Mr. G's Rechromed Plastic

[GoatDr]

I have nothing, but good to say about these people out of Ft. Worth. I called them on Monday wanting to get two center A/C vents for a 70 GTO. They said send in your cores and we'll see what they had or if they needed to rechrome mine. I sent them by mail on Monday and received two rechromed pieces on Friday--by mail!!! Beautiful pieces and a great price.

[Silver Judge]

Hmm, thanks for the tip ddonnelly, I did a search on the web and found this place, they seem to have stock on an enormous number of interior parts. When I'm ready to spruce up my dash a bit, I may just try these guys
http://www.mrgusa.com/index.html

[Stuart]

There have been posts in the past about Mr. G's that weren't so complimentary, but I got a rechromed dash bezel from him for my F**d pickup and was happy with it - reasonable price and fast turnaround. However, if you want him to re-do your part instead of sending you one he has in stock I understand he's not nearly as fast.

[Red Goat]

I had some dash pieces rechromed for my 69 Goat by Mr. G's.

I'll have to say that the first time I called, they sounded real flaky. They would not say how long it would take to redo my parts or if they had some already done and ready to ship. I took the chance and sent mine in anyway. Less than 10 days later I had them back and they looked great. The packaging was very good and the price very reasonable.

I would definately use them again.

Later,
Tim.

[pontiac poncho]

One small detail about Mr. G's though. They should say repainted, not rechromed. Instead of a rechroming method..like was used originaly, they have someone chrome paint their plastics. This tends not to last as long as the rechroming method. Trust me I've had one and it lasted about 3 yrs and the paint started to wear off. They will even tell you they paint the chrome on...only if you ask them!

[Stuart]

That's interesting...I bought my dash bezel from them probably 10 years ago, and it was definitely plated as original. In fact, I just took a look at their website and it indicates they use vacuum metalizing to plate parts, the same as how the parts were done originally. My dash looks just as good today as the day I bought it. However, I do agree that a vacuum metalized surface is not very durable and it will wear off on parts that are handled, like armrest bases for instance.

[Silver Judge]

Ok, i understand issues on this vacuum metalizing (which is very much like plating) vs. chrome painting issue. For dash bezel trim, and other dash parts, this really shouldn't much of an issue, right ?

[Steve C.]

Vaccume metalizing is only as good as the clear paint applied to protect it.

It is a very thin film of vaporized metal (typically aluminum) that adheres to the plactic while in a vaccume chamber, at this point it will rub off very easy. Then the parts are removed from the chamber and coated with the paint film.
Similar to the "chrome" on model car parts you built as a kid, only they had no clear paint applied.

Actual electroplated plastic parts use a different process. In simple terms, a part that is injection molded with a plateable grade of plastic is pre-treated and a thin coating of electroless nickel or copper is chemically applied. With this very thin film of electroless copper or nickel it becomes conductive just like a metal part. At this time it is treated similar to the metal part and now electroplated with the typical copper, nickel and chromium deposit. The thicker electroplated deposit should last for many years with no wear on interior parts. On outside parts, such as nameplates and trim pieces, that is a different story. Here they are subject of the eliments just like a plated metal part (typically zinc die cast in the old days) and can detoriate in time. Much had to do with the type of process and the quality control of the outside vendor...... or the purchasing department who often buys on the cheap or from overseas sources with inferior quality.