Affordable Chrome Plating for plastic and metal parts

[9teen7t240z]

Hi, All,

As promised on my previous thread from October, I am planning to do another group buy for the members of the CZCC for chrome plating of both plastic and metal Z car parts. During the past few months, we've been able to overcome some logistics hurdles that will enable me to provide the service for non-US customers as well. The prices will continue to be very low, as was the case during the first group buy. However, I did have to increase the price on a couple of items as I wasn't able to cover my hard costs on those specific items.

As was the case last time, your satisfaction is guaranteed on all orders. Unfortunately, as was also the case last time, I've not yet found an economically viable way to ship large and bulky items (bumpers and wheels) overseas by air. So, for the time being, I am limiting this service to essentially every part of a Z car except bumpers and wheels. I will detail actual prices and terms in a subsequent post later today......but thought you might want to see a few pictures of recently completed projects in the meantime. Please note that ALL plating is done with a "triple-plate" finish, which is commonly described by most domestic platers as "show chrome", and is usually accompanied by a hefty premium is prices quoted. I hope you all enjoy the pics:)

Mike R.

[9teen7t240z]

Am adding a few additional pics.........

[9teen7t240z]

Update: Terms and Pricing

240z Tail light finisher/bezel: $80.00 per pair

260/280z tail light surround: $140.00 per pair

240z heater panel faceplate: $60.00 ea.

A/C vents (round or square): $32.00 ea.

Emblems: $32.00 ea.

Mag wheel center caps: $100.00 per set of 4

chrome trim int. door pull: $12.00 ea. (240/260/280z)

Fuel door knobs (2 pc.): $18.00

Radio knobs (chrome): $12.00 ea.

Shift knob chrome base: $12.00 ea.

240z series 1 hatch vents: $32.00 ea.

Chrome door panel escutcheon: $18.00 ea.

Chrome door handles: $30.00 ea.

S30 exterior mirrors: $42.00 ea.

Terms: Minimum order is $100.00. Payment due at time of order placement. Payment processed through Paypal. Prices include return shipment to all customers in the US. For international customers, prices are the same as quoted here, except that non-US customers will be responsible for freight costs and any applicable customs charges, if any. Please allow 5-6 weeks for job completion. All orders come with a full customer satisfaction guarantee.

Please feel free to PM me with any specific questions or to place an order. This group buy is scheduled for a February 10th shipment, so please place your orders and ship your product in time for a February 5th deadline for my receipt.

Mike R.

(go niners....he he he)

[9teen7t240z]

I've been asked if we can do "black Chrome" and thought that this question should be shared with the community. The answer is yes......we do offer black chrome for any of you interested in customizing your rides. The prices are the same as for the regular chrome plating. Once again, however, I cannot offer this service for wheels or bumpers, at this time.

Mike

[240260280z]

I hate looking at this thread to see newest posts... all that chrome makes me drool every time.

[9teen7t240z]

I've received a few pm's that suggests that there is some uncertainty as to what this post is all about. No, I have no re-chromed parts for sale. I am offering a service to have your cores stripped, dipped, plated, and polished and returned to you, the club member. I apologize for an ambiguity in my original thread post.

Each member's order is individually catalogued, photographed, and packaged separately and is kept that way throughout the process, insuring that the cores YOU send in will be the same ones that you receive after the work is completed. Any special instructions or requests that the customer may have are included in their respective package, after those instructions have been translated into the language used by our plater.

I hope that this clears up any confusion as to precisely what the service entails. In the future, perhaps I'll be able to acquire an inventory of cores myself....have them replated, and offer them for sale to the community. However, I definitely could not offer refurbished parts at the prices listed above. If anyone does have an inventory of usable cores that they have no plans for, feel free to pm me if you'd like to sell them at a reasonable price:)

Mike

[9teen7t240z]

I hate looking at this thread to see newest posts... all that chrome makes me drool every time.

Phil,

I've made a mental note to procure a chrome plated spitoon for you. This way you won't have any of that drool drop onto your beautiful paint job:)

Of course, on a more serious note, we do have the ability to handle jobs for our friends "north of the border" now......so shoot me a pm if I can be of any help to you.

Mike

P.S. Thanks for the feedback on the pics, btw:)

[9teen7t240z]

EDIT/ UPDATE: The scheduled shipment date has been moved to February 20 in order to accomodate working schedules during the Chinese New Year. This will extend your time to ship through February 15th.

Mike

[Mike W]

So I decided to take Mike up on his first group buy offer and would like too offer some feedback on his service as well as the product. In the process of restoring my late model 260Z, I was searching for an affordable plater somewhere in the US that could replate my original tail light surrounds. They are definitely out there if you search hard enough, but the prices were outrageous. To put it into perspective, the last quote that I received for ONE surround from a plater on the East Coast was almost double what Mike charged for TWO. And his prices also included return shipping! His price performance can't be beat in my opinion.

