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Legends, fairy tales and facts.
Professionals always distinguish between chromed stainless steel and polished stainless steel. As Jumbo sells mechanical polished parts and chromed parts there is no point to affirm something wrong. Not least because it betrays the customers trust and leads to confusion. What we compare:Mechanical polished, rust free stainless steel The manufactured part - e.g. a light bar, that is curved by a tube bending mashine and complemented by a few angle brackets - is mechanical polished and honed in several steps. We call it mirror finish or mirror polish, because it reflects quite like a mirror. Most Jumbo Truckstyling products get their gloss in this way.
Mirror finished, chromed stainless steel After manufacturing the part is also honed and polished. A perfect surface is condition for chrome coating, which means: no bevel seams, no dents or corrugations. Why? After chroming a part you will see all irregularities in thickness. Manufactured by hand the part will be dunked in nickel 19 times and afterwards chrome-coated. It's a very complex process which only few manufacturer know to carry out.
Is chrome-coating cheaper than mechanical polishing? This question is not easy to answer. You can compare it with the question whether a hand-knitted pair of socks is cheaper than a pair of socks that is produced mechanically. In depends on the relation between labour costs and machine interest. Considering this, in this country it is not affordable to knit socks by hand. If someone alleges that they come back to expencive hand polishing because of better quality and assurance of work places it tends to be "hot air", as this polishing mostly takes place in low-wage countries of Eastern Europe and Asia. Of course it is not condemnable to say that is is necessary to produce in Bangladesh, as it is impossible to produce in Europe for financial reasons. But to come back to the other argument, one has to admit that it is not right to say that they assure work places when these work places are located in Asia or somewhere else.
What is "polished by hand" or "hand polished"? A layperson might imagine that "hand polished" looks like this: A diligent worker sits on his footstool when polishing the raw product with a polishing cloth. This image is illusive for which reason professionals speak of "mechanical polishing". Non of the contractors polishes stainless steel products in the technical sense. Manufactories and factories burnish the stainless steel surface mechanically. They either polish with the help of polishing robots or with the help of machines where an assistant feed the machine with the appropriate product. A third variation is that the assistant polishes the parts with a hand-guided polishing machine. It is a back-breaking work which takes place in a hard work environment and further more requires a lot of work experience. A big Jumbo Bull Bar of the type "Mega" for e.g. DAF XF requires easily 35 hours of polishing and burnishing until it has the perfect gloss.
Is the hand polished stainless steel better? This question can be answered with a clear NO. The stainless steel for chromed products is exactly the same as the one for mirror finished parts. To comprise all relations we should have a look on the surface conditioning.
Degree of gloss: Even the best polisher cannot create the same gloss as if the part is chrome coated. Of course condition is that the part is clean and well burnished. That's why Jumbo parts are burnished and polished before. Conclusion: Chrome-coating is always the best.
Durability of the gloss: The chromed surface is definitely more weather resistant than a polished surface, because the chrome part in stainless steel provide a corrosion protection. The smother the surface the better the protection against corrosion. A complete chrome-coated surface is protected to 100%. Conclusion: Again chrome is ahead by nose.
Limits: Not every stainless steel product can be chrome-coated. A limit can be the size of the dip tank or the form of the product. The workpiece must be conductible. This is not always possible. Big bull bars can not be chromed. Conclusion: polished stainless steel is ahead by nose
Damage: Another disadvantage of chrome parts can be the repair. Profoundly scratches or dents (e.g. caused by an accident) can not be corrected by grinding and welding. Conclusion: absolute advantage for polished stainless steel.
Cleaning & durability: Chrome is extreme hard. Much harder than stainless steel itself. Chrome does not have the visible scratches and cords that stainless steel gets after a while. The smooth and "closed" surface does not pick up the dirt from street and is easier to clean. Conclusion: Advantage for chrome parts
What if chrome is damaged by stone-chipping? Nothing will happen. We chromed stainless steel and not common steel, plastic or brass. The material under the chrome WILL NOT go to seed. The nickel coat under the chrome avoids peeling. For this Jumbo guarantees for 5 years!
Why does Jumbo chrome at all? We already named the technical and optical reason above. By the way, Jumbo's masterpiece was the Truck ‚n‘ Roll Edition from Mercedes-Benz. All stainless steel parts were polished and chromed. Furthermore we tried to set our self apart from the achievements and products of the competition, which means: grinding and polishing is feasible for everybody, especially for worker in low-wage countries. As mechanical polishing is too expensive in Germany we tried to find new alternatives. And instead of outsourcing the production in one of the low-wage countries we developed a process here in Germany so that we actually could assure workplaces on the spot. So it is not just about chroming and polishing but also about conscious and strategic location decisions.
Perfect also for exhaust pipes New! The vertical exhaust system and side-pipes are also available in chrome. Advantage: Stainless steel does not change it's colour as a consequence of heat. Especially modern and hot burning motors make the polished material yelllow and dappled. Even a strong effect of heat can not damage the chrome. It is copied from a sports car manufacturer that uses this method for a while now.
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