A person who expends labor, skill, or materials upon a chattel, at the request of its owner, reputed owner, or authorized agent of the owner, or lawful possessor of the chattel, has a lien upon the chattel for the contract price of the expenditure, or in the absence of a contract price, for the reasonable worth of the expenditure, for a period of six months from the expenditure, notwithstanding the fact that the possession of the chattel is surrendered to the owner or lawful possessor.