VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Body - Sheet Metal, Paint & Wood Chrome or Nickel

Getting ready to send some parts out for plating. Can anyone tell me which parts on a 32 coupe should be nickel instead of chrome?

Inside items are nickle and outrside are chrome. Because it's so $$$ to plate it might be best to check with the 32 Tech Advisor jyd@ccountry.net 541-826-2177

Nickel inside handles, handle and instrument bezels, control cable bases, switch plate and other plated metal pieces. Chrome over nickel used outside as it resists weather better.

Thank you.
Another question - would stainless bumpers etc reduce the value and originality of a restoration?

I think overall condition and market desire would have a much larger effect on value. When I finished my restoration in 2001 I estimated the value at around $20000. While it has deteriorated some since then I now have it insured for $15000 . My car is a driver and not a show car but I do have the stainless bumpers and nobody has ever commented and perhaps noticed. For me it was easy to decide as I purchased front and rear bumpers for the same amount it would have cost to plate the front bumper alone.

Some years ago I was at this same decision point with my ”˜37 1/2 ton. Trucks were delivered with only a front bumper. I had one that needed repair and rechrome. I searched for a decent second one for the rear. Along the way I discovered that, at least then, the cost differences between a replacement used, repaired and rechromed one was more than a stainless steel one. The polished stainless bumper is so close in appearance to the chrome one it’s difficult to see the difference. As for overall value difference, I for one wouldn’t let that detail sway my purchase offer either way.

Thanks guys. So getting a used bumper re-chromed is more expensive than buying a new stainless? Wow. Guess i am in for some surprises. I have a chrome grille surround with scratches and dents. Are new or re-popped ones available? In case re-chroming the one I have is crazy expensive.

Be careful with the re-pops, a lot of junk out there. A few years ago I replaced the old grill in my '55 Chevy with a new one from a major supplier, unfortunately I should have kept the original one. It didn't take long for the new one to start rusting.A hard lesson learned. Now I will go find an original grill to put back in.Probably will cost more than I got out of my old one.

I don't believe you'll find any reproduction radiator shells or grills for your '32. I'm unaware of any being reproduced, so you will probably need to have yours rechromed or find one that's been rechromed and is for sale. And yes -- the chrome plating is probably the most expensive part of a restoration. Each of the ones I've done has run into the thousands of dollars and it increases every time.......mostly driven by hazardous waste disposal costs at the plater.

All the Best, Chip

I can almost guarantee that replating will be crazy expensive. Perhaps in Canada it will be less than here in the States. Almost all my plating was done in Canada as it was less than US and the dollar exchange was also advantageous. I have seen headlamp bars, pads and arms repro on Ebay so you might want to compare that cost to the plating cost for those items. The original pads are pot metal and I managed to break one after it was plated so I ended up buying the repro . Hood doors and fingers are also available repro .

Plating does seem to be a bit cheaper in Canada. For curiosity I got estimates on my 1938 bumpers and they were around $400 Canadian each so just over $300 USD. I've been reluctant to send parts out as I keep hoping I'll "find a guy who knows a guy" and my parts won't be at a shop for a year or more. The last plating I had done was a motorcycle gas tank and it took over 3 years. Gut wrenching when someone has rare parts that long. I now have spares of everything chrome so there is hope if something gets lost or dissolved in acid lol...

Thanks all. I have contacted a couple of chrome shops and am going to bring my rad shell and get a quote. Lets see what transpires.