Options for chrome on a 50 Champion

[Iroll]

I have a 1950 Champion, and it has the typical pitted chrome. The bumpers are actually quite nice with very minimal pitting, so those I will leave alone, but all the rest of the chrome is not very nice. From what I understand rechroming the 6 pieces on the front end and the 3 pieces on the rear would cost somewhere around 1700-2000. I know to rechrome is a lot of work stripping the parts, and getting a good fresh layer of copper, nickel, and then chrome on them. Unfortunately I cant afford to put that much money into this car, especially due to all the other things it needs. I looked all over and I have not found any sources for reproduction pieces. I would be fine with used and somewhat weathered but decent parts, but again, they might be non-existent or hard to find for this car. So question #1 is does any vendor carry reproduction chrome that anyone knows of for a 50 Champion?
Question #2 is What is the alternative? I am not crazy about painted over chrome, but surely somebody has come up with an option that looks good on these cars without investing ~$2k into chrome alone. I am trying to prevent this project from stalling, but seems its not going to be easy. Thanks for any input.

[Lothar]

I've seen some of your posts about this car. I hope that you stick with it and get it going (and stopping). Have you read this article yet?

http://www.studebakerdriversclub.com/TechThings2do.asp

It should give you a good basis for evaluating your car and prioritizing the work that needs to be done. I would make the chrome a relatively low priority, especially if you are on a budget. Get it roadworthy so you have the satisfaction of driving it, rather than just having a shiny lawn ornament.
That said, decent used chrome parts come up fairly regularly on Fleabay, so you should search for it there. The headlight rims were body paint color on the lower trim level cars, so you could save a few bucks painting them rather than re-chroming them. Bullets are pricey because people like to use them for wall decor. The taillight rims are the same for 1949 to 1951, so they are easier to find used.
Good luck with your car. The 1950 Champions are real head-turners. They always draw a crowd, even if they aren't really shiny.

[Iroll]

Thanks John,
I appreciate the words of advice. You are right, I should not be focusing to deeply on the chrome. I guess while I am awaiting the new rubber brake hoses to show up I am thinking through how far I will go with the car, and how much I am willing to put into it. I know from past experience that when I get as much done as possible right out of the gate, it seems to actually get done, versus doing it over time, which seems to make it to easy to put it off until another day... I do want to address the sticky brakes and drive it asap, and even though right now I have removed almost the entire interior, I am ok with only the drivers seat in there. I was a bit disappointed to get a quote of $5,000 minimum from a local shop yesterday, George's Upholstery in Latham NY, to recover just the seats! I do not want to exceed that for the entire project, so I guess that means I am going to try my hand at recovering the seats myself. I already plan on doing the door panels myself, so how hard can the seats be? I don't think the brakes will cost all that much, and that I can do myself. My brake lights also do not come on when the pedal is pushed, so that will need to be addressed as well. I am watching, and will continue to watch the auction sites for the chrome pieces. The TechThingsToDo is a great list. There is plenty on there that can keep me busy! Thanks

[Sdude]

Taillight rims are not the same from 49 to 51. 49 is completely different and while 51s look similar, the have a different number of holes for mounting screws. They, like the headlight rims can also be painted as they were for lower trim level cars.

[Lothar]

The quote you got for upholstery sounds outrageously high to me, even considering Nebraska vs. New York price differences. I have a local guy who did a beautiful job recovering my door panels in period appearing material, with the vinyl strip along the lower third, for $150 each, including material. I will get you a pic later, I store my car off-site. I haven't had my seats done yet (they aren't too bad), but he showed me material that is very similar to the original pinstriped cloth and quoted $600 for the front seat. Unless your seat is missing pieces and you want to recover it in gold braid, that quote you got is over the top high, in my opinion.

[Lothar]

I stand corrected on the taillight rims! Thanks, Jon.

[rdueringer]

I have several chrome pieces for a '50 Champion. I'll try to send a PM with details.

[rockne10]

COMPLETE

[Iroll]

http://www.automotiveinteriors.com I also am still considering just stripping the threads out of the original seats covers and cutting new fabric, and having someone sew the seems for me. That would of course be the absolute cheapest way to go. Then I would only need the seat padding rebuild kits for $200. I suspect a lot of guys around here are retired and have the time and resources to give to their cars the best of care. I am a struggling dad supporting a family(anyone see what college costs today?!), so my available funds are rather limited, and my time for my toys is not in abundance either. But where there is a will there is a way!

Thank you guys for the encouragement and support!

[Roscomacaw]

Yah - on those taillights - even the lenses won't swap - 50 to 51. Looks like they should at a glance, but the lens is too wide for '51 to fit in the '50 bezel.

[Commander Eddie]

One other possibility is spray on chrome. I saw a demonstration of one of these products a couple of years ago on Jay Leno's Garage and was duly impressed. I cannot remember exactly which product he showed but if you put in spray on chrome in your search engine you will get a number of options. Here is one that might be what I saw.

http://www.sprayonchrome.com/

[Lothar]

I saw the same spray-on chrome demonstration video a while back as well and I was intrigued by it. Jay seemed to like it especially well for plastic and dash parts, IIRC. I wonder how well that finish would stand up to the elements? I would be interested to hear anyone's experience with this process. It looks cool, but it just seems too easy, somehow.

[TX Rebel]

Some of my plating customers send me their parts years after completing their restorations. They get everything else done so the car can be driven & displayed, but paint over their pitted trim until they have the $$ to do the chrome. Sadly, plating costs are going up so rapidly, they spend much more $$ by putting it off.
There is just no substitute for beautiful chrome plating!

https://www.custompolishchromeplating.com