<Bz10f"HelveticaNeue-Roman">For Bermudians cars and bikes aren't just a mode of transport —
And this has kept Bermuda Electroplating boss Robert Moniz in business for more than 30 years.
Around 90 percent of the work is on bikes with riders keen to get parts chrome plated.
Mr. Moniz said: “It used to be the younger crowd that wanted it. Now the age group has moved from 16 to 60 — even the old boys are now chopping it up nowadays.
“We do engines, stands, wheels — just about anything on the motorcycle.”
The cost depends on state of the part — rustier pieces take more work to prepare.
An old bike stand might cost $100 to plate while a new bike would cost $60.
He does around 75 a month with his older son Max Moniz and employee Levar Smith at the company’s base in Wellbottom, Southampton.
The three-part process first involves putting on layer of copper plating which acts much like a primer, then comes a nickel coat and finally the chrome.
The preparation takes a couple of weeks before the chroming is done in batches.
Bermuda Electroplating U-mark everything and give items a year’s warranty.
Mr. Moniz readily concedes Bermudians love for their motors can border on the obsessive.
“There are some real enthusiasts — they have a $100,000 car but they live in a tin shed. It’s crazy — but it keeps me in a job.”
His firm do a lot of polishing of aluminium wheels while it also handles domestic jobs including silverplating of dinnerware and minor repairs.
People have brought corroded copper pans buried for decades to be cleaned and used as antiques about the home. Mr. Moniz said the oddest thing he ever did was a brass water sampler given by the Bermuda IOS to Queen Nor of the Netherlands after she donated some money.
“In turn they did this piece up and presented it on a cedar placard. That was the weirdest thing I have ever done.
“Did she want it? She probably doesn’t even know where she put it.”
Window tinting is big business for Polish Masters. Owner Robert Wheatley said his firm do nothing else and it generally costs from $250 to $350 per vehicle.
“Most people want it for privacy — out of sight, out of mind.
“There are some products in the market which are decorative but do very little.
Customers enjoy 99 percent UV protective cutting down on harmful rays while the tints offer 95 percent reduction in solar energy, which cuts down the heat build-up in cars during the hottest months.
Polish Masters also offer a clear protective product which cuts down on rays and heat.
“You don’t have to have dark windows to have high heat rejection.”
