Sorry about the previous double post, it was supposed to be an edit.
I have been lucky with this plating as it turned out. I googled and found a different plating company much further away. Their site is excellent and very professional looking. I sent a heap of pics of the parts I had and got a quick response back... for double what I ended up paying with the company I actually went with.
When I took the parts to the company I had found via Google, I was told in an offhanded way, "no, we can't do any of this, it's all hollow, and we don't do aluminium either". I was most annoyed because my photos showed were clear, and I had asked about aluminium.
Anyway, they recommended another company much closer to home but with no web presence, which is why I never found them first up. The place looks sooo disorganized, they use a small invoice book for jobs, no computer at all! I was a bit concerned that if I left my precious pieces with them, I'd never see them a again or have them damaged
But obviously it all turned out well, especially with a reminder about four weeks after I had first visited them. I found out they just do the work in no particular order, no matter when the customer was there. Bit scary, and since I'm a mature age business student, I could possibly teach them a thing or two!
But all's well that ends well, as long as the finish stays shiny. The aluminium piece is the centre rail that runs across the front grille of the Princess, the rest is all steel. I'd like to eventually get the plastic frame that sits on the right side of the Princess front grille vacuum metalized. It has a golden border that's virtually worn away. I mention this because that is the name of the process if anyone needs to know.
Cheers and good luck to all who need to find a plater.
Adam
