I have a hard time distinguishing polished stainless from chrome, and I'd think having the stainless polished would be a lot cheaper than chroming.
I bought a set of original stainless trim for my windshield for $150, but ended up buying some repos because I couldn't get the dents out of the originals.
Reproduction trim has its own problems. After having the windshields out several times, I still couldn't get the trim to lay flush around the entire perimeter. It was most severe in the middle where the two sides meet at the bottom.
I finally gave up and took it to a glass shop that does a lot of classic cars. The glass guy told me the repo trim is poorly made and won't fit correctly into the rubber. He trimmed the stainless it so it fit much better, but it still wouldn't lay completely flush at the bottom of the windshield.
The glass tech filled the small gap between the trim and the rubber with a little black glass adhesive and trimmed the center bar so it'd fit flush too. Here's what it looked like after he finished - not perfect but it really isn't noticeable either
