THE BUMPER BOYS

[Steve P.]

I lost the business card they gave me from last year. Does anyone here know of a link or phone number for them?

Thanks in advance..

[MOPARHOUND!]

Not heard many good things about them......Beware.

Try Tri-City in Tennessee, good reputation:

http://www.tricityplating.com/

[Steve P.]

What kind of trouble with Bumper Boys??  I looked at  very many bumpers last year at the Zephyr Hills show and couldn't find anything bad on any bumpers. I was looking at bumpers that people where buying. Not one person turned one down. I couldn't even find hammer or chisel marks on the backs of any of them..

I have no other experience with them other than that they come to the Z H show every year and they come with a fully loaded semi. I was there on day 2 last year and was amazed at how many people were buying bumpers. There were people all over with old coming in and new going out.

Their prices  are rather high, I thought..  They must have had 6 to 8 sales people and all were busy..

[Spike]

Bumper Boyz do not do a very good job of plating.  Many stories of their bumpers discoloring and flaking after a year or so.

Tri City 

[Steve P.]

No doughty...   I am bumbed..


I just tried Tri City. Closed till Monday.

Anyone else want to chime in?? Good, Bad, Other??

[moparguy01]

ive seen 2 guys who used bumper boyz, and the bumpers were flaking and discoloring and basically just looked like crap within about 6 months. Go with tri-city.

[472 R/T SE]

I haven't used them but have heard lots of bad stuff.   I'll be using TriCity Plating for mine...to be continued.

[bordin34]

I know somebody that has bumper boys bumpers and the chrome doesnt look good anymore. i think its been a couple years though.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

On the flip side, I have had my BB bumpers for at least 6 years.....IMHO they still look good.

When i originally got them though the front bumper was tweeked a bit which was very noticeable. 

Went through 3-4 ones they had with them and finally found a "good" one......it looked good till I put it on......its a little bent up wards on the drivers side....probably from the bumper jack.

Overall mine are still holding up....


On another note, my friend just got his bumpers back for his 69 Coronet R/T 'vert from Tri-City, put them on & the chrome on the front bumper chipped off when he put the bolt through & the rear one had chrome flaking off the underside.......

They are going back,,,,,,,

[Steve P.]

So does anyone have a chrome shop they realllllllly like??

[BlueSS454]

Stay away fromt he Bumper Boyz unless you want the chrome to flake off and pit within a year.  Go with Tri-City Plating in Elizabethton, TN.  They did the bumpers for both of my Chevelles and they still look as good as the day I put them on there.  The price is very reasonable at $250 each + shipping which is like $25 per bumper.  I give all of my bumper plating business to them.  Besides their crappy plating job, they are a bunch of A-holes to deal with. 

[ITSA426]

I bought from them once.  Poor qulity in the repairs and bumpers didn't fit the bracket.  They told me to drill it out a little.  I returned them instead.  They claimed they never recieved them.  I proved to VISA that Carlos signed for them and VISA refunded my money.  Six months later they charged my card again.  VISA refunded.  Stay away from them.  They are one of two people in this hobby that ever ripped me off.

[Steve P.]

Ok... You guys have convinced me.. Everything I saw for the last 2 years looked great. I damn sure don't need trouble like that though.. It's not just bumpers I need done. The tail panel on a 65' Coronet 500 is a tough nut to crack. I have 2. (No pun intended)...  Both need work. 

I'll give Tri-City a call on Monday..


Thanks guys....   

[bandit67]

I just had some bumpers and pot metal parts done by a local plater out of Atlanta and this is what I learned. Most ALL bumpers rust from the backside out. My plater told me I could sandblast the backsides or pay him to do it, but it would have to be done.  He charged  a very high rate , but I think his work is top notch. When I picked up my finished parts I ask him about the backsides, as they were not done.  He said nobody plates the back and what was on there was just what stuck there thru the process and that I needed to prime and paint the backsides just as I would any other metal part of the car.  So I taped off everything , shot some DP 40 and painted the backside Argent Silver single stage. They look great and should stay the way for a very long time.  So , as Just 6T9 friend found out, something has to be done with that..............J

[gtx6970]

Tri-City doesn't do potmetal work, Excellant bumper work though.

[resq302]

Losing their business card was the best thing that could have ever happened to you.  When we had our 71 GS convert. we had the bumpers done by them.  3 times redone in the first year for the rear bumper and then the front bumper started peeling at the edge just after the warranty was up.  And because of their crappy work, they wanted us to pay shipping to and from them, we ended up just getting it rechromed at another place.

Avoid them like the plague.

[Brock Samson]

what does the expression "Show Chrome" mean...

and anyone had it done?...

[Steve P.]

Show chrome is : no waves, bends, dents, ripples, chips, chisel marks, hammer marks, clouds and should shine like a mirror in the sun.

[BlueSS454]

Show Chrome is nothing more than a fancy terminology used by a plater to get top dollar for what they do.  Triple plating is the only way to go (IE what Tri-City does).  They will fix any dents or bends in the bumper also.  Some places take short cuts (IE the Bumper Boyz) skipping  one of the plating processes thusly making their plating suck and not last.

[G Force]

I guess I was lucky... I have Bumper Boyz front and rear bumpers on my 70 for over 5 years now and it looks Ok to me.
I also had no problems working with them.

