Kustom Khrome

[StevenGuthmiller]

Anybody ever use these guys?

They supposedly do parts plating.

I visited their table at the NNL North show on Sunday & e-mailed them with a few questions & a list of parts I want done on Monday.

It's now Thursday morning & I have yet to get a reply to my e-mail.

Not a very good first impression at this point.

I'll try contacting them again possibly this weekend, but I'm a little disappointed so far.

Any insight?

 

Steve

[Hawk312]

Subscribing to this, as I am looking for someone to chrome some resin parts.

[unclescott58]

Anybody ever use these guys?

They supposedly do parts plating.

I visited their table at the NNL North show on Sunday & e-mailed them with a few questions & a list of parts I want done on Monday.

It's now Thursday morning & I have yet to get a reply to my e-mail.

Not a very good first impression at this point.

I'll try contacting them again possibly this weekend, but I'm a little disappointed so far.

Any insight?

 

Steve

Heard anything yet Steve? I too talked to them at the NNL North as you know. I'm hoping they are as good as they sounded in person. Several MCCM member have used them with good luck, is my understanding. I have not tried contacting them yet.

[StevenGuthmiller]

Heard anything yet Steve? I too talked to them at the NNL North as you know. I'm hoping they are as good as they sounded in person. Several MCCM member have used them with good luck, is my understanding. I have not tried contacting them yet.

As a matter of fact Scott, I just got off of the phone with Bob about 20 minutes ago.

He explained to me that they have been having major computer hacking problems & are just now getting things back in order.

That would explain the delay in responding to my e-mail.

We had a very pleasant conversation & I'm pleased to say that I'm looking forward to doing business with him very soon.

Bob seemed like a terrific guy!

If any one else is interested, I did get some information that may be informative, but I'll decline to start running at the mouth at this moment.

If anyone has any specific questions that I can answer, I'll be more than happy to.

After seeing their work at the show & hearing about their operation, I'm fairly confident that I will be pleased with the experience.

Parts will start getting ready to ship this weekend!

 

Steve

Edited May 21, 2016 by StevenGuthmiller

[Hawk312]

Did they happen to say if they do resin casted parts? I have found that resin gives most platers a very hard time. Thanks.

[StevenGuthmiller]

Did they happen to say if they do resin casted parts? I have found that resin gives most platers a very hard time. Thanks.

Yes, they do resin parts.

But according to their flier, they won't guarantee results.

Quote:

 

"Most resin parts do plate well, although the casting must be very smooth & clean of mold release.

Clean the resin as though you were stripping it before it is plated using Wesley Tire Cleaner (Bleache White), then clean again with soap & hot water.

If your resin parts look rough or dry & chalky, call us for further preparation details.

Sorry, WE CAN NOT GUARANTEE RESULTS ON RESIN PARTS."

 

Steve

[Hawk312]

 

"Most resin parts do plate well, although the casting must be very smooth & clean of mold release.

Clean the resin as though you were stripping it before it is plated using Wesley Tire Cleaner (Bleache White), then clean again with soap & hot water.

If your resin parts look rough or dry & chalky, call us for further preparation details.

Sorry, WE CAN NOT GUARANTEE RESULTS ON RESIN PARTS."

 

Steve

Sadly, that`s what I`ve been hearing everywhere.  

[StevenGuthmiller]

 

Sadly, that`s what I`ve been hearing everywhere.  

The current batch of parts that I'm getting ready to ship for re-chroming includes a pair of resin bumpers for a '61 Olds.

When they come back, I'll try to remember to post photos to show how they came out.

According to Bob, the plater he uses is the same company who did chrome trees for AMT & Johan for many years.

They have been in business for 70 plus years & apparently are currently doing plating for some of the more prominent resin casters.

 

Steve

[Lownslow]

I prep my own resin and hit it with sealers and primers before plating never had a problems

 

[crazyjim]

    According to Bob, the plater he uses is the same company who did chrome trees for AMT & Johan for many years.

They have been in business for 70 plus years & apparently are currently doing plating for some of the more prominent resin casters.

 

Steve

So Bob (whoever he is) doesn't do the plating himself, but ships it out to somebody else?

[Lownslow]

So Bob (whoever he is) doesn't do the plating himself, but ships it out to somebody else?

all middle men basically i think LMK does it themselves

 

[High octane]

Bob is a terrific guy as I've known him for 15 years or so. I've had plating done by him and I was satisfied. He currently has some parts to plate for me. His paints for air-brushing are fantastic as I know many modelers who use them. Yes Bob sends out his parts to be plated and so does Robert from Chrome Tech USA. I've used Spaz-Stix on resin parts with good results.

[StevenGuthmiller]

So Bob (whoever he is) doesn't do the plating himself, but ships it out to somebody else?

Most of these guys are middle men.

Your average Joe Schmo model car enthusiast, like us, is not going to have the resources to be able to afford the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment that this process requires.

The actual companies who do these model parts for us contract with our "middle men" who get us a reasonable price through volume.

Chrome tech does not do their own plating either.

I did a little research a couple years ago to see if I could work with a "vacuum metallizing" company directly to cut out the middle man.

Believe me, the cost is prohibitive.

By the way, Bob is the co-owner of Kustom Khrome.

 

 

Steve

[Can-Con]

Yes, LMK does their own plating. They've done a couple trees for me and they turned out fine.

I used to have Chrome+ in Quebec do mine but Louis hasn't set back up for plating since he moved to a new home several years ago. Too bad since he did excellent work and charged less than 1/2 what the other platers charged. Plus he's in Canada so that made shipping a lot easier for me.

[Kris Morgan]

Great guys to deal with. They use the same plater I and several other Detroit area casters do. As noted, this is the same company that plated parts for several model companies back in the day.