P6 stainless bumpers

badrover

Member
I know these have been discussed in reference to the p5 before (and maybe about these eBay p6 ones) but I wonder if they are any good? Has anyone bought any and how good do they look? I guess they're never going to be as shiny as chrome but they seem ok in the advert. Would I be better having my bumpers re chromed as they're straight and solid and will respond to rechroming well? I've been advised that it could cost £1000 to have 2 x bumpers and 4 x overrides re chromed properly and to a high standard. That makes the stainless ones seem good value. Has anyone got any thoughts?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rover-P6-2000 ... 51c6dc0e11
 
for that sort of money inc postage I would seriously look into getting your ones re-chromed u might be able to get a deal done for very similar price
coop
 
If we were to rechrome your bumpers the cost will be £230 each and the overriders would be £50 each, that would be £660 in total for copper, nickel, chrome.

However, no matter how good looking and 'solid' a bumper or overrider appears, they can have holes and imperfections appear when they are stripped of original chrome, so there might be issues which add repair costs. Rear overriders in particular can show cracks along where the back piece is welded in when striped of original chrome.

If we don't have any problems with the items, turn around time is usually between 2 to 3 weeks.
That said at the beginning of the year we had several bumpers which although initially seamed solid, gave us nightmares once they were striped and they took far longer, but we think we have found a means to tackle this issue when it happens next time.
 
Colin from Kingsdown Garage has replied on FB regarding the original question and he has said the following:

I've tried to get onto the forum and it won't let me in ! Stainless bumpers are very good , they are cheaper than chrome , they don't peel like modern chrome , and if they get bent you can send them back for straightening and re-polishing . When fitted to a car they are just as shiney as chrome . The price from Harringtons is for 2 bumpers and 4 over riders , complete with the rubber bits and all fittings (sadly the fittings are metric ) I have fitted them to several cars now , and everybody is happy with them ----One P5 customer doesn't even know they are stainless steel !

With regards to the question
What's the guarantee length on the chrome, when done Mark ?
To be honest, I hadn't asked our platers however I know the quality of the chrome and I would have no problem with a 12 month guarantee from ourselves as long as any claim isn't the result of the item being damaged or scratched. That said, if anyone who has had plating done by us over the past three years was to call me now to say that the chrome was peeling off, I would have no problem in getting it back and sorted because it should not peel off at all, full stop! Chrome only peels off when it hasn't been done properly in the first place and ours is done properly.
 
Hi BadRover,

I can state that Colin at Kingsdown Garage, fitted a new stainless steel front bumper along with many other parts to my car back in April.
He offered me, as part of my insurance claim either NOS or the new stainless steel. I also have a recently re chromed rear bumper and can say that the stainless steel ones are superb! I don't know if Colin's supplier is the same as the one advertising on ebay, but the bumper and overriders supplied by Colin are very good quality and equally as shiny as the chrome rear. Most people will not know the difference, except for a very slight tint that stainless steel has.
I would rather spend £700 on the full set, than that money having the bumpers re chromed for it to start pitting again.
All I can say is that I was very very happy when I got my car back. When the stainless steel bumpers are this good quality... why chance a re chrome!?
I have a receipt from the previous owner for £1200 to rechrome everything. These new type stainless steel bumpers will not need doing again!
I would check with Colin what his price is for these also... back in April he had a NOS front one if you really what original!
Hope that helps

I enclose a picture.
 

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Thanks gentlemen. The pictures of the beautiful 2000 are what I wanted really. They look very impressive, as does the whole car! I'm still undecided really. I based my original re chrome quote on what I paid a very reputable chromers in Crewe for my previous p6 however marks quotation seems better value. As mark says, the rear bumper that I had done was far from perfect when done. It was a apparently very solid bumper but it holed in two places meaning that I paid a lot for a far from perfect bumper that always niggled me! Maybe this has scared me off rechroming a bit! I've got friends who've bought cheapo repro midget bumpers and the like, only to be disappointed by quality and have peeling issues down the track. I guess that the "look" of the stainless bumpers would be akin to a well polished door/wing stainless trim? Is that right? If that's the case then I'd be more than happy and may well buy the stainless ones.
 
Hi BadRover,
All I can tell you about is the stainless steel bumper fitted to my car by Kingsdown garage. I don't want to suggest that the bumpers coming off eBay will be the same, since I don't know. Colin showed me the stainless steel bumper against the NOS one and the stainless steel is equally as shiny. To be honest it is very hard to tell the difference, except to my eyes stainless steel has a very slight tint…
It seemed a no brainer to me… why would I want a new chrome bumper that needs looking after and polishing all the time. If I could have one that looks identical that doesn’t need all the same work and won’t degrade and pit in the future!
 
I've been convinced and gone ahead and bought the stainless bumpers! Will report back on my thoughts. Thanks for all your inputs.
 
Well badrover, it goes without saying the Rovering public will demand pics...

And P6baseunit congrats on the result and your amazing paintwork. Dark green polished to that level is mercilessly revealing of the tiniest dent or ripple and I'll be damned if I can see anything.
 
Of course, pictures are a must! They won't pics of them on the car though as its in the early stages of restoration.
 
looking at stainless bumpers as an option as mine needs rechroming plus repair work ( small dents .scratches etc ) so wondering if anybody can give any heads up on if they polish up like chrome ? and importantly ..thickness of stainless versus normal steel chromed.
 
i have 2 P5B. One is with good chromed bumpers and for the other ones. i bought a set of SS bumpers. The bumpers SS are very nice and fit very good. There was one minor issue i had to rectify. Overriders look very good and fit well. The Original overriders have some sort of brackes which spread the load of the mounting bolts and these were not in the kit. I gave the supplier a call and he said these were not in the kit so i made these myself. I did a fair bit of polishing of aluminum and must say that the polishing of the bumpers is very good so i cannot see a difference between the chromed and SS bumpers. The thickness of the SS bumpers is a little less then from the chromed bumpers but it is enough.
There have been issues with the quality of the first bumpers supplied for the P5B and someone in France who was one of the first has send his set back at least once but i believe twice but my set is very good quality considering that these bumpers are complex products to make.
Peter
 
we fitted a stainless rear bumper to an accident damaged p6, it fitted well and looked good, they are not quite the same colour and dont quite have the same mirror finish as good chrome, that said you wouldnt know unless looking for it, i was concerned that the difference between the stainless bumper and chrome number plate lamp would obviously show but it didnt. i dont think they are quite as thick as the oe steel, but its not noticable unless you go looking. in the right light you could see polishing marks in the stainless. we had no trouble with the "fit" but then a p6 bumper is a simple thing compared to a p4 or 5 front. overall theres little cost difference between stainless and rechroming. id happily fit stainless to mine.

they seem to be made to order, so that took a couple of weeks, air freight is included in harringtons price ( from Vietnam) but you might get stung for import duty, i did,£60 from menory
 
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