Re-chrome Bumpers VS Stainless Steel Bumpers

[Vishnu]

Dear All,

Are there any thoughts on the pros/ cons of buying Stainless Steel Bumpers inside of repairing and re-chroming the originals?
Re-chrome cost are high with only a year warranty on the finish.

Thanks for all your thought and comments in advance

Kind Regards

Vishnu

[staginhiding]

Poor quality chroming will come back to bite you.
Good chroming is available but costs can outweigh the car value..

I havent yet seen the stainless steel (in the flesh) but there have been mainly good reports on here..
I think the downside to the stainless is that they dont gleam like chrome,can be soft if damaged and the fitting kit is suspect (IIRC)

There will be and have been a lot more comments I'm sure..

[paulbell6]

I have S.S. bumpers and the overall effect is good, however close inspection does show up minor flaws but you do have to look hard. The fixings that come with them are not the best and if you tighten the bolts up a little too far then the bumpers will distort a little as the thickness of the metal seems to be less than the originals. If you are looking for a good way to give the Stag a face lift without the worry of rust in the longer term then this is the way to go, but don't expect showroom standards.

Paul

[Stagsongas]

Vishnu,

I took the plunge a couple of months ago and wrote an article on the subject. I hope it helps you make an informed decision.


Read it here;

http://www.stag.org.uk/forum/showthread.php?21845-Stainless-Steel-Bumpers&highlight=Stainless+Steel+Bumpers%3F

You will find a lot more by putting the subject into the search facility.

Regards

Steve

[edd]

I think spreading the cost by doing the front and rear over a couple of years separately is a good idea. I love the originality of chrome .
Edd

[Essex Stag]

Has anyone had a front bumper and number plate plynth or overiders re-chromed recently . If so how much does it cost? My rear has been done by PO but the front is just a little pitted. just wondered what I would need to spend.

[Vishnu]

Thanks Steve your post was very interesting and I am persuaded to follow your route as your pictures show nearly indistinguishable from the original.

Dear Essex Stag who is PO?
I found a Chap in Grays named Ray who was advertising on Ebay. we wanted £500 to do front and rear bumpers he says you must give 2 coats of hammerite and then waxoly the inside otherwise it will not last. he gives a year warranty...... but I not sure of the quality....hence for a little more SS seems to make sense.

Thanks for the your responses.

Kind Regards
Vishnu

[4x4]

PO = Previous Owner

[StagnJag]

The chap in Grays - Chromeworld? - gets good reviews from the folks on here. Not tried him personally though. I tried getting some chroming done by an outfit in Ashford Kent a couple of years ago and would never go back there!

Rgds

Dave

[Stagsongas]

Thanks Steve your post was very interesting and I am persuaded to follow your route as your pictures show nearly indistinguishable from the original.

Dear Essex Stag who is PO?
I found a Chap in Grays named Ray who was advertising on Ebay. we wanted £500 to do front and rear bumpers he says you must give 2 coats of hammerite and then waxoly the inside otherwise it will not last. he gives a year warranty...... but I not sure of the quality....hence for a little more SS seems to make sense.

Thanks for the your responses.

Kind Regards
Vishnu

Vishnu,

OK, the item was written to help others make an informed choice, but do keep in mind that it only describes the choice I made, and the reasons I made it. As far as I'm aware there isn't a full and up to date account of rechroming and costs etc. to balance what I've said, so my item is inherently unbalanced. Maybe someone else will write such an article one day?

Good luck in whatever you choose to do.

Regards

Steve

[Dieter H. Marschall]

Hello,

I have got the stainless steel bumpers on my TR6 and I am very happy with them.

When I asked a rechromer he said, he was quite happy to rechrome the old bumpers for me, but I would not be very happy after two or three years. If there is rust on the backside of the bumpers, this rust will be intercristaline and "creep through" the metal causing blisters on the rechromed side.

So I opted for stainless steel from Harrington group - made in Vietnam, but in very good quality.

Best wishes,
Dieter.

[Staggard]

The chap in Grays - Chromeworld? - gets good reviews from the folks on here. Not tried him personally though. I tried getting some chroming done by an outfit in Ashford Kent a couple of years ago and would never go back there!

Rgds

Dave

I used him around 3 years ago, rear bumper,No plate plinth, door handles. filler cap and bit's on the bike as well, they have all returned to pretty much as it was before it was done, except the filler cap which has remained good. My experience with chroming ( and most other things is ) you get what you pay for. Graham

[Stagsongas]

Hello,

I have got the stainless steel bumpers on my TR6 and I am very happy with them.

When I asked a rechromer he said, he was quite happy to rechrome the old bumpers for me, but I would not be very happy after two or three years. If there is rust on the backside of the bumpers, this rust will be intercristaline and "creep through" the metal causing blisters on the rechromed side.

So I opted for stainless steel from Harrington group - made in Vietnam, but in very good quality.

Best wishes,
Dieter.

Dieter,

The way I see this;

Chrome bumpers are not that different to bodywork. Both are made out of Steel and have a coating applied to them for aesthetic finish and protection. If rust penetrates Steel bodywork from the back side and we then prepare and repaint it, the rust eventually, inevitably breaks through once more, and it does so because of the corrosion path already established when the first rust spots appeared. The only cure is to replace the perforated Steel.

Chrome bumpers or other parts aren't that much different. Once rusted from the back they can only rust more. They might last longer if sealed on the back too, like bodywork being undersealed on the back, but that is still a temporary solution and not a permanent cure. The permanent cure is also the same as with bodywork - replacement of the Steel.

Regards

Steve

[Driveshield vehicle track]

I have just put stainless on and they look great

[Stagsongas]

I have just put stainless on and they look great

Me too, as you'll know.

As for whether the Stainless they are made of is resilient remains to be seen. There are many grades and two clearly different types of Stainless, what mine are made of only time will tell. There is a cheaper form of Stainless that will form rust spots where clusters of Iron particles will rust if exposed. Cheap cutlery will display this effect,

I did as much checking as I could to ensure that the bumpers are made of the higher quality material, and it seems that they are, and this was enough to convince me to buy them. This has been confirmed by me having to drill out the number plate holes in the rear bumper (they forgot to put them in mine). The material certainly proved to be as difficult to drill as the top grades of SS which do not machine easily, even to centre punch the holes required a Dremel grinder, no centre drill would touch it.

As for the fit and finish, I'm convinced they are as good as the orginals.

Regards

Steve