Stripping/Welding Chrome Bumpers...

[Greg L.]

I was wondering if anyone could guide me on how to get my bumper ready for the chrome shop? I know that a good chrome shop should be able to handle most repairs but we don't have any good local shops. They seem to be able to perform the actual chroming process okay but their ability to straighten and repair a bumper is marginal at best and in fact can take what was once a nice and properly fitting original bumper to one that takes a lots of work to make it fit again.

So my plan is to work out a small crease and recreate the peak in the middle that the chrome shop destroyed, fit it to the car and then have them re-plate it with explicit instructions not to do any metal work other than normal chrome prep. To do this I'll need to do a bit of grinding/sanding and oxy-acetylene welding so I was wondering if anyone has done these types of bumper repairs before?

I'm mostly concerned in what is the best way to remove the old chrome so that I have a good base to weld to yet not too aggressive that I create more damage for the chrome shop to have to clean up. The first thought that comes to mind is to use a small belt sander for stripping and initial finishing but is there a better way to go about this? If I do use a belt sander or small disk sander what grit should be used especially for the final sanding?

Any thoughts or advice are appreciated.

[Alan S.]

Re: Stripping/Welding Chrome Bumpers...

Hi Greg,
Aren't the plating materials removed in a tank?
I'd think you could bring the bumper to the shop and have them remove the 3 layers of plating and THEN give the naked bumper BACK to you to do the metal repairs you describe.
Regards,
Alan

[Greg L.]

Re: Stripping/Welding Chrome Bumpers...

Hi Alan. Thanks but I tried that a couple months back. I thought it would be a simple enough request for them but all they did was mechanically remove the chrome from a couple spots that they saw as problem areas and gave it back to me. Yes one of the "problem" areas was the center peak....

[Gene M.]

Re: Stripping/Welding Chrome Bumpers...

Chip Foose is welding on bumpers all the time on his show. Makes it sound and look easy.........!

[Alan S.]

Re: Stripping/Welding Chrome Bumpers...

Hi Greg,
I looked at some of the "Similar Threads" listed below.
It seems the platers CAN remove the plating chemically but more often DO so mechanically.
That's a surprise to me.
Rather than saying I assumed something with that word's ramifications, I'll say I learned something.
Regards,
Alan

[Steven B.]

Re: Stripping/Welding Chrome Bumpers...

Paul's reconstructs all the time. They will plate as you request, also. Steve

[Tracy C.]

Re: Stripping/Welding Chrome Bumpers...

Greg,

The transparent chrome layer can be removed chemically with muratic acid. The nickel plating will need to be sanded off. Once you have bare steel you can weld away to your hearts content. I would sugest trying to smooth the steel as best you can before you weld, so the plater doesn't need to buff as much before the copper plate is added to start the replating process.

tc

[Doug L.]

Re: Stripping/Welding Chrome Bumpers...

I have found that many plating companies use a belt sander to remove all or part of the old finish. Often they sand perpendicular to the long section of the bumper. This creates waves in the metal that will be very visible when the plating goes back on. Discuss with them. Doug

[John D.]

Re: Stripping/Welding Chrome Bumpers...

Greg, You didn't say what year. I am going to guess you are talking about mid year bumpers. If so the whole job can be done by M&P Refinishing in Jeannette, PA. They have a web site. I just got plating back from them tonight and will tell you it's show chrome for sure. Nothing like when our cars were original.

Story for all: Back in 1965 I had a new Corvette. At that time I was into building hotrods and spent all my cash at a Plating shop. I took my new Corvette to the platers to show the owner my new car as he was my pal. He said that he wanted to call all his crew out to look at the car. It was close to their lunch time.
So they checked out the bumpers on the new car and said, "If we did work like those bumpers we would be out of business". As a lot of you know the original bumpers were very wavy and the plating was pretty bad.

M&P specializes in die cast parts also. They are also a subcontractor for many big name shops. You won't go wrong with them. On their website you will see a big name Corvette Restorer recommending them. They cannot chrome the big one piece bumpers but can prep them and send them off to another plater. I have been using M&P for an eon. Owned by the Kerin Brothers. They have done participated in seminars for the Pittsburgh Tri-State chapter. Mention my name. John

P.S. THey do not do cadmium or zinc.

[Joe R.]

Re: Stripping/Welding Chrome Bumpers...

Greg, You didn't say what year. I am going to guess you are talking about mid year bumpers. If so the whole job can be done by M&P Refinishing in Jeannette, PA. They have a web site. I just got plating back from them tonight and will tell you it's show chrome for sure. Nothing like when our cars were original.

Story for all: Back in 1965 I had a new Corvette. At that time I was into building hotrods and spent all my cash at a Plating shop. I took my new Corvette to the platers to show the owner my new car as he was my pal. He said that he wanted to call all his crew out to look at the car. It was close to their lunch time.
So they checked out the bumpers on the new car and said, "If we did work like those bumpers we would be out of business". As a lot of you know the original bumpers were very wavy and the plating was pretty bad.

M&P specializes in die cast parts also. They are also a subcontractor for many big name shops. You won't go wrong with them. On their website you will see a big name Corvette Restorer recommending them. They cannot chrome the big one piece bumpers but can prep them and send them off to another plater. I have been using M&P for an eon. Owned by the Kerin Brothers. They have done participated in seminars for the Pittsburgh Tri-State chapter. Mention my name. John

P.S. THey do not do cadmium or zinc.

John,

Thanks for warning us! We don't want no stinking "show chrome"!!! We want our Corvettes to look like they came from St. Louis yesterday! Right?

JR