I spent 400+ rechroming a few bits for ol seabert. That included the
door dividers, a couple latches etc... It ain't cheap thats for sure.

On Sun, Jul 31, 2011 at 3:26 PM,  <[email protected]> wrote:
> I am in NJ, but have quite a few usuable/restorable bumper 
> parts........anyone closeby come pick through. Eric Howell NJ
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Chuck Kuecker
> Date: Sunday, July 31, 2011 4:57 pm
> Subject: Re: [vintagvw] Refinishing bumpers
> To: Air-Cooled Volkswagen Discussion List
>
>> 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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