B61 chrome grill shell

[darkkar]

Were can I get a chrome grille shell for my b61. Did they make a aluminum shell for the b61. Any help .thanks

[41chevy]

Last nice one I saw for sale in 2013 went for $1250.00. Cheaper to have your plated probably.    Paul

[fxfymn]

Depending on what you start with (pitted, rusted, dented, etc.) it will run you anywhere from $1K to $2.5K to get it plated. You can send a picture to Paul's Plating in PA to get a rough estimate.

[hurstscrambler]

Fxfymn, have you used Paul's chrome in the past?  I'm looking for a shop to do some emblems (pot metal) and some of the steel hood latch components for my truck.  It is a very nerve racking process to select  shop that I can't reasonably travel too, and then the process takes so long, and it seems so expensive.  It's one of those things were if you look long enough you find a bad review for every shop out there, so you can't be too sure about anyone.  I don't mind paying the price for a good job, but I would hate to waste money on a job that is not well done.  Andy

[AZB755V8]

 

Fxfymn, have you used Paul's chrome in the past?  I'm looking for a shop to do some emblems (pot metal) and some of the steel hood latch components for my truck.  It is a very nerve racking process to select  shop that I can't reasonably travel too, and then the process takes so long, and it seems so expensive.  It's one of those things were if you look long enough you find a bad review for every shop out there, so you can't be too sure about anyone.  I don't mind paying the price for a good job, but I would hate to waste money on a job that is not well done.  Andy

It is hard to find a good chrome shop with all the EPA reg's. There are two types of chrome the Tri-something and Hex. The Hex is the environment unfriendly one but is the "show chrome" and is the best. Good plating is a three step process, copper, nickel, chrome and it takes a lot of time as well.

Ogden Chrome in Utah is who I used for my LTL chrome. not cheap, not out of line, but a Great job. I had my radiator shell show chromed for around $1000 and the bumper for $1000 plus other parts. They can do rust, dent repair and fill too. They do both standard chrome and show chrome depending on what you want and want to pay. My mirror brackets came back to me with stains from the final rinse and a crack in the plating and I sent them back. No questions asked and had them back in a few weeks and were perfect. I sent two NOS Gold Mack V8 emblems, for my B755, with the mirror brackets and they chromed them for free and look far better than "Mack new". 

[fxfymn]

 

Fxfymn, have you used Paul's chrome in the past?  I'm looking for a shop to do some emblems (pot metal) and some of the steel hood latch components for my truck.  It is a very nerve racking process to select  shop that I can't reasonably travel too, and then the process takes so long, and it seems so expensive.  It's one of those things were if you look long enough you find a bad review for every shop out there, so you can't be too sure about anyone.  I don't mind paying the price for a good job, but I would hate to waste money on a job that is not well done.  Andy

I have used Pauls in the past and I was very happy with the work they did for me. They are very pricey, but as I said they do good work. How expensive? I sent 4 "B" model hub caps that were somewhat beat up to them for a price estimate that came back at $250.00 each. Needless to say I bought new ones from Watts at $125.00 each. http://www.paulschrome.com/

I have also used Royal Silver in Norfolk, VA https://www.rschrome.com/ They did very good work as well. 

I have fire truck friends that have used shops in Philly and Ohio and both swear by them, so if those locations are closer to home for you let me know and I'll get the names for you. The shop in Philly can do very large items, so they may be the way to go for the radiator shell.

One of the main reasons it is so expensive to do a fire truck is all of the plating that is involved. I spent over $6K just on plating when I did the 52 and that was not in all that bad condition. I quickly learned that it is much less expensive to buy new stuff it was available instead of repairing and plating the existing items.

One way to lower your cost is to prep the item as much as possible yourself. The quality of plating is dictated by how well it is buffed and polished before it is plated, so if you have the time and motivation to buff the items yourself you will lower your cost considerably since most shops charge $75.00 per hour and up to buff out the pieces. 

If your shell is pitted the shop will plate the shell with copper, buff off the copper away from the pits, and keep plating-buffing until the pits are filled and they have a smooth surface to plate.

Pot metal is done with a similar process. A friend sent two "F-350" hood emblems that go on the side of his 56 Ford's hood to Pauls for an estimate.They were pitted and needed the studs repaired as well. Pauls came back at $500.00 each to do them.

Good luck.