Chrome plating bumpers

Cmar-Ireland

Hi Folks,

Thought I'd ask this question on the classics forum as ye might have the answers.
I want to swap out my painted bumpers for chrome ones. I can get a new set of chrome bumpers from the US, but I reckon the shipping will be a killer.
So I was wondering if there is any places in Ireland that could strip and plate my existing bumpers?

Thanks
Ciaran

MercMad

Nobody that I know of. There used to be a few but EPA rules have tightened so its hard to find anyone capable of it. Someobdy mentoned a crowd in South Dublin, then one of the Mini Club guys tried them and they were useless.

AFAIK everyone sends them to the UK.What car is it ?

Run_to_da_hills

You can purchase a large can of chrome spray at Halfords. :pac:

Cmar-Ireland

I'll probably get slated for this, but it is a Toyota Hilux. They are called the 4Runner in the US and many have chrome bumpers. Haven't seen too many over here with chrome.

As for the chrome spray....:P

Run_to_da_hills

Cmar-Ireland wrote: »

I'll probably get slated for this, but it is a Toyota Hilux. They are called the 4Runner in the US and many have chrome bumpers. Haven't seen too many over here with chrome.

As for the chrome spray....:P

Why not just powder coating them I have a VW combie with white bumpers.

Cmar-Ireland

Was thinking of getting the alloys powder coated alright, but would prefer the chrome bumpers.

Tomebagel

i seen this place posted somewhere before?anyone ever heard of them

TRNIALL

Tomebagel wrote: »

i seen this place posted somewhere before?anyone ever heard of them

Pure useless, as in post 2.You have been warned.

Tomebagel

TRNIALL wrote: »

Pure useless, as in post 2.You have been warned.

well i didnt know it was the same place so take it easy:rolleyes:
and warned about what?

Run_to_da_hills

If the parts are pitted with rust before you send them in it will show through the chrome and look horrible. Most of the work / expense isin the prep just like panel beating.

Cmar-Ireland

The parts are clean and rust free. One minor dent on one bumper.
If there is nowhere in Ireland to do this, it might be just easier to buy them direct from the states.

I wonder if there is anywhere up north?

J20

If its a hilux surf, just locate one in a scrapyard or one that is being broken on ebay and get get the chrome bumpers off that. The chrome bumpers are steel rather than plastic - I don't know about the colour coded bumpers. They come up every now and then as breakers specials on ebay.ie and in the buy and sell but there are always some on ebay uk.

For a hilux pickup, the front end is the same as on the hilux surf so the front bumper should fit but I doubt the back bumper would.

If you can only get the front to fit, maybe you can get one of those stainless/chrome fender bars you sometimes see on pickups instead of a rear bumper?

MercMad

Are you sure they are chrome and notr stainless steel ? The latter would be a better option if available.

J20

I have a hilux surf - the bumpers on it are chrome plated steel. I do agree that polished stainless steel would be a better option. One of the problems with importing these from the uk (as I did) is that the salt from the roads can rust them through from the back because they seem to be chrome plated only on the outside.

That said though, they have generally spent most of their lives being cosseted in Japan and uk owners tend to look after their cars well compared to here, so it is easy enough to find good ones.

Cmar-Ireland

My surf is the 3rd gen, so there are very few breakers in the UK. In several years of owning 3rd gens, I've only seen one with chrome bumpers.
They are very common in the US on their 4Runners.

The painted bumpers are steel, they are the exact same shape as the chrome versions.

I take it that if somehow I got my bumpers plated, it would be 100% coverage, front and back?

Stainless bumpers were never offered for the surfs. Aftermarket s/s bumpers are available, but they are the heavy duty winch type.

J20

Mine is a second generation surf, so not the same thing at all, sorry!

I know very little about chrome plating but I would be unsurprised to find that the cost of shipping such a large item from the US would cancel out a lot of the advantage on the purchase price. I imagine you have already done this, but my instinct would be to compare the door to door cost of the US option against chrome plating in the UK and, just to get a baseline price, the cost of new or reproduction parts from Japan via a specialist.

I would think you will have to specifically ask for chrome both sides. After all, nobody can see the inside so rust proofing by painting with a suitable primer is all that is actually necessary. I understand that there are two ways of achieving the chrome effect: 1) electroplating - coats all surfaces 2) sprayed chrome - looks just as good but only treats the sprayed surfaces. I don't know which is "better" or more cost effective.