. Tri-city did my Toro bumpers in 2018 for $675 each. Others at that time gave me quotes as high as $1500 each. Last week at Carlisle, asked Tri city about rechroming a 77 Can Am bumper... Their quote was $1200 per bumper. Tri-city has always been the most reasonably priced plater out there. I can't imagine what others are charging now, probably $2500 plus per bumper.

 

Yeah, TriCity resisted the increases for as long as possible. Bumpers for my 67 Delta and 64 Vista were in the $750-800 range about five years ago. My 69 H/O bumpers were about $1000-1100 each two years ago. My 69 Cutlass wagon back bumper was $1200 at Carlisle last week.

 

Qual-Krom in Erie PA was my go-to, but they stopped doing bumpers (too heavy; they're an older couple), and now they're entirely out of the rechroming business. So I visited Custom Chrome Plating in Grafton OH, 30 minutes from my doorstep. Their work is top-notch, but $2500 to do a good core was crazy. In the past I'd also used Tri-City (Elizabeth TN), and returned there. $1000-1100, and they use hexavalent chromium, same as what was originally on most of our cars. Yes, it's toxic, but trivalent chromium gives a different color; Custom Chrome Plating uses trivalent, and adds dyes to get a "hex" appearance.

 

This isn't a plug because I'm 50/50 on this company.
I had them do bumpers and a bunch of smaller stuff(tail light buckets, molding etc.)

Wasn't thrilled about the smaller pieces, I think they ground off too much pot metal in places and softened the sharp edges.
BUT for $700 a piece, I think the bumpers turned out great!
(June this year)

These were very straight when I brought them up with no rust.