Changing chrome bathroom to oil rubbed bronze

A. Hi, Jolene.

Unfortunately, economy of scale means it usually costs more to replate objects like this than to buy replacements. If they are special for any reason (replacements don't fit, heirlooms, sentimental value) there is no problem having them plated. But if they take a couple of hours each, and the plater has to charge what a plumber or mechanic charges, it can cost more than you are comfortable with. Good luck.

A. Hi, Travis. Anything can be done, but some things aren't very practical. Paint should hold up on the light fixtures, but is more questionable on the towel racks, and might prove almost worthless on the faucet sets. Stripping and re-plating these items is a labor-intensive manual process at domestic labor rates, whereas new items are manufactured thousands at a time on automated machinery at Asian labor rates. So sending them to a plating shop for replating will usually exceed the cost of replacements and is generally restricted to heirlooms, exceptionally expensive items, or components with special dimensions that can't be obtained today.

I am not encouraging you to landfill your stuff and import replacement junk from China, but neither would I want you to waste your time and the plating shops' time without understanding that there is probably no money to be saved by replating your existing fixtures. Best of luck.

Regards,

A. Hi Janice. You say "chrome", but when you say "usual" that tells me you probably mean bright aluminum rather than chrome plating. Paint has little chance of sticking to real chrome; but I think a self-etching primer followed by a burnished bronze decorative paint probably has a good chance of sticking to clean, lightly sanded, aluminum.

Regards,