So last February (2007) I saw The Bumper Shop had a deal to chrome each bumper for $175. Well unfortunately that deal was through Danny who I guess has gone his own way and left this shop.
The guys at the bumper shop are still interested in our group and have offered another deal of $275 per bumper. I guess their regular prices are $350 per bumper now.
What do you guys think? This a good deal, or do others have a better option out there I have missed?
We need minimum 5 bumpers to do it. Anyone interested in getting theirs rechromed with me?
Gintedit - June 24, 2009:
OK folks, this particular "group buy" completed last year. Chris (?) aka banger has stepped up to organize a new buy this year. He's started a new thread for same located here:
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=96986
Given that, we're going to close this thread and reference the new one. If you're interested in the deal, check out and post in the new thread.
I had my bumpers done there last year.
Cost was $360.00 for both and they did an outstanding job...
Interested, but have some bumpers with minor dings. I suspect any bump straightening is extra or is there some certain amount allowanced with the chroming?
I'll call later this eve to check if the price includes straightening. I have a few dings, but also a few holes I need plugged up, so I'll check to see if that is also included or an upcharge.
Allan, Did your bumpers need any straightening when they did yours? I wish I would have had my car here last year. I would have been all over it then!
Let me see if my friend has some spares he would like done. Shipping shouldnt be too bad.
Can they chrome painted bumpers?
$175 - $200 is a good deal. $275 is not. For $200 they should include some minor straightening also.
I have 4 to be done if the price is good.
Any idea what they'd charge to fill (weld) bumperette holes? I'm looking to back-date my 74's bumpers.
This is cheap compared to what I've found in the Portland area ~ they want just under $500/per to fill holes (4 small bolt holes total) and triple plate. I think they said $50 per hole to fill. Programmer my ass, I shoulda been a welder.
I had four bumpers done last year and all where great I had one that had a rust whole about the size of a cell phone, thay filled it with brass and fixed all dents with no extra charge.
Would I pay 275 If I had to this work is getting harder to get done, Try getting crome rims stripped down??
Attached image(s)
That sounds high....when I did my 58, I used Superior Chrome in San Jose....
yea, how much to get both done, and cover the 'tit' holes in the front?
I don't have the name of the business, but a year ago, I went to a hot rod show and there was a bumper truck there. They drove around the country picking up bumpers and took them back to a central shop. They filled holes and straighten bends before chroming. There wasn't an extra charge for filling, it was a flat fee. You had to wait until their truck was running your way again. I'm in Seattle and they said it could be a few months before they were back. You had the option of paying shipping to expidite return. I spoke with several guys at the show and they said the outfit did a good job at a very good price. I think I thew the flyer in my folder of vendors to contact when I get to that stage. I'll likely attend another hot rod show before i need to worry about my bumpers......hell, I don't even have paint on the car.
Those bumpers look nice...would you say they are show quality? If you guys get this together I might have 3 to do.
Thanks
Ted K
Has anyone ever done their bumpers in black chrome? Just curious? Do these guys offer it? Is it more? Anyone have any pics?
It's going to be hard to find someone willing to do them for $200 anymore. Obviously fuel costs have gone up, but they are always under pressure from the EPA and now immigration too.
Figure a nice core bumper is worth $150, plus $275 to chrome, plus 25 misc = $450
That's really not too bad and it's still quite a bit less than most places charge.
I spent a couple of hours there when I had mine done and the people running the place seemed pretty nice.
I'm thinking that if you can get a "SOLID" commitment of say 10 or more bumpers and physically go in and talk to the manager, you can probably get the price lowered anywhere from 25 to 50 bucks a unit.
many chrome shops have shut down in teh last 2 years due to increased haz mat disposal fees, increased EPA inspection intervals, energy costs, huge increase in material costs and now fuel prices
Ok, just got off of the horn with the shop. Here is an option they offered, and I'd like your guys' opinion.
They offered $235 per bumper but that is without Copper. He said that when danny did the $175 deal last year those bumpers did not have copper. I personally get the impression he is just trying to justify the higher price. Anyone who had them done last year know for sure if they did or did not put copper on your bumpers prior to chroming?
For copper bumpers it's still $275 each, they aren't budging.
Minor dents and straightening is included.
$15 additional per hole to plug.
Also I understand without the copper the quality/durability of the chrome is not as good. Would the savings be worth it in the long run?
[edit] crap forgot to ask about black chrome.
It all depends on what you want as a final product.....just to clean up the look or high quality show finish. Description below is from Faith Plating's website:
The following is a brief description of our standard remanufacturing process:
Your bumper is straightened by machine and then by hand.
Your bumper is then ground.
