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Dash re chromed

3K views 22 replies 8 participants last post by  -MJK- 
#1 ·
Any one here had there plastic dash pieces re-chromed ? If so where and how did you like it ?

Thanks
 
#3 · (Edited)
A while back I found a place called Chrome Tech USA Now I haven't tried them, but they have examples of 65-65 falcon dash trim (not sure if these are what you are referring too) that they've refinished and it looks like showroom quality. I would defiantly check into them and if you do let us know what there prices are. Hope this helps

Chrome Tech USA Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â* Over 20 Years Experience - Chrome tech usa, Chrome plating service, vacuum metallizing, for plastic on model cars, toys and automotive interior dash pannels
 
#4 ·
Funny this subject should come up.

I'm gearing up to pack and ship my dash pieces to this guy early next week.

I talked to him some time ago and he mentioned that it may be up to 12 weeks turnaround.

Apparently he does this in steps and and once he starts a run, the newcomers must wait until the next run.

I'll let you know how this turns out.
 
#10 ·
Sent my pieces off to Chrome Tech last night

I bought a new radio plate to cut up for my Retrosound radio and sent that as well----so 5 pieces.

Sometime in the 70-80 timeframe, someone attempted a little creativness on the dash (probably my aunt or cousin), And filled the center section
with a walnut paterned contact paper. It has held up for a good many years but it is time for it to come off.

The chrome guy will be cleaning this stuff off and repairing one of the mounting holes in the instrument cluster (and I even found the broken
piece).

Not looking for an absolute show quality job on this, just a nice driver quality.
 
#11 · (Edited)
I used Dearborn Classics for mine. I believe they send it to a place in Canada that does the actual work. It took several weeks, maybe two months even I don't recall. It was probably ten years ago but I seem to recall it was around $350-400 or so back then. That included all four pieces in my car since it's a Futura. You can see it in my Garage photos here but they're not great. It looks better than new in person and worth every cent!

They wouldn't accept broken or cracked parts and told me to make sure they were packed like rare artifacts and insured! They strip them down to bare plastic, re-chrome them and then paint and airbrush them back to factory new looking parts. One of my pieces came back flawed and they made sure they did as quick a turn-around as they could (a few weeks I think) and my part came back looking like the rest! To this day they still look like new.

I'd use them again!

John

PS: While I had it apart I replaced all the bulbs (you should too if you haven't) and removed the little blue light covers. These are the things that make the dash glow green. Removing them makes the dash light up white so the instruments now look like the tack and other aftermarket gauges that are black with white lettering. It looks much clearer and more modern too!
 
#14 ·
Thanks Guy's ,

Bryan, be interest in seeing how it turns out.

BlueBird, If I read there sight right they no longer do it just still have some pieces to sell .

John, Thanks for the info. how ya been ?

God bless !
Been alright, thanks! Do the light cover delete thingy, it looks way better than that dingy green glow. :tup:

John
 
#17 ·
Should be coming back to me soon.
I called him about a week ago.

The plating was done, and he was planning on spending the next 2
weeks doing the painting.

Must have done a pretty good size run of plating to be backlogged with
the painting portion of it.

Hope to get them back very soon-----will be painting the dash this weekend so I can start putting it back together and install the wiring harness----looking forward to starting the car.

Oh---bought some acrylic enamel semi-gloss for the dash
Had it mixed to match the original paint.
(what is wrong with paint stores now---cant seem to match anything)
A shade too dark, but I was more concerned about the actual finish than I
was about the color. Painted the A-pillar and B-pillar covers and was more than satisfied with the finish. Nice smooth finish with very little gloss.

Back to paint store issues in general

These guys must be color blind--or they just don't care.
Can't see any store making a profit if they have to re-mix paint several times before getting it close.
Even using factory paint codes I have seen the colors so far off---no point in even trying to blend.
When I wrecked my BRAND NEW Ranger in '05, the paint that was sent to the shop turned out to be orange----my truck is RED---
Had to take the fuel fill cover to match a common paint code

Still have troubles with the fact that the stores cannot duplicate finishes from the 60s----they all have paint codes, colors, & finishes that correspond to a number & manufacturer----WHY CANT THESE NUMBERS BE CROSSED TO CURRENT AVAILABLE PAINTS?? even within the same manufacturer---weird and uncalled for in our new digital world.
They should be able to punch in a number and get a new current number
without all the fuss.
 
#18 ·
Parts are done.
I just sent him a money order for the balance.
Should be getting them back in about 8 - 9 days.

Was right at $500 for the 4 pieces + an extra radio plate that I did some trimming on.
 
#20 ·
Got 'em back----sure do look nice.
Just got home from a trip last night and they were
stashed in the back of the 66 Elky by the spouse.

Will get pics of them later tonight and get them posted for y'all
 
#21 ·
Here are a couple of pics of the pieces in the car before
I took them out.
Pretty ugly----that woodgrained peel&stick shelf contact paper
probably looked okay in the 80s---but no longer







This is the best I can do for the "BEFORE" pics---I cannot find the pics I took right before shipping them off.
 
#22 ·
Here are the freshly re-plated pieces.

I am more than happy with them---and the price.
The extra radio cover has been modified for a
different stereo----will not be cutting the dash at all.
But will have to make a couple of modifications to
a radio bezel.





 
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