Here in Canada the cost for chrome plating for my 57 bumpers is 700$ piece.
Mostly because of the length, shorter it would fit in the basin so price would
cheaper they told me.Repro are not so good looking, as I want to keep original
look.It is why I kept mine even though they are peeling. Yves from Canada
> Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2011 15:57:10 -0500
> From: [email protected]
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: Re: [vintagvw] Refinishing bumpers
>
> When I had chrome done, years ago, I made the mistake of having the
> parts sandblasted first, as they were pitted. The chrome shop did their
> best, but the result was not so good.
>
> A good chrome shop should have the ability to chemically derust and
> strip the old plating off the parts, and can copper plate and polish
> them to fill in pits. They then nickel plate, which is the actual
> "shine", do more polishing, and then a flash of chrome to seal the
> nickel. When you get the parts back, you can seal them with a clear
> coating, or wax the heck out of them. My experience with "show chrome"
> is that it's easier to screw up with exposure to salt, etc. than factory
> plating - might have been the shop I used.
>
> If you want to paint, simply sanding off the roughness may work, if the
> original plating isn't peeling. Once it starts to peel, all you can do
> is strip it down to base metal and start from scratch.
>
> POR will adhere well to the rust in the pits, but I don't know how well
> it sticks to the remaining plating. At least, the POR would help fill in
> the pits. Perhaps wet sanding the bumper would allow POR or primer to
> bite on the plating - really don't know.
>
> I bought new "show chrome" bumpers for my '67 a few years ago, from a
> major supplier - they pitted and rusted in one winter outside, even
> without driving in the salt. Sure looked nice right out of the box, though.
>
> Chuck Kuecker
>
> On 7/31/2011 2:17 PM, Bert Knupp wrote:
> > Volks,
> >
> > An old question (aren't they all?). I'm fixing up a '72 SuperBeetle as a
> > daily driver -- not a show car or anything. It has pretty good original
> > bumpers, not sprung or dented, but with some surface rust on the chrome and
> > quite a bit on the insides.
> >
> > Aftermarket bumpers are around for about $85-$90 apiece, plus freight, but
> > they're probably Mexican or Brazilian flimsies. The "show-quality" new
> > bumpers in the catalogs would run to over $175 apiece -- more than the car
> > cost me.
> >
> > I'm shopping about nearby for a chrome plating place. What's the going
> > price for replating original VW bumbers in your areas? What should I be
> > looking for? I'm assuming that I can do the backsides with POR-15 and
> > they'll be fine. Or should I seriously consider painting the bumpers? What
> > prepping would the rusty chrome need?
> >
> > Bert Knupp in Music City USA
> >
> > |__n__
> > (_____)º
> > (Ô\_|_/Ô)
> > ü ° ° ü
> > Polizeikäfer '70
> >
>
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