I believe it was more style/design consideration than a chroming/finishing problem - or are the two related?
Carl Derrick, Queens NY
>From: Chuck Schmidt <chuckschmidt@earthlink.net>
>Reply-To: chuckschmidt@earthlink.net
>To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
>Subject: Re: [CR]Chome & paint seat lug
>Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2002 09:53:09 -0800
>
>
>
>Mark Poore wrote:
> >
> > Having owned a two Cinelli's back in the day I had always wondered about
>the
> > half painted seat lug. The reason Chuck gives,You cannot plate chrome on
>an
> > inside diameter under a certain dimension, sounds good, but if this is
>so
> > why is the seat lug on my Rauler chromed and beautiful into the tightest
> > areas.
>
>
>Not impossible just very difficult. A complex area like the seat lug is
>very hard to buff inside all the nooks and crannies before chroming. I
>have a Dave Moulton that has the three main tubes painted deep Atlantic
>dark blue metallic and everything else is chrome that is close to
>perfect. But Dave went to the trouble to buff all the tubes and lugs
>before he brazed them together!
>
>Chuck Schmidt
>South Pasadena, Southern California