[Jimmy_Pop]

What tips can you give me on chrome or Nickel plating? Do they both cover up & fill in small imperfections of a steel surface? Resulting in a smooth, self leveling surface?

How are prices figured? by the square inch or whether bubba thinks im pretty?

What im looking at doing is applying some kind of finish to a piece of steel furniture for a trendy loft. But i have no idea what process would be #1 Cool and #2 most feasible when considering price, durability ETC.

Thanks,

Joel

 

[Cooter Brown]

cover it with that spray on chocolate, then while having bedtime festivities, they can munch on the bed post

 

[Mike B.]

For corrosion resistance and the basic shiny look (like a bumper), you'll probalby want to go with chrome plating. The decorative variety is usually a few steps - copper, then nickel, then chrome. The copper will fill in a lot of voids. All chrome is electroplated so pricing will be by the piece or lot size. Depending on the size of the piece you're working on, you'll need to find a plater with big enough tanks. Dallas should have lots of options. There is usually a good bit of prep work ie. buffing and polishing to make sure you get good even application. Depending on the job shop you hook up with, you might save some $ by doing the prep work yourself.

You'll know better than me but would powdercoating work? There are a lot of options if you find a good pc shop, the finish is durable, no corrosion, etc.

 

[RD3]

Looks like a bed? To do something that big if you can find a place with tanks big enough would probably cost at least a couple grand. For an idea of price a car bumper usually runs around $500 depending on how much metal work must be done to prep it. There is a lot of prep work involved to get everything super smooth so the plating comes out flat.
Powdercoat would be a good alternative, there are some powders that look kinda like chrome, just not as reflective.

 

[maxyedor]

Nickel will be cheaper because it is a 2 step process and IMO better looking as it is a warmer color, however it needs to be polished at a minimun once a weeks, if you are in a humid area it could be once a day, to prevent tarnish.

Chrome is a 3 step proccess and will be easier to maintain, a little carnuba wax every 3 months and Windex in between. The first copper coat will fill small imperfections, but you will need to ask the chrome spop exactly how big a pit it can fill. As for price it won't be a couple grand, it will probably not reech a couple hundred. Most chrome shops have huge tanks anyhow because they dip multiple parts at once on a giant rack type set-up, they also seem to prefer large pieces as they are herder to lose and relativly less labor intensive. Find a chrome shop that does a lot of automotive work, as they will have tanks big enough for a whole car chassis and work with them on price. Pricing is usually based on the sive of the peice and the difficulty in the final polishing that takes place at the end of the proccess

 

[Jimmy_Pop]

great info guys, thanks!

Joel

 

[Alfred]

I'll see if I can get the name of our plater. They are in Dallas and do tons of frame(chair) for us.

I'll say that with hexvalent (I believe) you get a heavier plate than with trivalent (but I am not entirely sure which way it is, but the platers will be very familiar with benefits). If I were still at my old job, I could have gotten you a hookup.

With the inside plating at the old joint I rarely noticed imperfections. Here I see some knicks and what not. I would get most of the surface good and smooth. A scotch brite blending wheel on a 4 1/2" grinder would get everything ready to finish with very little effort.