Saying that "plastic" can be chromed is a bit of an oversimplification. All of the parts that I've ever plated have been a plating grade ABS or some blend of ABS & ? The fiberglass thing is a new one by me. Most metal & plastics can also be "metalized" which would require some kind of topcoat to be weather resistant. This is the process that's used on the interior of modern automotive head & tail lamps.
I didn't oversimplify it when I said that you need a fat wallet. Just as another member posted, I have personally seen chromed fiberglass bumpers. Off the top of my head, I also remember a 1965 Impala SS featured in Summit Racing's catalog a few years ago that went 10s due to it's light weight body parts... Which included chromed fiberglass bumpers. Chromed plastic is all over cars today. There are repop chrome plastic boomerangs available for our cars too. Now... You may argue that these parts are not chromed in the traditional manner of electroplating, but I don't think anyone here thinks that. Chrome is chrome, but if you want to split hairs and say a part is metalized, then fine. It's still a chromed part and that is the focus of the thread.
"Metalizing" is done before the crome can be applied. They use a copper and nickel coating and then electro-plate the chrome on the metalized surface.
