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De-Chroming Anyone have a rough idea of what this should cost?
Hi All,
Just been asked to quote to de-chrome this BMW & wondering if anyone could give an idea of how long it would generally take for one like this? Grills, windows & door handles.
I’ve only done two de-chromes previously & hated them & pretty sure I screwed myself on the cost so would really appreciate some sort of average guide either in time or cost.
I would probably be using Metamark MM-CC which worked fine previously. Although I’m wondering if the grill could be a stretch too far for this film?
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7 Replies
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I have declined to do this type of work on numerous occasions.
It may just be me, but I would find it tedious, and unrewarding and like most people these days, they expect the world for nothing.Quick price exercise:
* Work out the cost to you for the vinyl, including extra for waste reasons. Double the cost to you and charge that for materials.
* Charge an hourly rate for one-man installation: £50-£75 per hour.
* Hourly rate includes any stripping down labour.Unless you are confident with the removal of the parts and application. I would body-swerve it. but that’s just me. 🙂
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Yes I get what you’re saying. The previous jobs were both the same Land Rovers & 1st time it took about a day & a half dodging between showers (I don’t have a shed!!😢) 2nd time I used the customer’s shed, much more comfortable & did it in about 5 hrs I think until he came back to ask if I could also do the grill!! AARRGG! Only charged €300!! Having said that he is a very good customer so I didn’t want to take the P with him either.
Turned out well though for 1st attempt I think.
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It does look good Myles, you should be pleased mate. Especially if you are working outdoors with wind and showers to contend with. When we first set up, we were situated in Glasgow city centre. Van installations were a pain when the customer didn’t have premises or it wasn’t a car garage or whatever to work in. so I feel your pain!
I am not surprised about the time it took you. 5 hours or a day and a half.
It is a slow tedious task and depending on the vehicle, it can be a tricky thing to install.
Yes, there isn’t a great deal of material required, but it is the labour that is costly to you.It is the same argument with vehicle wrapping. once you work out your actual profit from the job, how many basic tradesmen vans could you have done in the same time, with little to no pressure or fails?
Do not get me wrong, when work is slow, you take anything you can get your hands on if it helps pay the bills.You have probably already looked into these. But if you have a bit of space at your house, or even a bit of wasteland nearby. An inflatable portable workshop is worth the investment. especially when the bad weather is coming in.
These types of things can be picked up on Alibaba from around £800-£1500 and inflate in a matter of minutes. Price varies for length, height etc for vans etc. you want something that will take a hightop long wheelbase van, but with with space around it.
Due to a UK-wide wrapping project, I was project managing a number of years ago I looked into this type of thing. There were also companies selling them in the UK (More expensive but the same thing as Alibaba) the nice thing about some of the better-made ones is they come with indirect air heating. as well as hoops on the ceiling with attachable LED floodlamps.
The most expensive ones I found and I “visited the manufacturers” were for pop-up workshops.
Not inflatable but push out and pop up into place sealed workshops, heating, lighting everything.
the emergency services use these exact workshops for roadside assistance and major accidents where onsite operations are performed. so pristine clean, warm wind and weatherproof environments are a must. which was what I was after if someone was wrapping inside them for days on end.anyway, I’m rambling on again, so ill shut up! 🙄🤣
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Its a horrible job Myles. Charge it accordingly.
Since you already have a relationship with the bloke, just work till its finished, and charge him the hours.
Youd never get a quote out of a sparky. Why are signwriters any different?
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It’s an odd one really as yes they do look good when done I think & there is a sense of satisfaction too when finished. Certainly having any indoor space would make working far more enjoyable/comfortable. I really regret not building a garage/workshop when we built the house but at the time we really didn’t have the budget & since the costs have rocketed so have just never been able to do it.
The blow-ups are a great solution for sure but I think it would end up becoming a permanent fixture as taking it down & finding somewhere to store it when quite possibly still wet could be an issue! I’d really need to build a shed/garage to store it in!!🤔& I’m pretty sure my other half wouldn’t be a fan of it outside our kitchen window permanently!!🤣
I’ve managed around the weather for the last 20 years so it is possible, I’ll just keep dreaming!😁
Sadly the BMW is for a new customer & not the good one I did the Land Rovers for. So I’ve just let him know my issues around weather etc. & suggested he try elsewhere this time. With something like this, I really think they do need to be 100% dry otherwise water wicks back out of the little seams when the vinyl hits them no matter how hard you try to dry them & in this climate at this time of year if it’s outside it will never dry.
I think I’m feeling the relief already having let this one go!😁
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I’ve lost count of the number of de-chromes I’ve done. Thankfully we decided to pull the plug on them. You’d spend the best part of a day working on them and could make the same profit in a couple of hours doing graphics on a van or making a few signs. Then someone would take a power washer to it and lift part of the vinyl and we’d end up with an unhappy customer with a sad face blaming us. Most of them were Audi A6s with 17 pieces alone on the front end before starting the sides. I think from memory it was 23 pieces in total on some of them. Good riddance I say 🙂
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