Your bumper is then polished by machine and by hand.
After cleaning, your bumper is electroplated with a nickel strike. This strike tank allows the copper to adhere to the metal.
Your bumper is then electroplated with copper. Copper is a soft metal which when buffed, fills in any noticeable polishing lines.
Your bumper is then buffed by machine and by hand.
After further cleaning, your bumper is electroplated with nickel. The silver color you see on a "chrome plated" bumper is actually nickel plating.
Your bumper is then electroplated with a Nickel Durni solution. The nickel Durni allows the chrome to grip the bumper so as to decrease the chances of peeling and rusting,
Your bumper is then electoplated with chrome. The chrome is a clear sealant.
FINALLY, your bumper is inspected, wrapped and shipped back to you!
Order Now
Show Chrome requires the same remanufacturing process as our standard repairs with the follow additions:
Show cars are electroplated with copper several times in order to reduce or eliminate noticeable polishing lines and blemishes.
Many older cars, even well maintained cars, develop rust spots that create pits in the metal itself.
Often these metal pits must be filled in by welding silver into the inclusions
Many small polishing lines which are insignificant on a truck or standard vehicle are examined more closely on cars in show.
Many older cars have delicate thin parts, including die cast pot metal.
Many older cars have cracks in the metal requiring show cars to have parts welded.
As should be expected, show chrome prices are higher than our list prices.
I can assure you these guys are more expensive, but top notch work is the result......its all about what you are after.
isn't the copper plating process a very important part of the chroming (like a primer of sorts)? I know that the copper helps fill scratches and whatnot.
There is no industry standard for "triple plating". It can mean two layers of nickel and one layer of chrome or copper/nickel/chrome. Two layers of nickel are required for proper corrosion protection, so technically that's more important than copper.
High quality chrome involves using copper to fill minor imperfections prior to applying the nickel or chrome. Apparently it's debatable whether the copper adds corrosion protection. The two layers of nickel provide a sacrificial anode to help prevent rust which is very important for exposure.
I'm sure with very good prep an excellent job could be done without copper, but it's probably easier to level the imperfections with copper than having to work the blemishes out of raw steel.
For your reading pleasure. Now if they are to skip the copper plating, are they going to do a nickel dip twice?
Decorative Chrome Plating
Decorative chrome plating is sometimes called nickel-chrome plating because it always involves electroplating nickel onto the object before plating the chrome (it sometimes also involves electroplating copper onto the object before the nickel, too). The nickel plating provides the smoothness, much of the corrosion resistance, and most of the reflectivity. The chrome plating is exceptionally thin, measured in millionths of an inch rather than in thousandths.
When you look at a decorative chromium plated surface, such as a chrome plated wheel or truck bumper, most of what you are seeing is actually the effects of the nickel plating. The chrome adds a bluish cast (compared to the somewhat yellowish cast of nickel), protects the nickel against tarnish, minimizes scratching, and symbiotically contributes to corrosion resistance. But the point is, without the brilliant leveled nickel undercoating, you would not have a reflective, decorative surface.
By the way, there is no such thing as "decrotif chrome plating". That is just a misspelling of 'decorative'.
Buzzwords: "Show chrome", "Triple Chrome Plating", "Double Nickel-Chrome"
"Show chrome" probably means chrome that is good enough to be on a winning entry in a car show. Although most OEMs rely on the "self-levelling" property of nickel plating to give sufficient reflectivity to roughly polished steel, chrome-lovers believe that the key to "show chrome" is to copper plate the item first and then buff the copper to a full lustre before starting the nickel plating.
Whether you start with bare steel or buffed copper, at least two layers of plating follow -- a layer of nickel and a layer of chrome. But high quality plating requires a minimum of two layers of nickel.
Salespeople are always looking for advantage, and they will use any good-sounding terms they can get away with! There are no laws that define what triple chrome plating actually means, so salespeople will be prone to call their service "triple chrome plating" if there are a total of 3 layers of any kind of plating, or "quadruple chrome plating" if there are 4. So those terms mean little.
The most important issue for durable chrome plating for outdoor exposure such as on a vehicle is that it MUST have at least two layers of nickel plating before the chrome: namely semi-bright nickel followed by bright nickel. The reason for this involves galvanic corrosion issues. The bright nickel is anodic to the semi-bright nickel, and sacrificially protects it, spreading the corrosion forces laterally instead of allowing them to penetrate through to the steel. OEMs demand very close control of this factor, and there is a test (the Chrysler developed STEP test) which large shops run daily to insure the right potentials. Careful control of this issue is probably the principal reason that today's chromium plating greatly outlasts the chrome plating of earlier times.
