A chrome fitting on a classic car, polished to a mirror finish.
Ramos Plating & Polishing Co Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (405) 232-4300

The shine is the work underneath

Metal plating and polishing in Oklahoma City. Chrome, nickel, copper and the buffing that has to happen before any of them.

(405) 232-4300

Chrome is the last thin layer

What people call chrome is a film a few millionths of an inch thick. It hides nothing. Everything you see in a finished part was done before the chrome ever went on.

First

Strip it back

The old plating comes off and the metal underneath is seen properly for the first time. What is under there decides the rest of the job.

Then

Repair the metal

Pits, scratches, dents and old damage get worked out. Skipping this is the difference between a part that looks right and one that looks nearly right.

Then

Copper, and buff it

Copper goes on and gets polished back. On a bad part that happens more than once. This is where most of the hours go, and nobody ever sees it.

Then

Nickel

Nickel over the copper, polished again. The brightness of the finished part is the nickel, not the chrome.

Last

Chrome

A thin hard layer over the top, to keep the nickel from tarnishing and take the wear.

Overlapping copper panels in warm orange and rose tones.
Copper: the layer that does the work and never gets seen.

Two halves of the name

Polishing is not a step on the way to plating. It is half the trade, and plenty of work needs only that.

A part held against a spinning abrasive wheel, sparks flying.
Polishing Cutting, colouring and finishing on the wheel. Bare metal brought up without any plating at all.
A powered buffing head worked across a painted body panel.
Plating Copper, nickel and chrome, each laid down and polished back in turn rather than sprayed on.

What comes in

Mostly parts off something older than the people bringing them in. Some of it is sound under the tarnish. Some of it is not.

The front of a pale blue classic car with chrome trim and headlight rings.
Automotive trim Bumpers, grilles, bezels, handles and the small bright parts that are hardest to get right.
Polished motorcycle exhaust tips catching warm light.
Motorcycle work Pipes, covers and fittings, where every surface is on show from both sides.
A plain steel wheel centre with a brushed grey finish.
Wheels and hardware Parts that have to take weather and wear, not just look right on a shelf.
A row of bright plated screws standing on a mirrored surface.
Small fittings Fasteners and fixings, which are fiddly, numerous, and the thing a finished job is judged on.
Two mirrored metal spheres reflecting their surroundings.
A mirror finish shows everything, including what was left in it.

Before it is bright

The shop end of it. Grinding, turning, cutting and a lot of time at the wheel.

Sparks thrown off metal being ground in a workshop. A metalworking lathe set up with a part in the chuck. Hand tools laid out across a workshop bench. A corroded metal surface, pitted and discoloured. Bright metal shears lying on a dark surface. Polished metal pipework fitted into an engine bay. The upright chrome grille and lamps of a vintage car. A chrome headlight surround on a turquoise vintage car. A bright chrome alloy wheel on a parked car.

Call before you strip anything

(405) 232-4300

Ramos Plating & Polishing Co
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Say what the part is off, what it is made of if you know, and what condition it is in.

Nothing can be priced finally from a photograph. What is under the old plating is not known until it comes off, so a figure before that is a guess.

Call (405) 232-4300