[71charger_fan]

I've got a Bumper Boyz piece on one end of my car and a Tri-City on the other. I can't see any difference in quality and since it's been a few years, I've forgotten which is which.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

I guess I was lucky... I have Bumper Boyz front and rear bumpers on my 70 for over 5 years now and it looks Ok to me.
I also had no problems working with them.

Seems as though their quality control might have been better 5+ years ago.....maybe their process changed due to EPA regulations?

Frankly I'm surprised CA still does chroming.......NY banned that a long time ago.

Chrome shops in NJ are slowly closing as well due to stricter regulations

PS--G Force.....more pics please

[dkn1997]

I have bumperboyz bumpers on both ends of my car, they look the same as the day I put them on 6 years ago.  I would not call the chrome "perfect" what I mean is that while it's fine for me and 99.9% of all people, probably would not see them on a national award winning show car.  but still really good.

I just had the back one off yesterday because I thought a rattle I had was coming from one of the brackets.  and the back of it looks really smooth and nice.  although there is a washer welded to the backside sticking out, not flat against the bumper.  maybe that's what they use to hang them for storage or during the plating process?  totally invisible once the bumper is on the car.

although my experience was fine, I have heard enough bad lately to try something else if the need arises.  I used a place in syracuse ny called Sandys bumper mart for most of my other chroming at that time.  had them do my '68 tailights and my rear tailight trim and vinyl top check marks.  all came out mint. 

[Chris G.]

Never used them, but they sure don't have a shortage of customers when in Carlisle. I think because they are cheaper, the majority of average Joe's in the hobby just want an affordable bumper, which is why they sell so much.

I will use Tri-City when I get mine done.

[BigBlockSam]

my friend put bb bumpers on his 66 charger 6 yrs ago and they still look good . i bought my bumpers off of ebay. they are goodmark. they look good too. Rene

[firefighter3931]

I lost the business card they gave me from last year.

From the responses in reference to "Bummer Boys"....that's not necessarily a bad thing, Steve 

I've heard many good comments about Tri-City, both here and on other boards. I'll get a pair from them at some point for the 70 r/t 



Ron

[Back N Black]

Hey Firefighter3931, There's a good Chrome shop in Bells corners on Robertson Road its a Biker shop but they will chrome anything.I have a friend that have used them on many occasions with good results.

[bill440rt]

Show Chrome is nothing more than a fancy terminology used by a plater to get top dollar for what they do.  Triple plating is the only way to go (IE what Tri-City does).  They will fix any dents or bends in the bumper also.  Some places take short cuts (IE the Bumper Boyz) skipping  one of the plating processes thusly making their plating suck and not last.

In the references to "show chrome", YES, there most certainly IS a difference. You get what you pay for.
In agreement to the vast majority in this post, I've heard nothing but bad things from friends who have used the Bumper Boys. Stay away. I even bought the repros for my '69 project, at least they come with a 5-year warranty.

I had all the plating done on my '70 R/T by top "show chromers." I used Frankford Plating & Martin's Plating, both out of PA. Not to brag, but the chrome is absolutely flawless. No waves, no ripples. Like looking thru a plate glass mirror. Sure, I paid out the whazzoo for this, but I've been very happy with the chrome work. However, I won't use them again, only due to the price. VERY expensive, but flawless work.

Paul's Chrome is also very good. I have seen their work, & know people that have used them. They advertise in Hemmings, & also specialize in show chrome.

It all depends what kind of car you're building: driver, race car, weekend show cruiser, or concours resto.

[69 OUR/TEA]

bill440rt could'nt have said it any better. I had the bumpers done on my 68 coronet 440,that were perfectly straight and rust free,just slightly faded.A place in RI did them for me,the chrome is absolutelt beautiful,but some slighly visible grind marks and ripples now are in them.I paid 250.00 a bumper,like bill said,you get what you pay for.The sad part is I would have paid whatever to make them as near perfect as possible.But to be honest,nobody has ever picked it out on it yet,so I geuss most would be happy with this quality.

[firefighter3931]

Hey Firefighter3931, There's a good Chrome shop in Bells corners on Robertson Road its a Biker shop but they will chrome anything.I have a friend that have used them on many occasions with good results.

Hey BnB....i didn't realize you were from this area....cool  Most of the local shops in this area that take in brightwork send it down to Montreal. I had some motorcycle stuff done by Gary's Custom cycle and he admitted, after several delays, that my parts were in Montreal. He had initially told me that he was doing it....but you know how that goes  Thanks for the tip....i might give them a call.


Ron

[Chargerdude70]

Bumper Boys , A friend of mine bought a set Both for for his Fury Convert and H.T. On for a couple weeks, both sets are peeling.

[Shakey]

For those that are interested:

http://www.custom-chrome.com/

Located about an hour and a bit West of Toronto, ON.  It looks as though they are interested in some US business as they have an address in NY State where you could most likely ship your parts and have them handle the customs paperwork.

I personally have not used their services (yet), but Dodge Don had sent some pieces to them and was pleased with the results.  Not 100% sure if he was pleased with the prices, but I know he liked the looks of his chrome pieces for his '70 once he got them back.

If you ask him nicely, he might post some photos.   

[Steve P.]

Just received an email back from TRI_CITY. $325.00 each and $45 - $60. to ship them back, each..

Bumper Boys where about the same price last year.

It sounds like the BB have lousy quality control now. That's too bad. They had 2 sets of bumpers for my car last year.  Who else stocks bumpers for a 65' Coronet??     Shame....

[brant]

YEP. Mine cracked and peeled – small piece but still!!!!!!!!!!