Experts argue whether copper plating provides any additional corrosion resistance at all, but with or without copper plating, chrome on top of a single layer of nickel will not hold up to the severe exposure of a vehicle! Industry professionals call the two layers of nickel "duplex nickel plating", and that would be a much better term to use than "triple chrome" and such.
Chrome plating is hardly a matter of dipping an article into a tank, it is a long involved process that often starts with tedious polishing and buffing, then cleaning and acid dipping, zincating (if the part is aluminum), and copper plating. For top reflectivity "Show Chrome", this will be followed by buffing of the copper for perfect smoothness, cleaning and acid dipping again, and plating more copper, then two or three different types of nickel plating, all before the chrome plating is done. Rinsing is required between every step.
Restoration Work
When an item needs "rechroming", understand what is really involved: stripping the chrome, stripping the nickel (and the copper if applicable), then polishing out all of the scratches and blemishes (they can't be plated over and any scratches will show after plating), then plating with copper and "mush buffing" to squash copper into any tiny pits, then starting the whole process described above.
Unfortunately, simply replating an old piece may cost several times what a replacement would cost. It's the old story of labor cost. The new item requires far less prep work, and an operator or machine can handle dozens of identical parts at the same time whereas a mix of old parts cannot be processed simultaneously, but must be processed one item at a time. If a plater has to spend a whole day on your parts, don't expect it to cost less than what a plumber or mechanic would charge you for a day of their time.
Peeling chrome?
If your chrome plating is peeling, this is virtually always a manufacturing defect due to insufficient adhesion of the plating to the substrate. Although exposure conditions can certainly harm chrome, they don't make it peel. It can be very difficult for the plating shop to get good adhesion on some things (specifically on aluminum wheels) because they are not pure aluminum, but if they can't do it they shouldn't sell it. If your parts have peeling, you should complain and you should not be deterred by nonsense about chemicals in your garage, how frequently you wash the wheels, etc. We'll say it again, peeling chrome is virtually always a manufacturing defect.
I believe you can put me down for 4 bumpers.
You might try to find out how many people for sure will go through and then approach for a price. Just go in and say I have X ready to go, what's the best price you can do for me. I wonder if he is sticking to the price because he is thinking the worst at only 10, if you have 20 confirmed, he might be willing to come down a bit.
I would not do it without the copper phase.
It is done as many times as needed to build up the surface and make it smooth.
Without the copper, it would be wavy at best or it could be worse.
Copper is bondo. Nickle is to give the chrome something to stick to...chrome wont stick to copper.
Rich
One thing to remember guys is that when Danny set up the deal the last time he had a commitment of dozens and ended up with maybe 12 to 14 units.
If you can assure a certain quantity you will have more bargaining power.
And I agree that $275.00 is still a good price.
Jorge,
I'm interested in having both mine done. $550 is the lowest I've gotten on the east coast. That's for one bumper. PM me with details if you need to. Cars on the lift for a six conversion, might as well have shiny bumpers
Dave
I talked to my buddy and he is on board. I need to see how many he has
After I talk to them early next week I'll post the info.
here in canada , its 600$ per unit so put me in for my front , i would want with copper, and good quality as it is for a -6
does it matter if it has surface rust on them, my chrome peeled off and it rusted under it
how would you set it up ,, would we get a code for the pricing , and whats the cost of shipping back to canada or ( 13669 at the ups store)
i will go for it for sure
yves
Where are you on this? Have a price yet? I am interested in getting my front one redone. It has some minor dings I would like cleaned up.
Where do I sign up?
Warrenoliver
Alright. We got another deal.
With a commitment of 10 bumpers.
$250 per bumper, triple plate (with copper)
$15 per hole to fill
Naturally plus shipping to your home. He said it averages about $60 from LA to Portland, so that should give you an idea to guage what it will cost to ship to you.
Also, sorry no black chrome option.
Ok, here is the list of those in. Let me know if I should take you off of it, or add you to it!
2 Narino
1 Warrenoliver
4 Wilhelm
2 914dave
2 freezing14
? Dr Evil's friend
we are at 11 + whatever Dr Evil's friend wants. Sweet! I can't wait for shiny new bumpers!
Anyone else want in?!
I'm in for 3 if it can wait till I get back in town on the 28th. No shipping for me, I'll just drive them in.
Ted K
i will most likely be in, but more of midsummer due to lack of finances.
OK here is the information. Send your bumpers to this address In Care of Victor. If you have holes to be filled, somehow mark them so they know which to fill and which to leave alone. Probably not a bad idea to call them as well and walk them through it. In your shipping invoice note that you are a with the "914 Club" deal. My name is Jorge Narino if they happen to ask who set it up.
