George Hernandez rechroming, Anyone dealt with him?

[RT6PK]

Has anyone had any parts re-chromed by George Hernandez out of Allenpark, Michigan? I sent 5 bumpers and 8 wheels to him back in March. Now, 6 months later and several phone calls, all I have is excuses. First, the chrome shop was shut down due to Covid. Then a few months later, they were back in business, (I can give him a pass on that one). Two months ago, he had my parts in his hand and was sending them out the following weekend. I told him what I had and he told me that he was looking right at them. Then a month ago, he told me that the shop called and told him that everything was ready for him to pick up. He told me that he would send them out that weekend. Tonight, same story. I am a little concerned because some of the parts are from the original Johan '70 Roadrunner and will be difficult, (if not impossible) to replace. Has anyone else dealt with this guy?

[StevenGuthmiller]

I haven't dealt with him directly yet, but this is exactly why I've been reluctant to pull the trigger with him.

I've heard far too many of these types of stories.

 

 

 

 

Steve

Edited September 2, 2020 by StevenGuthmiller

[Plowboy]

I agree with Steve. On the occasion that I have had parts plated, I only use LittleMotorKarCo. Never had a disappointment with Dale! If I'm not mistaken, George is just a middle man. He doesn’t do the actual plating.

[StevenGuthmiller]

  On 9/3/2020 at 2:39 AM, Plowboy said:

If I'm not mistaken, George is just a middle man. He doesn’t do the actual plating.

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That is a fact.

But then again, so was Bob Dahl when he was in charge of Kustom Khrome, as well as Chrome Tech, both of whom were very reputable.

The issues have nothing to do with the the company doing the actual plating.

Nuff said.

 

 

 

 

Steve

Edited September 3, 2020 by StevenGuthmiller

[Rocking Rodney Rat]

I haven't had any plating done by George Hernandez, but I have sent parts to be plated by Little Motor Kar Co and have had reasonable turn around  (a few weeks) with excellent results (doesn't do you much good now that someone else has your parts). Make sure pricing is current before sending parts off. -RRR

[CapSat 6]

  On 9/4/2020 at 9:37 PM, Rocking Rodney Rat said:

I haven't had any plating done by George Hernandez, but I have sent parts to be plated by Little Motor Kar Co and have had reasonable turn around  (a few weeks) with excellent results (doesn't do you much good now that someone else has your parts). Make sure pricing is current before sending parts off. -RRR

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I checked with Dale a few weeks ago- this pricing ($28 per rack) is current.

He confirmed to me that he only does racks, I don't know why he has "by the part" prices on this sheet. The first racks I did were not too easy for me to make, but I think I eventually got it right with a few re-dos.   

I have heard a lot of goods things about Dale's service and have interacted with him at the local swaps over the years (he sells rechromed bumpers and old kits at some of the local shows).

I'm eagerly awaiting the first two racks I have ever sent to him.

[CapSat 6]

I got my order back from Little Motor Kar Company, and it was beautiful! 

Edited September 10, 2020 by CapSat 6

[keyser]

Can anyone answer OP’s question? Glad y’all got your stuff done, but OP missing parts. 
Someone said they’d heard stories. 
If I could help I gladly would. 

[von Zipper]

  On 9/10/2020 at 10:37 PM, keyser said:

Can anyone answer OP’s question?

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[StevenGuthmiller]

  On 9/10/2020 at 10:37 PM, keyser said:

Can anyone answer OP’s question?

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I pretty much did.

There's no telling what to expect from George.

There have been issues..........with excuses, but the excuses are irrelevant to someone who's waiting for their parts.

There's really nothing else to say, other than you might be taking a chance by using his service.

 

The silence coming from anyone who might have actually used his service says a great deal.

I really wish Bob Dahl would have continued with The Kustom Khrome business.

At least if there was an issue with something, he wasn't afraid to communicate with you about it.

It appears that a large part of the problem with George is communication..............or I should say, the lack there of.

 

 

I sent him several emails maybe a year ago just to inquire about prices, etc, and I still have never gotten an answer to this day.

Says pretty much all that I needed to know.

 

 

 

 

Steve

[RT6PK]

Seven months, six  phone calls, numerous excuses.... I finally got re-chromed parts from George today. The only problem is that they aren't the vintage Johan and MPC parts that I sent off to be related. They are cheap ass resin junk with a half ass plating job. I called George for an explanation. He said that my parts got misplaced and never made it to the plater. He found the parts that I sent him in a baggie, (as I sent them to him); but he knew that I was in a hurry to get my parts back; and figured that I wouldn't want to wait for my actual parts to be plated.... so he sent me resin parts out of his own stash. I asked him to kindly send my un-plated parts back to me with my refund. He said that he would get them back to me before the weekend. FYI, think twice before you use this guy.

[StevenGuthmiller]

  On 9/14/2020 at 11:54 PM, RT6PK said:

Seven months, six  phone calls, numerous excuses.... I finally got re-chromed parts from George today. The only problem is that they aren't the vintage Johan and MPC parts that I sent off to be related. They are cheap ass resin junk with a half ass plating job. I called George for an explanation. He said that my parts got misplaced and never made it to the plater. He found the parts that I sent him in a baggie, (as I sent them to him); but he knew that I was in a hurry to get my parts back; and figured that I wouldn't want to wait for my actual parts to be plated.... so he sent me resin parts out of his own stash. I asked him to kindly send my un-plated parts back to me with my refund. He said that he would get them back to me before the weekend. FYI, think twice before you use this guy.

