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Out here in Phx there are only a couple good platers left and they are pricey. Don't go cheap on plating. Not only can the plating be horrible, but there is a good chance that cheap, inexperienced laborers being paid ( hence the low price ) will destroy your original part due to the pitting and contour. I would drop the $100 on a repro for use and tuck the original away. Bumpers and some more stout and easier parts to polish are a different story. Some of the other pot metal parts are way too difficult to get the pits and bubbles out like the license plate frame and windshield post caps, so it makes no sense to plate them unless you spend a lot of money and originality is everything. Even then, who knows.
My two cents.
Good luck
Last edited by GottaLuvA69; Dec 18, 2020 at 10:26 AM.
2025 c3 ('74-'82) of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2022 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2020 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Originally Posted by sstonebreaker
The huge price is due to EPA regs. Hexavalent chrome is toxic as hell (carcinogen) and will contaminate groundwater in a flash. So they have to take lots of precautions. As far as the chrome process, they usually triple plate show chrome - first a copper layer to fill in the pits, then a nickel layer because chrome doesn't stick to copper, and finally chrome. Size matters somewhat since metals do cost, but the real cost is in the EPA precautions they have to take.
All true..
Except for the air cleaner cover & master cylinder cover that are aftermarket and who knows what, all other chrome in this picture was done in triple plate...
STA70972
It was done mostly in '03 & '04 and it's held up perfect.
And just to show you how far prices have gone up, I had everything done including the valve covers for around $500 bucks.
I even had all of those little factory spring clamps done...
California has higher EPA restrictions than other states. You appear to be in Nevada and wondering why you would go to LA for plating as NV will be cheaper. I am in CA and shipped 8 parts to ABC plating in Reno. Was less than half the cost than my bids in CA (platers in Sacramento and Fresno), and included corroded grills (which are hard to plate) and front bumper pieces, etc. Looks good. Consider staying in NV...
My original lid hangs in my garage along with the original valve covers. Pretty happy with the Paragon repop on the car and enjoy the garage art of the original pieces up on the wall. (The valve covers looked like the air cleaner lid before I used 0000 steel wool on them. They came out pretty good, but definitely left micro scratches, hence my decision to get repops of those as well).
I do agree that if your car is mostly original (and if it is, it's certainly well preserved!), maybe just leave it as is? Or get a repop and just hang onto the original.
My factory original lid on my '69 was in excellent overall condition - but the original HP decal was in bad shape from many, many cleanings, and hard to read. So, I purchased a new lid from Restoration Parts Source for $75.99 + shipping; it has a good rendition of the silk screen on the underside. With a new decal, it looks great. Of course, I still have the original lid, but the repop lid looks so much better when I open the hood at a drive-in event.
