Thinking about having the trim chromed.

Thoughts?

hard part is getting it dead nutz straight.....

chrome will pit. why not get it powdercoated "chrome" ?

I was just thinking it might be easy to just have the shop that did my bumpers straighten and chrome them. I may just have them re-anodized.

Why not just have it polished & re-anodized?
Pat

The best finish I have seen for aluminum is a polish and clear powder coat. Any anodizing will be less than mega-shiny. Chrome would be a bad idea on aluminum so thin, as the chrome will be less flexible and probably prone to cracking.

What about a process called brite-dip anodizing?

I here it looks almost like chrome.

BTW, which is more expensive, chrome or anodize?

I disagree. I know that anodizing reduces shiny by its nature, but bright anodizing is called such for a reason. Most people wouldn't be able to tell a difference between correct anodizing and chrome without the pieces being right next to each other.

Huh, is bright anodizing actually anodizing, or is it some other process? Does it have the same benefits of conventional anodizing?

There's a small shop in SoCal that does chrome plating of aluminum. I just drove by it today, but don't recall the name. I'll have to check my records at the office. I used them once for some gold plating (decorative is their specialty).

Are you in SoCal?

Andys

Bright dip or hard coat anodizing is not cheap, but better that powder. The near chrome powder coating is not as shinny as chrome. The process for bright dip is the same as on you shinny shower door frames. It is the closest to the original. Clear anodizing will dull the color to a satin finish, not what you want. I do aluminum glass railings that utilized these finishes. The chrome plating will require plating copper prior to the chrome, it may work fine, it may not, on this I can not comment, but the bright dip is probably the best bet.

It's not too hard to straighten. I have sold several sets on E-Bay that I stripped mechanically, took the dings out and polished. They looked like new but you would have to maintain them with a polish or similar since it's then bare aluminum.

Whatever finish you chose you have to consider that there are 3 pieces to do since the top piece under the Targa top connects to the sail trim. I finally broke down and bought new sail pieces since the replating charge was just as much as new pieces.

Chrome would be MUCH brighter than the factory finish.

The new pieces cost @ $150 per side and the top piece is usually readily available, cheap and easily polished. cclin914nation

Allan,

Al Read does all that work, my center caps are chrome plated on my Carrera. I have seen people come to his place getting parts anodized. A bumper shop may not be able to do it.

I guess with you car painted you will not want to wait it out.

Bob

Really, for the price, you would be better to get a tig welding setup, use stainless and fab your own pieces and polish them. You can do it for yourself and others if they want your parts.