Is there any demand for custom chrome bumpers?
 

I currently work for a chrome plating shop and my job there is polishing all the bumpers that come though there door. Part of this job is to straighten and remove all dents. I've had more custom bumpers lately and some of the work is very nice and some I have to completely redo due to bad welds, not welded straight and just poor work. This brings me to my topic. If I said I could build whatever custom bumper that you want for cheaper than your time building it, and my time fixing it, and chroming it, with a lifetime warranty on the chrome. Is the demand there? I am currently building a set of 1970 chevelle bumpers for a sample and soon building 1955 Chevy smoothies. I am open to any advice whether I should move forward with this business or not.

On a side note I did not put my employers name on this post because I don't want the post remove for advertising a business that is not a sponsor. But I will say I have found allot of pics of bumpers and chrome on this site that my work has done.
Thank you.

Can you do Black Chrome? From what I am told the traditional Black Chrome process doesnt hold up well compared to regular chrome or powder coating. I am considering these guys http://coatofchrome.com to just paint my bumpers.

I'm also interested in tucking my bumpers. If the price is right maybe we can work something out.

No sorry no black chrome. We use whats called tri chrome. We also copper and nickle plate. If you can send me some pics of your bumper I will see what I can do. I will post some pics of some of my work soon.

Sounds cool, but wouldn't you need the car to get a nice tight fit?

i would say yes, but only to a certain level, as most hi end custom bumpers are fit to the car, and tah would be impossible to do in 2 different locations, but if a guy were to say put driving ligth holes on a 66 chevelle bumper and fill the marker ligth holes and it was a good quality peice i would say you could sell some.

In my opinion, if you took any bumper's that typically have external bolts and mounting hardware and smoothed them and made them so they mount from behind that would be pretty high yield. Also adding frenched driving light openings to some of the more popular bumpers would be cool. Can you do a brushed nickel type of finish? I have always wanted that.

I could possibly see narrowing the bumper, then pocketing the fenders and quarters when it comes back the way you build a narrowed rearend after you get the wheels.

I could also see people paying to clean up the ugly factory front plate recess along with the basic filling and straightening. I think you're onto something.

Well to clear some stuff up, yes it would be great to have the car to fit the bumpers to but there is so much you can do with out the car. The Chevelle samples I am doing the bolts are all shaved and the front license plate removed. These are just some suddle changes. I have built some bumpers and sent them back for fit before getting chromed. The most common is 60's Mustang, 60's Camero, for removing all the bumper bolts. Removing guards and all holes makes a huge difference. I have gone as far as taking a 55 Chevy and turning it into a 55 Chevy California one piece. The ideas are endless!

Thank you for the feed back so far.

Oh and yes you can do a brushed finish

where are you located. Big demand for this stuff if you have the right stuff to move it.

Pittsburgh Pa. Paul's Chrome Plating. I have worked a deal with my boss to build bumpers on the side but to use Paul's for the plating. As I said before this post is not to promote my employer but to help my deal get started.

I had some stuff chromed there several years ago, top notch. They have an outstanding reputation for quality. I think you may have a hit on your hands if you can keep up with demand.

I'd be real interested and I'm only about 3 hours away. If we could some how hook up to fit the bumpers before there chromed. Are you going to Carlise next week or Hershey the following week?

:thumbsup: on the bolts.

69 camaro hidden bolts, defanged (front), and smoothed bumpers.

i think you are on to something, I liked the brushed idea also:D

I won’t be in Carlisle or Hershey for the shows. But the one office manager from Paul’s Chrome will. He will be able to answer any questions you may have and also give you a price if you have the bumpers with you. I plan to post some pictures Friday of the 70 Chevelle front bumper. I am going to post some pics of a 57 Chevy that we did the bumpers for. I can’t take credit for the custom work but I can for the straitening and chrome work. The front was a 3 piece and both had all the bolts shaved. You can see on the rear we removed the recessed area’s below the back up lights. But this is some of the work I can do. I will dig up some more pics of other bumper.

This car was built by the great guys at Phoenix Auto Restoration.

Sorry here is the rear larger.

Just as an aside, I have had a lot of chrome work done by Paul's, including some difficult restoration of potmetal trim pieces, in my personal opinion there is no better shop for chrome work in the country, period. Paul's also has en extremely high hit rate on the schedule commitments that they make. Rare to find both of those (extremely high quality and good turnaround) in a chrome shop.

Can you chrome fiberglass bumpers?

Yes we can chrome fiberglass and also plastic. Thanks for the complements on our work. I will pass it on to my boss.

I may be modifying my rear bumper on my '68 Camaro because I hate the way it fits. My problem is that I'm not confident enough in my welding to modify it and it be ready for chrome. How can I get in touch with you to talk about some options? PM me your contact info when you get a chance.

Do you guys do stainless trim work? Building a 55 and getting rid of the wipers. Under the wiper escrutions there are reliefs in the molding. Need pieces welded in and then repolished. Had a guy in Washington that did them for my last 57 - but unfortuantety has passed on.

BTW - Saw the 57 you posted at SEMA last year - beautiful car!! :thumbsup:

Can you give a price range?

How much to straigten some bumpers, and re chrome?

There would be a demand in our area

Yes we do stainless. We can just about chrome anything from pot metal, brass, aluminum, steel, plastic, stainless, fiberglass. As far as price goes on bumpers it’s hard to give a price range. It all depends on what shape they are in and how big they are. Smaller bumpers like corvette, mustang, and camera’s go from $500 up to $1,000 each. A typical muscle car bumper from the 60's and 70's can be as low as 700 up to 1500. Its way to hard to say with out seeing them. When it comes to custom bumpers it just all depends on the mods. The best thing to do is contact Paul's Chrome at 1-800-245-8679 they will explain the whole process.