Chrome under the hood yes/no?

**LILBLKSNAKE** · 02-17-2012, 11:13 PM

Originally Posted by Gumby92

That must be alot of green to have it look like that...

Ozz does all the polishing himself and I believe the powdercoating too.
He's been my hero for many, many years now!! I love that car!!

**SVT10th** · 02-18-2012, 08:34 AM

Having been involved in judging several NHMC shows, I agree with what Ian (TorchRedSVT) said above. A few pieces are nice, but it's easy to cross the line to tacky. At the other end of the spectrum is Ozz's amazing chrome and polish work.
If you're going to do some chrome, make sure it "matches" -- that is; the chrome pieces work together at highlighting a "theme". It should look like you updated several pieces with a design in mind, and didn't just decide to buy chrome filler caps because they were on sale at Pep Boys.

**Ozz** · 02-18-2012, 10:12 AM

Thanks for the compliments guys. I probably put my first chrome piece on the car in 2001 and I'm still going and changing more and more each year. Back in 2002 I thought it looked great, then I thought it was amazing in 2003, then I even thought it was awesome in 2005. Looking back on even 2007 now is laughable, and once the new brake setup is finalized I'll be making last year's photos look bad. It never stops when you go all out like this.

Originally Posted by SVT10th

Having been involved in judging several NHMC shows, I agree with what Ian (TorchRedSVT) said above. A few pieces are nice, but it's easy to cross the line to tacky. At the other end of the spectrum is Ozz's amazing chrome and polish work.
If you're going to do some chrome, make sure it "matches" -- that is; the chrome pieces work together at highlighting a "theme". It should look like you updated several pieces with a design in mind, and didn't just decide to buy chrome filler caps because they were on sale at Pep Boys.

Totally. As someone said, I do my own polishing and powder coating. For my chrome work, I pre-polish the parts and then have a plating company do the actual plating. That saves half as much as a typical chrome job normally would, so when you factor in the money that saves a ton right away. But being that I do my own polishing and coating, I do a lot for customers, too. I get lots of phone calls and help a lot of people try to come up with ideas for their engine schemes. I tell them all the same I said in here: to have a color scheme in mind and use chrome to accentuate it, or to go all out and plan to do everything possible if they really want a slick looking bay.

Some of the nicest engines I've ever seen were the right mix of one main color and shiny accents. Usually it's black but I've seen some great looking bays that were black/blue/shiny, red/black/shiny, etc. Obviously black will usually be a dominant color in most engines but I mean using it on the main components and having shiny brackets to hold them (or vice versa). The right balance of contrast can do wonders! On the other hand, having one dominant color like chrome/polished/etc. only blends everything together. With that, anything that doesn't blend will stick right out. With that, I get back to my original point about looking unfinished or being thrown together with no plans in mind. Then you get the engines that are halfway done up with chrome add-ons and nothing really thoughtful, they look OK but look boring and the same as the other 10 cars next to him at a show. A car with a well-planned color scheme of brackets, components, caps, etc. even with ZERO shiny parts will stand out among those in half a second. It's all about what you want out of the car though, if you want some shiny stuff by all means go for it. If you want to stand out at shows or have something unique, be prepared to earn it.

Here's a pic of my car from 10 years ago when it was still new to me. Notice how the shiny stuff looks nice but the eye is drawn to whatever isn't touched. After this I did start a black/chrome scheme but I quickly grew tired of it and decided I would go all out on the chrome. It was a good decision for me but definitely not the average choice people will or should make if they don't want to get fed up with it.

Then after polishing a few more things, other things started sticking out like sore thumbs!

See how it goes? :D

**TorchRedSVT** · 02-20-2012, 08:29 AM

Ozz's car is exactly what I had in mind when I made the post....when you committ and do it tastefully it will come out awesome

**SPUDS MACH 1** · 02-20-2012, 07:31 PM

Think you mean ozzsome

**Ozz** · 02-20-2012, 09:42 PM

LOL - thanks.

Gumby, why don't you post a picture of your engine so we can see it? I'm sure some of us can toss some thoughts your way on what might look good as far as shiny bits or paint/powder coating goes.

**95opal** · 03-06-2012, 08:30 AM

I think you guys have brought up some great points about the use of chrome. Dave you just never cease to amaze me with your bay. One thing I have figured out is cleaning all that chrome isnt fun. I actually am liking the industrial look more and more these days. (satin finishes with brushed aluminum) One thing for sure is if your going to drive it chrome and polish suck to clean and maintain. I want a bay that you just hit with some quick detailer, a rag and walk away your done. I will get there someday, but for now Im still stuck with a small amount of polishing.