In a message dated 10/21/0 6:33:49 AM, CYCLESTORE@aol.com writes:
>He told me most chromers use a
>copper base to bold to the steel followed by the chromium plating and then
>
>polish. Copper adheres to steel while chrome will not. Chrome adheres
>to
>copper well so you have a durable surface....but the best solution is
>nickel
>over steel ( nickel is a copper an silver alloy) followed by the chrome
>
>plating.
Not quite. First, nickel is an element all on its own, not an alloy. The best plating job is known as a triple plate-copper, then nickel, then chrome. Few platers do it that way today because of labor-the part must be polished between each coat. If you want this type of plating look around,there may be someone in your area who does it. Bike frames fail after plating because the acids used are not flushed out properly. I either seal the tube (forks and seat stays after treating with Framesaver) or make sure there are holes at each end of the tube so water can flow through it. Expensive to plate a frame-my guy charges $750 and it's worth every cent. Phil Brown