Chrome or Nickel Plate?

[LodiWino]

I have fabricated a new firewall, heat shields and foot well covers made out of 16 ga. cold rolled steel. The plating choices are Chrome or Nickel. I would prefer a finish that is not as brilliant as Chrome, therefore the consideration of Nickel, (which Jay Leno says he prefers for apperance).

Any thoughts out there? Does Nickel tarnish which would introduce a maintenance issue. Is Nickel softer and therefore more suseptile to scratching?

[Mark IV]

Nickel will tarnish. In fact, "chrome" is the plating used to seal bright nickel and prevent tarnishing. When you see bright chrome, you are really looking at the nickel under the very thin chrome coating.

[Silverback51]

You might want to look into industrial hard chroming.

[tcrist]

You might look int having them ceramic coated like the headers. Not sure how many colors they do though.

[David Biele]

You might look into electroless Nickel. Many shops use this process.

[Xavier]

Jethot Ceramic coatings is available in a full range of colors. I have a wheel manufacturer who powder coats their chrome rims in a fabulous range of colors and finishes people do not think powder coating is capable of. If you are looking for "bling", chrome is the way to go. If you are going for maintenance free, with something that looks good with a hose off, get it powder coated. It just cannot be beat for durability, and the finishes some offer are really nice.