Victor
The Bumper Shop
828 E. Florence Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90001
Toll Free: 1800-831-4421
Local: (323) 585-3865
Local: (323) 585-2921
Ben - I'll talk to him about getting in later in the summer. I know he wants the 10 bumpers at the same time for the deal. I'm sure they will be ok with a couple not to much later.
Revised list:
2 Narino
1 Warrenoliver
4 Wilhelm
2 914dave
1 freezing14
3 TedK
? Dr Evil's friend
29th or 30th OK for me to deliver to Victor??
Put me in also.
Do you need to pay up front or will they bill us?
Thanks,
Jule
Good deal, thanks for all the effort!
Ted K
I'm in for 3, and I'll drop off and pick up.
Cool
Jorge,
This is a great deal! Thanks for the hard work. I'll get mine off this weekend and shipped. Mine will be arriving a little later than the rest too. Did they give you any idea of turn around time for these?
Dave
Jorge,
Can I walk my 2 bumpers into this shop this weekend and get in on this deal or do they have to have our names/order info beforehand?
Kev
I am gonna have my friend inventory his stock. He at least has one rear The rest are buried under other parts.
Gladly guys!
No need to be on the list. I was just tallying the number to make sure we get the 10 bumper minimum required.
I currently have a call into the shop. One of our guys called in and the shop manager said he didn't know about our group deal. Hopefully Victor will come into the shop today so we can get this striaghtened out.
I don't think there will be an issue. I'll post as soon as I get ahold of them.
Just talked to Victor. He assures me there will be no problem. The shop is family run from what I gather so I think everyone has same stake. He said he would talk to Nestor.
When you send your bumpers or take them in, include a note that says Attention Victor.
Attention: Victor
914 club deal
$250 per bumper (including copper in triple plate)
Your contact information.
Cant wait to see pictures of your cars with new shiny bumpers!
Jorge,
Thanks for setting up the deal! Will be sending my bumpers down to TBS.
Garry
Hey guys could you post a reply here when you send or drop off your bumpers.
thanks!
Warren, how much did it cost you? I am looking for a rough estimate.
OK, I took mine in to Victor today, very easy to work with. He took the time to examine my bumpers and show me where they had been "worked" before (dent repair). He explained that those areas would be less than perfect(slight wave) and showed me an example of what to expect, and it will still look damn good, plus mine is not a show car, so its all good. Was originally going to bring in three, but only ended up with two, thanks again to Jorge for setting it all up.
Ted K
Did the subject of flatening out small dents ever come up? (pricing)
I believe that is included in the base price.
i've got 2 that i need! am i too late? PM me and let me know.
[/quote]
Joe,
I can't say for sure, but I doubt it. I sent mine by UPS and they just received it on Friday afternoon. You are a lot closer than I am and should be able to get it there faster than I could.
Warrenoliver
Joe - yes, you can still get yours in, I'd take it in by this weekend if you can though.
euro911 - yep minor straightening is included in the base price. Each hole filled is $15.
Sorry I hadn't gotten around to answering questions, thank you to those who pointed them in the right direction.
I believe we have 6 bumpers in there right now, my 2 included. Everyone should be getting theirs back as soon as they are finished. Until we get the 10 minimum they will be holding onto my bumpers to do last. Which is not a problem, as my car is still at the body shop till late next week. Hopefully the remaining bumpers arrive during the next week or so.
My buddy has 3-4 that I have seen, but it is a pain getting them out in my "free time". Is anyone local willing to pick up and drop off some bumpers at GreyHound?
Let me know
Mike - Do you have the address to where to pick them up? I could get them during the week if they are open later than 7pm. Or if they hold onto them i could pick them up on a saturday.
You'll have to fill me in on how to send them back. Never used greyhound to ship.
I should still be in. Just need to pay off a few things, and yea, it will be later, or midsummer.
How long does it take for them to chrome them, and return it?
Right on. Here is the closest location to my office.
HOLLYWOOD GREYHOUND STA
1715 N CAHUENGA BLVD
Hollywood, CA 90028
Do they hold the packages for a while or would i need to pick them up the same day they arrive?
It would not be a problem for them to hold it for a day. I could coordinate with you on when to ship it and let you know estimated arrival. Its about 3-4 days from ship date.
Hey guys, just talked to Victor. He's recieved a bumper with no contact info. Only a name.
Is there a Yves Boucharv from New York here? If so please give victor a call at the bumper shop.
Victor
The Bumper Shop
828 E. Florence Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90001
Toll Free: 1800-831-4421
Local: (323) 585-3865
Local: (323) 585-2921
Has anybody got their bumpers back yet?
