Chrome and Cadmium plating

[datsunrides]

Just received back some parts I had chrome plated and cadmium plated. I had Superior chrome in San Jose do my chrome plating and I can say that I'm impressed with their work. They took some pretty badly rusted parts and worked some magic on them. They now look better than showroom condition. One nice thing with these guys is that they are family run and do everything in house. (I found a lot of other "platers" use these guys, I saw a few trucks come from other places I had received quotes from show up there while I was there!) Of course the cost is not cheap but my parts were not in the best of condition but were returned in excellent shape, so I feel the price was more than fair. If you are interested, PM me and I wil give you the contact info. If there is interest in pricing for comparison, I may be able to post that info when I get a little more free time. Turnaround time was a little over 2 weeks. I also had some other stuff sent to Industrial Plating Co. in San Carlos to be cadmium plated. Unfortunatly, I specified bright cadmium plating (looks like zinc plating) instead of bright cadmium CHROMATE plating (which is the gold tinted finish). Live and learn I guess. I have sent the parts back to get the chromate finish put on so I will update when I receive these parts back. Pricing was also lower than I expected given that I had a hard time locating a place that still did this process and would do a small batch. I had quite a few items done for $250.00, which seems like a fair price to me (compared to chrome)and turn around time was about 2 weeks. Once again, if you are interested in a contact #, PM me.

Mark

[datsunfreak]

If they are public businesses, why not post the contact info here?

[TR]

I am interested! Please post. Also, does the chrome shop do dent/bend repair of bumpers?

TR

[datsunrides]

I will post contact info when I get back home and will post pricing I paid (or was quoted, since I could not afford to have everything done at the same time) for some of the more common items. And yes, they do dent repairs and other repairs in general. As I stated, some of the stuff I gave them to fix was pretty sad and they somehow repaired it. Note: one thing they can't do effectively is pot metal repairs. The cost I will post were for my items, if yours are in good shape, the cost obviously will be somewhat cheaper. Superior chrome also does metal polishing on stainless and aluminum, and the couple of items I had them do came back shining like chrome!

[datsunrides]

OK, the shop once again is,

Superior Chrome
1616 Pomona Ave
San Jose, CA. 95110
Ph # (408) 947-7781
Contact name is Mark (not me)

He usually is in after 2:30 pm and is there untill 9pm.

Prices I paid (or was quoted)for reference

Windshield frame $ 380.00 (had to have repairs done)
Vent frames $ 165.00 ea. (frame,pivot pieces,handle, and washer)
Outside door handles $ 90.00 pr.
Window cranks $ 70.00 pr.
Inside door handles $ 70.00 pr.
Door pulls $ 70.00 pr.
Rear view mirror $ 110.00 (very rusty, they made it look new!)
Headlight bezel $ 65.00 ea.
Door lock cylinders $ 25.00 for all 3
Trunk handle $ 45.00
Parking brake handle $ 40.00
Front / Rear bumper (no overiders) $ 250.00 ea. (includes repair)
Grille $ 400.00 (the one I had him quote was in very poor shape)
Console insert $ 90.00 (piece around ashtray)
Wiper arm assemblies $ 75.00 ea.

Those were the more pricey items, most of the smaller items were between $ 20.00 - $40.00 and I think I had him price every piece of (stock) chrome on the car. (Mark was very patient with me and thouroghly checked each piece)

I will let you know how the cadmium plating turns out in a couple of weeks when I get the correct finish applied (my fault, not theirs, kinda.) Here is the contact info

Industrial Plating Company
803 American St
San Carlos, CA. 94070
Ph # (800) 477-1048
Contact name is Henry

So, here is what I had done for $ 250.00

Hood latch assembly
Trunk latch assembly
All brake hose retainer clips
Spare tire hold down
All under car parking brake parts
Headlight bucket assemblies
Turn signal buckets
Fuel filler neck
Underhood throttle linkage
Convertable top tension adjusters
Coil Bracket
Lower front shock mount
Door strikers
Rear U bolts
Sway bar end clips
Ashtray
And other misc. bolts, brackets, washers, etc...

Hope this gives all a little insight into the costs associated in restoring one of our beloved cars and a couple of verified businesses that can provide these services to us.

Mark

[Conner]

Thanks for the info. I will check with these guys when I'm pricing chrome pieces for my 68.

[ppeters914]

The windshield frame and grille were two of the first items I wanted to have rechromed, but $800??!!!

Is that normal?

[datsunrides]

Hey Pete, remember what I said. My windshield frame had some rust thru in a couple of places and some relatively heavy pitting in a couple of other spots. Obviously, a part in better shape not requiring repair would be less expensive. The grill I had him quote was pretty rusty and tweaked. I could not see paying that much myself and got a grill in much better shape (thanks Joaquin!). I am going to drop off another batch of stuff to him next year (my how time flies) and I will have him requote the grill. I would guess the cost will be half but I will repost once I get the price.

Mark

[datsunrides]

Update,

I got the parts back from the Cad plater today with the "correct" finish applied (cadmium chromate). The parts look great but the finish is still not quite what I was expecting. They definetly have the gold/green look of cad. plated, but are kind of a flat finish. Maybe OEM stuff was clear coated to give it a bit of gloss. It could also be a difference in an "industrial" finish vs. a "decorative" finish
I am going to try and spray a clear coat over one of the pieces to see if I can get a little bit of "shine" out of these.

Mark