Rear Bumper Frustration - Need Advice

[Banana]

Rear Bumper woes.....I noticed some other posts having similar issues.

Had rear bumper straightened and rechromed 3 years ago. Finally put it on the car couple months ago. Following issues:

- Bumper is not quite straight, especially along the bottom near the bumper guards, and, gap doesn't seem quite right along the rear lights
- the bumper guards don't quite fit right anymore......uneven and large gaps between the guard and bumper.....afraid to tighten the guard too much (chipping)
- Well the bumper chipped anyway....very light bump to the end of the bumper caused chipping of the chrome in the stressed upper corner

The shop I used is now out of business......but I am struggling to find another chrome shop

Looking for:
- Shop that has templates and can best straighten to original dimensions.....seems many shops just pound away and eyeball it
- Shop that can fit the guards before and after chroming to ensure minimum gap and nice fit
- Shop that has show quality chrome, but also the chrome ( and all the other layers) are fully chemically bonded
- Shop with a decent warranty

Any advice on shops or other tips are appreciated

[RUNCHARGER]

Sorry man, good luck with it.

[Shane Kelley]

Another lost art!  It's tough finding anywhere that wants to mess with that stuff anymore let alone put serious effort in making sure everything is perfect.
Be curious if anyone chimes in with a high quality place that does that.

[BIGSHCLUNK]

Many years ago I worked at a place that did everything according to templates we had. The coming of plastic bumpers / Quong Hong Chong bumpers was the death nell. It changed the whole dynamic of the business. We sent all of our plating out. Northstar in Mn was the best but we dealt with Keystone in Chicago. (back when they still had wheels and weren't owned by LKQ) We always made sure good clients got the Northstar bars. (that's what bumpers were called back then). Fast forward... my shop is like 2 blocks away from where it was. I know my bars are rechrome's but by whom I don't know. I do know what to lookfor tho.... go figure. Good luck finding a place, if you do it will be pricey   

[JS29]

Sandy's bumper mart Syracuse NY 1-800-628-6737, or 315-472-8149. good quality work! 

[EV2RTSE]

My brother recently had a similar experience with a local chrome shop with his Challenger. He took the bumpers in, had them "straightened" and replated, but once he went to put the rear bumper on the car he found he is now having alignment issues. I'm wondering just how "straight" the rear bumper really should be. In this picture it appears to have a slight "V" shape to it - maybe if the shop took that out, it led to the problem you and he are now having?

From what I have heard, Paul's chrome in PA is probably one of the best shops out there, not cheap but then nothing that is done right is.
http://www.paulschrome.com/

[YellowThumper]

I would recommend taking the car and bumper to a quality body shop. Have them mount and adjust it to fit your car. Cut, bang and weld as necessary. Once fit, have it sent to chrome wherever you can find.
I just purchased a cheap slightly bent up one to fit mine prior to chrome.
Good luck.

[Burdar]

My bumper guards were the same way(73).  They fit perfect before rechroming.  After getting them back from Tri-City, they didn't fit.  I cracked the chrome trying to tighten them up.  Tri-City replated them for me at no charge.  Before sending them back out, I ground edges down so they fit the bumper again.  When they came back for the second time, they didn't fit again.  I ended up grinding the edges again so they fit.  Then I painted the bare metal edges before installing them on the bumper.

[Banana]

Burdar, I did read your earlier posts......that verified the problem I was having on the guard fit/gaps.......would have thought that most shops knew how to make this all work together properly before and after plating (considering the prices we are paying)........

How much did you have to grind?
How did you prevent chrome chipping during the grinding?

[Burdar]

I used a flap wheel(sand paper wheel) on my 4.5" angle grinder.  I didn't use an aggressive stone wheel.  The flap wheel removed small amounts of metal at a time.  I don't remember how much needed to be removed.  Just go slow and check the fitment often.

[Brads70]

I feel your pain, repop bumpers are horrible too.

[1 Wild R/T]

What you would like to see..... Scroll down to Chryco's post.....   
https://forum.e-bodies.org/general-topics/7/-retro-pics-the-good-old-days/176/1842

[JS29]

@Banana  If you grind on it go slowly and don't let the metal get any hotter than what you can touch with your hands! 

[Banana]

All good info so far, thanks

[BIGSHCLUNK]

Was just by a buddy's shop yesterday, he's putting together a 71 Bee. Brand new AMD bumpers - rear on and usable but not perfect. Front, wil NEVER fit the grills/hideaway ................