Any Report Cards?
I'm gonna try to get up there this week.
Yves Boucharv or a Darringer (from Ogdensburg NY) your bumpers are ready, but Victor does not have your phone number to contact you! Please give him a call, at 1 800 831 4421 .
Went by The Bumper Shop today to pick up an emblem I had chromed. Loads of 914 bumpers in the shop. Looks good, you guys will be happy.
Kev
Just picked mine up and they look great! Mine had four small holes to fill and very minor straightening. Sorry no pictures but I am keeping them in the plastic wrap untill its time to install. Thanks again to Jorge for the setup.
Ted K
I hope they're still accepting bumpers ... I'm planning to go by there Monday or Tuesday at lunch-time
Well, I didn't make it over there till today, but the deal is still on
Victor wasn't there, so I dealt with Nestor - no problems
I went through all my spare bumpers and even the best ones needed to be straightened a bit
... some holes filled
... and one tear welded up
... came up to an extra $60., but that's OK
Jorge ... your bumpers are done and look pretty good
I received my rear bumper yesterday, it looks great!
It had a few little dents that they straightened and did a nice job with.
The finish is as good as original, although I think with a little extra time and expense it could have been perfect.
I would certainly use them again.
Jule
I would add pictures if I was computer literate but am too old to learn!
Nestor called me this morning and said mine are ready ... I'll go pick them up sometime on Friday
I WILL post pix
...nice Mark, I was just about to say I can't BELIEVE there aren't any pics here yet.
Feed us!!!
I'm in! Let me know when. That is a great price, believe me i have checked around.
KevinP
"When?" you ask? ... ... NOW
I'm picking up our set in about an hour or so. They are for my wife's '71 1.7 ... one of her birthday presents this year
With repairs and tax, ours came up to a tad over $600. ... still not bad.
You might want to call them to make sure they're still good on the price, but I'll ask again when I get up there.
Is it too late?
I would have to ship mine from GA.
No, it isn't too late ... I informed them that there were a few more members that were still interested in the 'deal'
I'd recommend calling Victor or Nestor to give them a heads-up though
I called and Victor is not in today.
I'll call back Monday. I have my bumpers off already and boxed.
Think monday will be to late or do i need to talk to someone else today?
I need to have some bumpers re-chromed. Was wondering if anyone else needs it done as well. Maybe we can hit them up for a deal again this year.
I spoke to them today, and they said that if we get 4 bumpers done, the price would be $280 each. If we can get 10 bumpers together, then the price would drop to $250 each. This includes straightening, small hole filling, and chroming, with a copper base.
They mention a turn-around time? I'm likely in w/ 2.
If you can get it together for the $250 price I'm in for at least one. Maybe 2, but I have to check to see if one doesn't need a lot of work.
If this would be mid july or later I'd be down for 1, maybe 2
I'd be in for 2....
-bob
Mid July would probably be fine. I will have to call them and ask what the turnaround is. Or maybe Mark can chime in, and say what it was last time.
Chris, my records show that I dropped them off on 6/25/08 and picked them up on 7/11/08, although they may have bean ready to pick up a couple of days sooner
Be aware that mine also needed minor straightening and some holes filled in before being plated.
I called Nestor today, and he said they would be happy to do the deal again. He quoted $250 each, if we can get 10 bumpers.
Well cool. Chris (?) wanna start an official "who's in?" list for this iteration of the deal? I have a feeling we'll get 10 pretty quickly. As I mentioned, count me in for two! It'd be nice if we didn't have to wait until mid-July though...Travis, I'm sure you could send yours in a bit late if need-be?
Reid
That works for me. Put me down for definately 1.
Put me down for one. My front has "minor ding though" How many is allowable. Sorry if this was already answered in the thread.
I am in the LA area so can I drop off?
Rob
Minor dent and ding repair is included in the price. We are planning to have the worked done in mid-july. The bumpers can be brought or sent directly to "The Bumper Shop"
Hey banger (is it Chris BTW?)
Why don't I close this thread and let everyone make repolys to the new thread? This one will still be available for read only access via your link in the new thread. That way you only have to track one. I can even post the link to the new thread in the last post here before I close it. I can also post a link to the new thread in the first post of this thread so the folks that don't read the entire thing know what's going on.
Lemmeknow...
Sounds good, would make it a bit easier...
You didn't answer my question. Is your name Chris?
OK folks, this particular "group buy" completed last year. Chris (?) aka banger has stepped up to organize a new buy this year. He's started a new thread for same located here:
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=96986
Given that, we're going to close this thread and reference the new one. If you're interested in the deal, check out and post in the new thread.
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