Finally I want to say that this was a very positive experience overall with Mike and his team. His communication was excellent and in the end he delivered as expected. I would not hesitate to do business with him again and I have already sent him some additional parts for him to plate on his next group buy.

In fact the picture on his first post in this thread show my surrounds. They are the 4th picture from the left.

I've also attached a couple of my own pictures which shows the passenger side surround on the car, both before and after replating. As you can see, the difference is dramatic.

Hope this helps others who may be considering using Mike's service.

Mike.

[9teen7t240z]

So I decided to take Mike up on his first group buy offer and would like too offer some feedback on his service as well as the product. In the process of restoring my late model 260Z, I was searching for an affordable plater somewhere in the US that could replate my original tail light surrounds. They are definitely out there if you search hard enough, but the prices were outrageous. To put it into perspective, the last quote that I received for ONE surround from a plater on the East Coast was almost double what Mike charged for TWO. And his prices also included return shipping! His price performance can't be beat in my opinion.

Finally I want to say that this was a very positive experience overall with Mike and his team. His communication was excellent and in the end he delivered as expected. I would not hesitate to do business with him again and I have already sent him some additional parts for him to plate on his next group buy.

In fact the picture on his first post in this thread show my surrounds. They are the 4th picture from the left.

I've also attached a couple of my own pictures which shows the passenger side surround on the car, both before and after replating. As you can see, the difference is dramatic.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]60316[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]60317[/ATTACH]

Hope this helps others who may be considering using Mike's service.

Mike.

Hi, Mike,

Thank you for the kind words and valuable feedback. In an endeavor such as this, as is the case with most any enterprise, customer feedback is critical to the persuit of excellence and satisfied customers are the only real measure of success. Thanks again for your business.

Mike R.

[Mike B]

I also had Mike do some plating for me and I was very happy with the quality for the price. I have used a few different places in the US to plate plastic and pot metal items in the past and they can be pretty expensive. Mike's prices are very reasonable.

The heater control panel that Mike posted a picture of above is mine. I'm attaching a before and close up after picture for comparison. As you can see, the texture on the piece was still maintained, which was a concern of mine. It's from a 1969 production car, which are slightly different from those on later cars, so it was important for me to restore this one rather replace it with a new or reproduction part.

I also had Mike do a set of taillight trim strips and a 240Z rear deck emblem. For $80 and a little time to disassemble, polish the lenses, and reassemble, you can restore most taillights to like new condition. Much better than spending $1200 for a NOS set, and since the early lenses are slightly different on the early cars like mine, this is a much better option if you originality is important to you.

I liked the first 'test' pieces I had done so much I am sending some more pieces to him. I removed the bases from a couple of shift knobs so I am interested to see how those turn out. I have also suggested to Mike that reproducing the shift knob bases and trim strips may be popular items for people that have originals that are too damaged to re-use as cores for plating.

I'm also planning on testing out some more pot metal items. One of the problems with pot metal though is if you have any pits you will need to drill and fill them first if you want a perfect looking piece. I am testing out a new product I found for this, so I may have more on that later.

-Mike

[9teen7t240z]

I also had Mike do some plating for me and I was very happy with the quality for the price. I have used a few different places in the US to plate plastic and pot metal items in the past and they can be pretty expensive. Mike's prices are very reasonable.

The heater control panel that Mike posted a picture of above is mine. I'm attaching a before and close up after picture for comparison. As you can see, the texture on the piece was still maintained, which was a concern of mine. It's from a 1969 production car, which are slightly different from those on later cars, so it was important for me to restore this one rather replace it with a new or reproduction part.

I also had Mike do a set of taillight trim strips and a 240Z rear deck emblem. For $80 and a little time to disassemble, polish the lenses, and reassemble, you can restore most taillights to like new condition. Much better than spending $1200 for a NOS set, and since the early lenses are slightly different on the early cars like mine, this is a much better option if you originality is important to you.

I liked the first 'test' pieces I had done so much I am sending some more pieces to him. I removed the bases from a couple of shift knobs so I am interested to see how those turn out. I have also suggested to Mike that reproducing the shift knob bases and trim strips may be popular items for people that have originals that are too damaged to re-use as cores for plating.

I'm also planning on testing out some more pot metal items. One of the problems with pot metal though is if you have any pits you will need to drill and fill them first if you want a perfect looking piece. I am testing out a new product I found for this, so I may have more on that later.

-Mike

HI, Mike,

Thank-you for the feedback and the "before" and "after" pics. I wish that I would have thought of that:)

I am anxious to hear how that new product works out for you......I suspect it was the one you sent me info on. I may have use for that myself in the near future.

The parts that you sent me last week are already in Asia, ready to be started on. Will keep you abreast of progress.

Thanks again,

Mike R.