electroplating

[gnj588d]

I am getting my front bumper re- chromed soon,a friend showed me some parts he had rechromed with electroplating the looked very good and a lot less money than the traditional method,does anyone have any experiance of electroplating e.g. its durabilaty for instance.Many thanks Mike.

[mdsalemi]

Mike, you'd have to elaborate a bit further.

Traditional, decorative chromium plating (such as that done for bumpers) IS done with an electro-plating method.  They first, by electrolysis, deposit copper, then nickel (sometimes two separate nickel plates) and finally chromium.  So when you say "electroplating" I'd like to know how what you describe differs from the traditional.

Note that the cost of traditional chrome plate has a lot to do with the hand labor and preparation, not the actual plating process itself.  There is a lot of hand work involved in prep, and finally, in buffing at the end.  Labor = $$$.

[gnj588d]

Thanks Michael.I did not know they used the same method,I took a look at there website and saw that they do domestic appliences,kettles kitchen equipment etc but they also do motor cycle and car parts smallish items mainly,my friend had some parts done 111 convertible which looked good.Thanks again will post and let you know how I get on. Cheers Mike

[mdsalemi]

What probably happened, Mike, is that this plating vendor has moved out of the production style into the custom arena.  A lot of platers for custom automotive have done that, as their business in production chrome slows down.

Like everything, you get what you pay for--an inexpensive chrome job on your bumpers will not last as long as a good one by experienced custom platers.  So you have to balance your budget versus what you get.  The less expensive job may not look as good either--which may be acceptable and considerably better than 40-year old chrome on a rusty bumper, but you get the idea.

The one thing some people do is have regret: by cutting $$$ up front, a few years down the line they either have to re-do the chrome, or their tastes change and they don't like what they have.  Doing something twice is generally more expensive than doing it once at a high level of quality.