Re: [FWDLK] Central Plating and plating in general

[bill g <nilla6@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I found this by searching Central Plating on Metacrawler.com:

I have been dealing with Central Plating for the last
10+ years.  I have had their help in restoring the chrome
and stainless on a 64 Dart Convertible as well as my
current project a 56 Fury.  He is a local vendor to me
and that is one reason I choose them.  I drive and drop
off my stuff personally.  I have had Mike at Central Plating
redo items which were not up to standards. You have to
watch him like a hawk.  Freight will kill you if you have
to ship it back for a redo.  When I pick up my items, I go
through every piece right then and there. I do not leave
with the part until I am satisfied that he can't do any better.
Yes, like any vendor out there, he has lost some parts on me.
Yes they have damaged some of the pieces I have left.  He
lost two complete sets of Plymouth letters for my car.  Are
they perfect, NO,  but for me at least when I yell at
them it is face to face and not over the telephone 2000
miles away.  My advice is to find some one local to you that
specialises in TRIPLE CHROME PLATING.  If you are unsure
about them, test them with a couple of pieces to gauge their
work.

Here some information about PLATING you should consider.
On my 56 tail light housings for example, the original
chrome parts were pitted pretty badly.  If I had sent
these to be replated, all I would have gotten back
would have been nice shinny chrome with pit marks.
Re-chroming will not cover up PITS. You have to have a
good base to get a nice finish.  It is like painting
a room in your home.  Painting without patching the
holes in the walls will leave marks where the nail
holes were.

To fix that problem, first I looked for NOS.  When I
couldn't find all the pieces I needed, I found primered/
painted tail light housings and had them chromed.  It is
the identical housing and casting number but on the low end
Plymouths for 56, they were painted body color instead.
Finding a pit-free or as close to pit-free housing/trim
piece is the KEY.

The only other way is to have the pits filled with lead.
This process is expensive but if you must have a smooth
mirror like finish, it is your only option left at this point.

Hope this helps
ED
56 Fury
64 Dart Conv