You certainly can .
A good chrome shop will strip it , repair it and re chrome it .

 

Have you looked at prices for rechroming? It might change your mind...... I sent pictures of my f350 hood emblems to a PA chrome shop for estimates. He said it would be $150 each! Part of his price included drilling the pits out and filling the holes. If your grille is in good shape now you might luck out.

 

But that is normal, especially the cast metals get this pits, these need to be drilled, filled and polished, especialy with small parts this is a pain. A grille, normally doesn't get such pits, which need to be filled, old chrome will be removed, then polished to a good surface and then re chromed..

Christian, who did this many years ago as a holiday job

 

the little research I did so far didn't bring any vendors up that would quote even a ball park price other than 350-2500 bucks... My grill is in good shape but the chrome shows
small spider-web like areas especially between the teeth... (picture later) I don't know if these can be polished out or not... just really noticed them as I was putting the grill back in the hood.
I've got another grill with a smallish dent just above where the v-8 emblem bolts on... not sure how they would approach that repair since filler won't work... hammer it out and fill with brass or something ???
I'm very ignorant about the process.

I've yet to see a '53 grill for sale that is a good buy for the price asked...

j

 

Plan on a little financing if you get the grill replated . Some charge 7% of total for hazmat fees .

 

This a rechromed chrome grille.
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I have a 53 grille that I had plated a couple of years ago. It is the one that used in my posts about installing 56 headlight buckets in a slant cab grille. I talked to Advanced Plating in Nashville and also to another plater in Utah...the place that Kindig uses for his custom builds. Both these platers gave me estimates in the $1500 - $2500 range. I opted to have the grille plated by a shop in Mexico for $400, which included the 6 teeth and V8 emblem. The grille has been hanging up in my shed for about 2 years now since I am currently working on a different project. A few months ago I looked at it and saw that there is surface rust coming through the chrome. This shop plated a bumper for me before I sent them the grille so I was fairly confident in their work...I haven't sent the grille back to be redone yet so I don't know what explanation they will give for the failure of the plating. The bumper by the way is still pristine.
I don't exactly know what conclusion I can draw from this experience except that I wouldn't expect a high-dollar shop to produce a finish that would fail (especially without exposure to the elements) but then again at that cost I wouldn't entertain paying their price unless I was building a 100 point concours show truck. As for the small dent, most shops can work that out without the need for filler. Good luck...

 

John...did you remove the headlight buckets prior to turning your grille in to the plater? If not, did they remove them?

 

Yes. I removed them.

 

I had the same problem Charlie did with bumper that I had re-chromed in Atlanta. That is why I had Dan Gokey plate some small parts for me using Cosmichrome. He still has to prep the parts but they have come back great.

 

sorry for getting into the thread again, but the Ford emblem on your picture is great.

 

well... snapped a couple of pics... this 'flaw' shows up between every set of teeth and a couple of other places,,,

 

 

Good ole Nevr-Dull...used many cans of that in the Navy. Good polish but even better fire starter, one spark in a wad of that stuff and you have a roaring blaze going.