Morris Minor Owners Club

I have used a chromers for 18 years,but the costs have gone quite high.Has any one bought a bumper from Charles Ware ,they advertise one at £76 plus VAT and this is cheaper than having mine rechromed.But are they any good Len

They used their own 'brand ' when they restored my Trav about 5 years ago and there's no sign of rust or chrome getting scratched. The car is garaged though.

When I renewed my bumper blades many years ago, I got "cheap and cheerful" and got what I paid for. They lasted about a year before the chrome just peeled off. The second time around I went to the Birmingham bunch/David Manners Group. Proper chroming apparently features a layer of copper which sticks to the steel and then the chrome on top which sticks well to the copper. Some companies miss out the copper as a way of being cheaper I assume. The Birmingham advert at the time actually mentioned the copper plating in their advert. It might be something to look out for or enquire about. Mine are about 10 years old now with no problems.
Hope this helps, best wishes, Colin.

If you are buying new, ASK if the blade has a copper layer and if the answer is no (or 'I don't know') walk away! If you can find good second-hand originals, they could be your best bet (unless you either want to go for a concours finish or pay Derby Platers a fair old wack for the best job in the word).
Good luck!

Agree with posts above.
Some phrases you may hear are...

"Show" chrome - it's just that, no good for exposed real world stuff, but cheaper. Think cheap/mass produced bling.

"Hard" chrome - will last for years, think motorcycle fork stanchons, it's got to be tough & hard wearing.

Andy W.

Pays your money and takes your choice.