Re-chroming 1941 Cadillac 60 Special

Hello Bill, I can help you here. I am using Librandi's Plating in Harrisburg PA (email info@carchrome.com). Take a look at their web site, too. These people have lots of classic experience, and their work is excellent, you won't have to worry. Price is not cheap, but fair, I would say, and they take their time, but that is OK with me. They also have a check-in system to avoid losing or mishandling your parts. The thing is these people do classic car chrome full time and they know what the classic owner expects. If you go to Hershey you can drop off your parts and/or see the shop at the Harrisburg Airport. The midwestern car owner has to be careful with chrome, and even though they are 700 miles away it is worth it. Best wishes, Todd Crews, Decatur IL

Paul's Chrome Plating in Evans City, PA is excellent also, perhaps a bit better than Librandi if a part needs extensive repairs before plating. Less expensive but still very good is Advanced Custom Chrome in Erie, PA. Anyone care to guess what the chrome bill was for a '53 Buick Skylark Convertible, including 5 wire wheels? We had every piece of chrome both exterior and interior redone to concours standards and all the stainless polished and plated....any guesses?

Dear Restorer32,My guess for the chrome and stainless work is between 10 and 15 thousand.Please let me know if i am in the ballpark.diz <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Dear Jesus....do you mean that the front bumpers. rear bumpers etc. are going to cost THAT much?? <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I also have had excellent work done by Pauls for my Pierce Arrow. They have done some outstanding repair work on parts that were badly corroded or cracked. They are not cheap but if you have ever had bad experieces with platers, the piece of mind knowing that the job will be done properly is worth it.

Thank you for the referral on Pauls Chrome Plating in

Evans City, PA. I will investigate for sure.

Thank you for response Restorer 32 on rechroming my 41 Cadillac 60 Special. I will follow up on your leads.

yes chrome is that high, its the time it takes to do it right jim

Almost 20 grand on the Skylark Convertible but it has a LOT of Shiny stuff on it. 5 wire wheels, all the interior stuff, top assembly, those long spears down the side of the car. We have never found anyone better than Paul's for parts needing repair work prior to plating and I must give him credit, he gives you the price upfront and a completion date. Never has he changed a price on us and very seldom have our parts not been completed when he said they would. Beware his secretary though....

Dear Restorer32,Whats the deal with the Skylark wires,were the wheels chromed and the spokes all replaced with stainless ones?I am sure an expensive operation.Were all the top irons chromed on all Buick convertibles or just the Skylark.When i gave you my guesstimate i didn't consider the interior chrome.Tell us MORE about the secretary?diz <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

The repro Skylark wire wheels differ from the original somewhat so we disassembled the originals, had the hubs and rims rechromed and reassembled the wheels with polished stainless spokes and nipples. Lots of chrome on a '53 Skylark top assembly, not sure about other Buicks of the period. This car came out of a junkyard in Texas and was a mess when we got it. Next challenge is to install the Dynock onto the dash. Flat decal onto a curved three dimensional surface....I can hardly wait.

I had my wire wheels done the same way by a shop in Fresno, Calif., replaced all the spokes/nipples with stainless after replating the center and rim. He then trued it to within .030 and sealed the wheels so I could run tubeless. Cost was $400 a piece. I thought I did rather well. He is out of business.

All my potmetal chrome was redone by Potmetal Restoration in Tallahassee, Fla. He doesn't grind the pits away till the part is gone and I think he's the only one doing potmetal restoration that way. He advertises in HMN and admittedly is expensive. My only problem was I had to clean up the lock cylinder hole in the door handles with a crocus cloth wrapped around a wooden dowel because the plating was too thick to allow the stainless cylinders to fit smoothly in the holes.

YFAM, Randy Berger

He's certainly not the only one restoring potmetal in the manner you describe. Most good shops use the same method. No wonder the wheel shop you mentioned is out of business...$400/wheel probably didn't cover his labor costs, and you didn't get very good quality chrome at that price.

