sorry man...i was away tonight...actualy shooting a rifle. smallbore 3-p matches have started so i'm allowed to go play a couple nights a week.

first of all, a car bumper is "bright chromed". that is to say, the steel is plated first with copper. this is to allow the next metal, nickel, to adhear to smoothly. the nickel, slightly yellowish, is actually what you see when you look at a '57 chevy bumper. lastly, a flash of chrome is put over top the nickel to protect it from surface scratches.

hard chrome is just that...straight chome, anodic plated on your steel. this builds up a silvery 'fuzzy' surface that has a matte appearance to it. at 70 rockwell 'c' scale, it's hard as the hinges of the gates of hell and difficult to polish without the proper equipment.

i might suggest you try electroless nickel on your carrier.

a reputable local plating shop will be able to show you sample of each process.

bright chrome, with its; multi-stage polishing is fairly costly. hard chrome, pretty cheap. electroless nickel is very inexspensive.

since you only have one piece to plate, you might try avoiding the usual $40 minimum charge by asking if the plater can just run it thru with his next batch of parts that come in.

close enough?