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That's just plain inexcusable!!

 

This just puts the cherry on the sundae for me!

Send me crappy recasts of the original parts that I sent you for replating and I'll personally drive to your house and stomp on your throat!

You can count me out!

 

 

 

 

Steve

Edited September 15, 2020 by StevenGuthmiller

[Plowboy]

 

  On 9/14/2020 at 11:54 PM, RT6PK said:

Seven months, six  phone calls, numerous excuses.... I finally got re-chromed parts from George today. The only problem is that they aren't the vintage Johan and MPC parts that I sent off to be related. They are cheap ass resin junk with a half ass plating job. I called George for an explanation. He said that my parts got misplaced and never made it to the plater. He found the parts that I sent him in a baggie, (as I sent them to him); but he knew that I was in a hurry to get my parts back; and figured that I wouldn't want to wait for my actual parts to be plated.... so he sent me resin parts out of his own stash. I asked him to kindly send my un-plated parts back to me with my refund. He said that he would get them back to me before the weekend. FYI, think twice before you use this guy.

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Jamie, check the Spotlight Hobbies board ASAP.  A member just posted that they had received chromed parts that weren't theirs. He also stated that he hadn't used George's service for over two years. He may just happen to have your parts. 

[RT6PK]

  On 9/16/2020 at 12:17 AM, Plowboy said:

 

Jamie, check the Spotlight Hobbies board ASAP.  A member just posted that they had received chromed parts that weren't theirs. He also stated that he hadn't used George's service for over two years. He may just happen to have your parts. 

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Thanks for the heads-up. I contacted the guy from the Spotlight forum.

[stevehansen]

Sadly I am in the same boat with George, waiting for wire wheels to be plated, sent pre-covid, with similar replies until the emails stopped:(  

[Rocking Rodney Rat]

I hate to hear stories like this from small 'operations' that are supposed to be part of our small community. For someone to treat people like this is just wrong. Again, I can verify that Little Motor Kar Co is a stand up operator and does a good job with reasonable return time.... -RRR

[Rob Hall]

Didn’t he used to be a regular on these forums?  George53 or something like that? 

[BMXNBULLDOG]

George lost some of my parts I sent him also. An original beehive oil filter and original bumpers for the old Model A pickup. After calls and e-mails he said the plater apparently lost them. Basically said tough poo to me. Lost and weren't found so I'm out of luck. Also the plating had to be redone on some parts. Needless to say I will not use him again unless that's the only option. I'll use Kustom Kar.

 

[bobthehobbyguy]

The moral to the story is ask here about any vendors. If there are bad stories people will share.

No excuse for such poor customer relations. Definitely a case of someone who shouldn't be in business.

[ChrisBcritter]

Sorry to hear this, as he did a set of bumpers for me a while back with no problems or excuses (five week turnaround), but thanks for the info - I have a lot more stuff that needs redoing and it looks like I may have dodged a bullet. 

[moparfarmer]

  On 9/14/2020 at 11:54 PM, RT6PK said:

Seven months, six  phone calls, numerous excuses.... I finally got re-chromed parts from George today. The only problem is that they aren't the vintage Johan and MPC parts that I sent off to be related. They are cheap ass resin junk with a half ass plating job. I called George for an explanation. He said that my parts got misplaced and never made it to the plater. He found the parts that I sent him in a baggie, (as I sent them to him); but he knew that I was in a hurry to get my parts back; and figured that I wouldn't want to wait for my actual parts to be plated.... so he sent me resin parts out of his own stash. I asked him to kindly send my un-plated parts back to me with my refund. He said that he would get them back to me before the weekend. FYI, think twice before you use this guy.

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On the other model site  Spotlight Hobbies there is a customer or person who George sent parts to..can't get a hold of this George and has no way of getting parts to the proper person..Check the site and speak to the person on the site..Describe your parts, maybe they are yours..Good luck..

[RT6PK]

Well, George found my parts. Apparently, they got "misplaced" prior to him sending his big order to the chrome shop, therefore, they never got chromed. I told to send my "expletive" parts back; and that I did not want to wait how ever many more months for him to have them chromed. He asked me how much money I had sent with my order so that he could reimburse me. Long story short, I got my un-chromed back in the mail today with MOST of the money that I had sent him. It looks like he deducted the amount that I sent him for shipping.... Got that? The jack-off held my parts for 7 months, gave me excuse after excuse, then he made me pay to send my un-chromed parts back. THEN on top of that, he asked me to send the junk resin parts back to him that he sent me as replacements for my parts while they were still "misplaced", AND he expects me to pay to send those parts back. F@#% THAT A-HOLE!

[keyser]

Tell him soon then stop answering. ???

[mikemodeler]

If any of you who have been around here may remember a guy named Alan Raab, ran a business called Ma's Resin. He cast some beautiful tires and had quite the demand for his product. Along the way the business overwhelmed him and he disappeared. I mention this because he is/was supposedly George's cousin. 

Nuff said.

[StevenGuthmiller]

I think that we can all take solace in the fact that this guy will very likely not be in business much longer.

With any luck at all, maybe an actually "responsible" individual will pick up the mantle and run the operation the way that it was back when Bob Dahl ran it. 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve