Chrome vs Stainless

[808]

I have the 2nd grille shown on this page: Grilles

It's made only for the 2006 - Up models and what I love about it is that it covers the whole grille and it's not just strips.


I've never taken it off, and not planning on it. If I really REALLY wanted to, I'd have to probably buy a whole OEM grille piece since the adhesive has been dry for a whole year now. It would be messy trying to pry the overlay off and I wouldn't want to worry about the paint damage and etc. I'm almost in a point-of-no-return!

[Chromenut]

Very nice, and they have some great items there, never been to that site before so thanks for sharing it!

[808]

Oh yeah! No problem, Chromenut! That site definitely has a wide variety of products, most of which Race and Street and Auto Truck Toys don't have, but of course, are missing a few items themselves. Their prices are pretty average. Their shipping is quite fast even to Hawai`i!

If I'm not mistaken, I think I remember Candyman saying he lives not too far from their store.

[Candyman]

Hey Guys,

Cool grille insert their 808! For some reason I seem to have just missed this whole discussion entirely Sorry bout that, and yep, I am about 15 minutes from Mitch's Shop and even have a pic of my pride and joy up on the wall in his Showroom, although I try n not head down there too often as it is almost impossible for me not to walk out of their without buying some more way cool stuff for my ride!

Anyways, without getting into a long technical discussion on the differences between stainless vs chrome as many of the finer points have already been discussed here, I will just make a couple of simpler points.

Chrome is basically a type of coating that goes over metal, or other related types of materials. Stainless, or more often used to make parts 6061-T6 Billet Aluminum both are the actual material rather than just a surface coating.

Both Billet, and Stainless parts are are more expensive both in material, and time as most of the parts made from these materials are specifically machined, or formed out of the said solid materials which adds up to a much more labor intensive process. As a better example, a Billet wheel is pretty expensive in terms of wheels, but is cut on a CNC Machine from a solis chunk of material, and actually can take up to 3-4 days running non stop to cut just one complete wheel. That is where the real money comes into play, and why these parts are so much more expensive as a whole. Chrome parts are much less labor intensive, are easier to keep polished, and are less expensive.

On the downside, Aluminum, Billet especially is also prone to oxidation, and requires regular polishing with specific polishes like Jewelers Rouge to keep them up to their high chrome like finish. Same Polishes can also be applied to Stainless to help keep the high quality finish clean and showroom shine on them. Chrome on the other hand does not oxidize in the same way. Chrome can be polished as well with Rouge, or other chrome polishes and are much easier to keep clean.

Their are a couple more differences anyways. Hope they made sence to some degree.

You guys go easy, and I will catch ya later.

Candyman

[rocky123]

As known turbos hate heat, and putting chrome around the turbo is a bad choice, as it'll hold in heat where stainless radiates it away freely. Stainless allows you multiple finishs, from burnished to brushed to polished, punched, cut, bent, etc. Once you've gone through the chemical bath to affix chrome to a surface, you can't even bend it much without marring the surface.