help on door latches

[propaint81]

i still have my stock style door latches on my 71 suburban. i tried painting them and the first time i i shut the door it chipped them up. so i had the plate chromed on the bodyside but the chromers told me they couldnt do the door side without taking them apart and chroming on pieces. my question is does anyone know of someone selling these already chrome or stainless

[vectorit]

I personally have never seen them done in a high end finish.
But being that the pin that the latch cog fits on is peened to secure it on the outside, I would think the way to figure this out would be to convert that pin to a threaded type so that it can be put together with your average tools.

I would see about finding a machinist/fabricator that can take the latch mechanism apart, then set it up with parts that enable one to put it together easily. Then once you manage to accomplish this, take all the loose parts to a plate shop and see what they can do for you?

Just a thought.