How would you know Randy got poor quality chrome plating??

Randy didnt say when he had them done. They could have been done some years ago when labor rates was &10.00 per hour. $400.00 each would have been very expensive then. There could be many reasons the business closed not related to what was charged for their services. I know of two shops the EPA shut down.

Restorer32, you will have to tell me where you got your ESP kit - I sure could use one (lol). My wheels were done around 94 - would have to look up original bill. Chrome still beautiful - not as much as me, but still quite good-looking.

I didn't describe how Potmetal Restoration did their repair/rechrome so how do you know he's not the only one using that method? Oops, almost forgot about your ESP! I do know that PR quit doing it for a while and opened a school to teach his method but apparently couldn't make enough $$$$ and went back to doing the excellent work he turns out. He's a long way from me, as I live in Pgh. Pa., but I've seen other shop's work including Paul's and I believe PR just does a superior job.

Can anyone order that ESP kit?? - I sure could have used it the day I spun a rod bearing.

PS, if you like I can post pictures of my wire wheels - I'll position myself so you can see me in the chrome (as I am better-looking).

All in fun.

YFAM, Randy Berger

Ok, Ok, my humble apologies. I have been duly chastised. Actually, I called Dayton Wire Wheel yesterday and their price to chrome a '32 Packard wheel and install stainless spokes is a tad under $400 even today. As to repairing potmetal...the process I am familiar with involves copper plating the piece, filling any pits with a type of solder, copper plating again to encapsulate the repair and then proceeding with the plating. I've only used maybe 6 different platers so I'm certainly no authority. As I tell people..."don't complain too much about the cost of chrome plating, be happy that you can get it done at any price". It's a dirty, nasty business, high on the EPA's target list, that I surely wouldn't want to be in.

Restorer32, I hope you took my jibes in good nature - apparently you did. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> I'm not positive but what I THINK potmetal resto does is dechrome the piece, grind the pits back to surface level, then spray a very thin graphite coating much like bronzing baby shoes, then copper plate over that, because copper is the easist to plate and is the base for nickel plating and then chrome. Examining my taillight housings led me to believe this is the way he does it. I did want to sign up for his school, but couldn't get off work. Now I'm retired and he doesn't have the school. Timing is everything. In any case he does a great job.

I would have to look up the original bill to tell you the fellow who went out of business in Fresno, but I was mad at my self because his price about six months before I sent my wheels out was $350.00 a piece. I procrastinated and it cost me $200.00. I should have known prices always go up. Does Dayton install stainless nipples as well as spokes? That difference was what made me go with the guy in Fresno in the first place. He said he was the only one doing stainless nipples back then.

YFAM, Randy Berger

I have a question : would it be better, not necessarily cheaper, for me to look for a radio grill and other chrome accessories for my 47 Cadillac 6269 or have them replated? There is a shop in Fort Collins CO that is supposed to be good so I was considering my options.

I thought I would ask the guys who have the ESP and experience <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Since I origionally posted this inquiry on this website, and several others, I have basically concluded that the best rechroming shops (for concours quality)seem to be Pauls Chrome Plating in Evans City, PA; Automotive and Industrial Hardware (AIH)in Dubuque, IA; Librandi's in Harrisburg,PA. Please help if you can provide any personal experiences (good & bad)or testimonials. I want to do this only once, and pay what I have to to get it right. The car is a recent CCCA first prize holder in its class (UMR Grand Classic), and I would like it to be a concurs quality car with these few rechroming and dashboard enhancements. Thank you for everyones' help and interest.

If the parts need no repair I think Librandi and Paul's would be a tossup quality wise. If repairs are needed I would personally go with Paul's. I can still recommend Fred (the current Paul) even though he is related to my ex wife. Either shop will give you an excellent job and both are pleasant to deal with. I have been dealing with Librandi's since he and I were both skinny...at least 15 years.