[tallrandyb]

Originally Posted by 6t5gto

I am having my rear panel and tail lamp bezels done at The Finishing Touch. $3,500 for all 3 parts. Absurd amount of money but you will pay at least $1,500 - $2,000 at a crappy chromer and get a crappy job. For the extra money at The Finishing Touch ( one of the best chrome shops in the country) you will get perfectly platted pieces and they also do the satin black on the rear panel and tail lamp bezels.

Wow that would be great to show the before and afters!

[6t5gto]

It will be a while. The wait time for chroming those pieces is 5 - 6 months.

[ZnbOlds455]

I’ve reached out to a place in Augusta as it’s only 1.5 hours away. Dallas Plating just outside Atlanta may be an option as well it seems. My tail light bezels are pretty bad. The panel really isn’t.

[lemans67]

I would not use Dallas Plating. I did, most items had to be redone. Some by them, some at another place. Terrible service.

[ZeGermanHam]

Yeah, with as much as chrome plating costs, it's worth asking around before sending your parts off to be plated. Some shops have nice websites and good SEO (search engine optimization), but that doesn't necessarily mean they do good work.

I called my local metal plating shop a few weeks ago to inquire about re-chroming the headlight bezels for my '66. They quoted me between $700-1000 for the pair. Ouch! I'm going to sit on that for a bit...

[johns]

Originally Posted by 6t5gto

I am having my rear panel and tail lamp bezels done at The Finishing Touch. $3,500 for all 3 parts. Absurd amount of money but you will pay at least $1,500 - $2,000 at a crappy chromer and get a crappy job. For the extra money at The Finishing Touch ( one of the best chrome shops in the country) you will get perfectly platted pieces and they also do the satin black on the rear panel and tail lamp bezels.

Having had some pieces done by them in the past I can tell you that they will be perfect!

JohnS

[ZnbOlds455]

I'm not looking for perfect, just not hideous. The shop in Augusta said their turnaround time for auto parts is 10-12 months right now. I'm probably not even that close to being able to drive the car, but I don't exactly want to leave my parts with someone for a year.

Besides having it re-chromed, what other options are there for the tail panel? I know there are replacement tail light bezels, but I don't see any options for the Pontiac panel between the lights. Has anyone done something paint-wise to make it good enough for a driver?

[dhcarguy]

I have been through this and I bought the die cast metal bezels. they are EXCELLENT and fit perfect. You CANNOT tell they are not originals.

Call Tom Rubinate , he will send you nice pictures of what tail panels he has. Can't hurt to see

[64speed]

I had every piece of my car rechromed. EVERY PIECE, Stainless, Aluminum, you name it. S&H Plating in Madison TN was by far the best I found. I sent pieces to several places to test quality vs return on investment. They worked with me. They werent slow. And they were very reasonable

[6t5gto]

64speed, If you have time I would like to talk to you regarding your parts that you had chromed at S&H. I also have to chrome almost everything on my car and had a few questions. My number is 914-879-5311 or if you could send me your number I would appreciate it. Thanks Joe

[Dick Boneske]

As I stated last year on this thread, I have the PG Classics ‘64 taillight panels—all three pieces. I also have a set of originals rechromed in 2005.

The PG Classic set fit perfectly. I don’t believe anyone could distinguish these repros from NOS taillight panels.

The ones I have that were repaired & re-chromed have a couple of noticeable pits and ribs that are not perfectly straight. The two outer panels cost $850 in 2005 from Frank’s Pontiac Parts.

I’ve seen the PG Classics ‘65 taillight bezels—They appear to be of the same high quality as the ‘64 pieces.

This is one of the few areas where repros are cheaper and better than repairing & rechroming pitted pieces.

[ZnbOlds455]

Originally Posted by Dick Boneske

As I stated last year on this thread, I have the PG Classics ‘64 taillight panels—all three pieces. I also have a set of originals rechromed in 2005.

I’ve checked with them and just about everyone else online. I haven’t called anyone yet. The tail light bezels are around, but no panels in decent shape. I’ll start calling folks soon.

If my stainless trim parts weren’t in decent shape, I’d just paint all of it. I think I’ll even be able to use my existing headlight bezels.

[ZnbOlds455]

What's different between the Tempest and the GTO tail panel moldings for '65? I see that Frank's has one listed as Tempest.

[6t5gto]

The amount of ribs is different

[dhcarguy]

Originally Posted by ZnbOlds455

What's different between the Tempest and the GTO tail panel moldings for '65? I see that Frank's has one listed as Tempest.

Yes , GTO and Lemans are the same but Tempest has 10 ribs (I think it's 10).

Curious... Did you check with Tom Rubinate Arizona for a tail panel?

[turbo69bird]

Seriously while you guys wait for a rechrome. Look at vinyl wrap to get you by. It is an amazing product and cheap especially for a daily driver. I know it’s not gonna be show chrome but from what I’ve seen from some of the shot one shops lately it would be better than any low cost plating for 500 times less money it’s just limited in its amount of stretch . It may help some of you guys since this part is flat
Check out this video watch to the end to see actual chrome look
https://youtu.be/0wp6r7UtjLQ

https://youtu.be/yYYrzdFUM_s

An actual bumper chrome wrapped
https://youtu.be/yRXgvwVa3sU

[turbo69bird]

And if you do watch the video vinyl will have some orange peel but that level is likely grommet primer underneath. Vinyl will print through anything under it . Orange peel , a hair even. So if your gonna use it make sure it is perfectly flat and smooth under it

[lemans67]

R&D Finishing in Elizabethton TN , http://rdfinishing.net/. Another chrome shop option. They did some pot metal pieces. They turned out very nice.

[gokitty]

Custom Metal Finishing Indiana LLC. Over last 10 years has grown from a backyard business to full blown shop. Have had good experience(s) dealing with them. Pot metal work is good.

[Cardo]

+1 On Custom Metal Finishing. They did all of my chrome too, rear finish panel was EXTREMELY reasonable, i doubt if they would do it again for the same price. The owner of Custom Metal passed away this past spring due to Covid. They are a family business and still operating, but i don't know if the quality and prices will stay the same. Let's hope so! Their chrome work was excellent, but i did hand a couple of pieces right back to them because of imperfections, which they re did without question, but do not have them do any other plating such as gold cad or silver cad.... they farm that out and i ended up getting all of that redone again.