LMAO Karl ... you know me so well. ;-)
James, yes you can powder coat over chrome. It looks the best when the chrome job is decent, and candy translucent powders really look fabulous ... they turn out like a colored mirror.
Aftermarket chrome gauge cup and retainer coated with
Wilder Red ...
View attachment Chrome aftermarket gauge cup and retainer in Wilder Red.jpg
These are chrome Harley handlebars with a base coat of
Ink Black, topcoated with that same
Wilder Red ...
View attachment IMG_5309 - Copy.JPG
Most of these parts were chromed on arrival, now in
Tangelo Mist on a bike by HellBent Custom Cycles that sold for $42,000 a few months ago ...
View attachment Bike hardware and brackets in Tangelo Mist.jpg
Any pitting, flaking or rust on your chrome job demands that the chrome be removed first. Depending on the size of the part and whether it's a good triple chrome job from the past or the cheap crap they use nowadays, I may recommend that the customer send the part to a chrome shop first so they can dip it in their remover before sending it to me to powder coat. This isn't because I'm too lazy to blast it ... it's because it's cheaper for you to pay them twenty bucks to painlessly dip it than it would be for you to pay me to stand at my blast cabinet for hours on end getting it back down to bare metal where I can work on it. The shipping costs back and forth will be a little higher but a $50/hour commercial blasting rate is something to consider.
Most chrome and aluminum trim can be coated if you know what you're doing. I've also learned over the years that most powder coating shops won't touch pot metal with a 10-foot pole (lots of trim is made from pot metal) but I've had pretty good luck with it overall. I'm especially excited about the results on MattyDean's recent steering column parts and can't wait to get them out the door so I can share the photos on my website. (Had to finish up his Commando valve covers first.)
* * *
I've also had a few comments the last few days over the phone from
past customers expressing concerns about sending parts out this close to Christmas. They want to take advantage of the best sale PSC has ever had but don't want to tie up all their holiday funds on personal car parts. I can totally understand that! But I'd like to have some kind of Christmas too.
Just so ya'll know, I've got some work here from before and after the storm that I've been finishing up since I got back up and running. For the most part it's going pretty well and the backlog is clearing out, but I think I've probably got enough here to keep me busy until the end of the year (or close to it). One of those jobs is huge -- a complete brake / suspension setup for RockersDuster (thank you Chris!!! :-D) -- and it'll take awhile to complete since it was just taken off the donor car, placed in a box and shipped.
If you want to get in on the special and make sure you won't get a bill from me until after the first of the year, that's just fine (and chances are pretty good I won't have a chance to work on it until then anyway).
On the other hand, if you've got something you'd like to give as a Christmas present and want it coated at an amazing price, I might be able to accommodate a few rushes like that too. Just talk to me and I know we can work out something we're both comfortable with.
Unlike some of the places you all have locally,
I'M the one who talks to you on the phone, answers your emails and Private Messages, looks over your parts on arrival, does all the work, types up the bill, packages your parts, gives them to the UPS or mail man, cashes your check, and shows off your parts on my website later. I don't have a big staff to oversee, corporate execs to answer to or a 10,000 square foot facility, and I don't want one. I like the personal attention, turning your old nasty car parts into works of art, and enjoy having all of you as customers ... because most of the time you turn into friends. :-D
FABO folks have been treating me right for years (welllllllllllllllll, most of 'em have anyway
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Professionally-Restored-1971-Mopar-Dual-Snorkel-Air-Cleaner-/180753190180?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item2a15bacd24#ht_1292wt_1344 ...) so I try to do the same for all of you. Don't be afraid to approach me if you've got an usual or interesting idea because chances are good I'm going to like it.
