Plating Prices Presented
I got a call today from Astro Chrome and Polishing on the items I sent in to be nickel plated. I wasn’t home when they called so I was not able to confirm the information, but the message was clear. This is for stripping and plating 4 claw foot tub feet, a drain assembly for a claw foot tub, a fancy, cast brass TP holder, and a pair of small brackets for the marble sink. The reason I’m doing the tub feet is because they will see more water than normal because of the tub shower design. Originally, I was just going to paint them. The whole procedure will be to strip back to bare metal, copper pre-plate, nickel plate, and then polish. 
Above are the results of the poll I posted. I never posted a guess in the pole, but the figure I had in my head was about 50% lower than the actual cost. To be fair, though, I had no idea since I've never had anything like this done before. I could have gotten it done cheaper, I’m sure, but I feel you sometimes get what you pay for. It would suck big time if the tub feet started rusting in a few years. Sometimes it’s worth it in the long run to do it right the first time.
There is also the issue of paying for not having to deal with flakes and losers. I think a good indication of the work that will be done is the promptness with which they contacted me. I shipped the package late Thursday to LA and they called me with a quote today, on Monday. I just get this feeling that I'm not going to be shipping these items back to them 2 or 3 times for them to finally get it right.
The total comes to {drum roll}: $325.00
Yes, that’s a lot of money, and some people will think I’m nuts, and they’re probably right.
4 comments:
That seems like a good price - my old man restores old cars and you should see some of his plating bills! And I've also seen poor quality plating start pitting in little over a year so it pays not to skimp here.
I've also been really shocked at plating prices. Don't recall the exact quote, but it was too much at the time so my doorknobs are still worn off nickel.
I don't think you'll regret getting it done. I'll bet it was still cheaper than getting reproduction hardware and It will be your bathrooms jewelry!
I don't think you're nuts, but the important question is, are your tub feet rusting out nowadays? :P
Eva,
No, they are not rusting out and they probably won't. They don't get wet, for one thing, and even if they did they are plated with copper and then chrome - two non-rusting metals.
Greg
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