chrome question

Hi all,

need an opinion on something here. Basically I need to know if I'm
being too picky or if i have a legitimate complaint. A couple months
ago I sent some pot metal parts to a fairly well known chrome shop to be
replated. Cost was not really an object; finding a plater that would be
willing to work with my parts was. One was a very large parking light
housing that had a chip broken out of it - it was the best that I could
find. The other was a somewhat pitted but mostly good taillight housing.

I received the parts today - they are very nice and shiny, however, the
taillight housing's backside seems to have little to no plating on it at
all, and what there is is white, powdery, bubbling and flaking. The
parking light housing is also quite nice looking, however, there are
some obvious "waves" in the formerly flat surfaces where it looks like
someone was grinding out pits by hand and didn't do that artistic a job.
Also, around the light lens, the contours are a little "off."
Finally, the actual repair of the chip is a little "off" as well,
although that's not such a big deal as it's hidden behind the bumper.
The backside of this shows a couple large bubbles as well, although they
do not appear to be loose and overall it looks like a much better job
than the taillight housing.

Don't get me wrong, the parts will go on my car as it's "only a driver."
However, if I were a concours weenie, I would consider these parts
unacceptable.

Do you all think I'm being overly critical here? Esp. in the case of
the taillight housing, I feel like I have to "fix" the chrome shop's
work before I put it on the car so it doesn't corrode away to nothing.
There's really nothing to be done with the parking light housing at this
point, and I gave all but one of my other cores away at a swap meet
because I thought this was a done deal.

If I have any chrome work that I want done in the future, does anyone
have a recommendation for a good chrome shop that is willing and able to
deal with pitted and broken pot metal? This shop that I'm discussing
was the only one that was willing to deal with my parts, and I called
all the ones recommended by people I knew.

thanks,

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

Hi Nate,

You are not being too picky. I would contact the shop and aske for the
parts to be redone. Unfortunately you'r experience is more and more
common, even with shops that "specialize " in antique cars and
restoration of rare parts. Some problems can be blamed on the
extremely tight regulations regarding the chemicals used in the
rechroming process. Many shops are getting out of the business simply
because they don't want all the hassles from the EPA, etc. Those that
are left have more business than they can handle and often take weeks
or months to complete small jobs.

Those people doing the work either don't care to take the time to do a
job right or just don't know how to do a job right. Many of the people
who have been in the business for years have retired or whatever and
the new crop of platers don't have the skills or know-how. I've even
experienced shoddy or sub par work from reputable platers with whom
I've done business for years. They used to turn out superior work, now
it's like pulling teeth to get a proper job.

I'll check with the shop who does my restoration work and see if he's
found a reliable plater and get back to you.

Forrest

Hi again Nate,

Here's the company my friend's restoration shop uses:

Qual Krom
Great Lakes Plant, Inc.
4725-A Iroquois Avenue
Erie, PA 16511

814-899-8546
800-673-2427
814-899-8632 fax

www.qualkrom.com

Robert Ore, President

I talked to Ron at Classic Car Works yesterday about your problem. He
said plating shops generally don't plate the backside of items or
areas that will not be visible unless you instruct them to do so. As
long as it's not peeling off around the edge or looks like it will
peel off on the face it should not bea problem.

Ron's used QualKrom for many years and says they do very good work
most of the time. He did say that he can tell that their quality
control phase of the operation isn't as good as it used to be.
Whenever he gets a part he considers unacceptable, they always take it
back and fix the problem at no extra cost or complaint. The only
problem with that is the pain in the ass factor and the cost of
shipping the piece back to them. We're in Georgia so it's not like he
can just drive over to the place to pick up or drop off parts.

I hope this information helps you.

Forrest

> GUEST wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> need an opinion on something here. Basically I need to know if I'm

> being too picky or if i have a legitimate complaint. A couple
months
> ago I sent some pot metal parts to a fairly well known chrome shop
to be
> replated. Cost was not really an object; finding a plater that
would be
> willing to work with my parts was. One was a very large parking
light
> housing that had a chip broken out of it - it was the best that I
could
> find. The other was a somewhat pitted but mostly good taillight
housing.
>
> I received the parts today - they are very nice and shiny, however,
the
> taillight housing's backside seems to have little to no plating on
it at
> all, and what there is is white, powdery, bubbling and flaking.
The
> parking light housing is also quite nice looking, however, there
are
> some obvious "waves" in the formerly flat surfaces where
it looks like
> someone was grinding out pits by hand and didn't do that artistic a
job.
> Also, around the light lens, the contours are a little
"off."
> Finally, the actual repair of the chip is a little "off"
as well,
> although that's not such a big deal as it's hidden behind the
bumper.
> The backside of this shows a couple large bubbles as well, although
they
> do not appear to be loose and overall it looks like a much better
job
> than the taillight housing.
>
> Don't get me wrong, the parts will go on my car as it's "only
a driver."
> However, if I were a concours weenie, I would consider these
parts
> unacceptable.
>
> Do you all think I'm being overly critical here? Esp. in the case
of
> the taillight housing, I feel like I have to "fix" the
chrome shop's
> work before I put it on the car so it doesn't corrode away to
nothing.
> There's really nothing to be done with the parking light housing at
this
> point, and I gave all but one of my other cores away at a swap meet

> because I thought this was a done deal.
>
> If I have any chrome work that I want done in the future, does
anyone
> have a recommendation for a good chrome shop that is willing and
able to
> deal with pitted and broken pot metal? This shop that I'm
discussing
> was the only one that was willing to deal with my parts, and I
called
> all the ones recommended by people I knew.
>
> thanks,
>
> nate
>
> --
> replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
> http://members.cox.net/njnagel

If you plan on keeping the
pieces and using them on your car, I would suggest spraying them with
a good coat of clear laquer. It will hinder further deterioration.
Tuffy