Talk to anyone in the cycle frame industry and he/she will have their own horror stories about chrome-plated frames..some of which might be true others being heresay.
The main problems that appear to beset chromed frames are:
(1) very poor and /or heavy- handed polishing (2) too heavy a electric current being used in the plating or removal process )3) acid residues being left inside cavities, resulting in corrosion from the inside to the outside (4) inadequate pre-coating of the frame with copper and nickel prior to the final chroming.
All else being equal, and there being no worries about 1,2, and 4, I reckon it would be a pretty poor plater who did not clear out the acid residues. Normally the frames are washed, submerged in a neutralising solution. presumably something alkaline, before being thoroughly washed out with water..Certainly these were the processes that I witnessed at the chroming plant that I used regularly.
In the late 70s/ early to mid 80s, during my "Italian" period I used chrome-plating and nickel plating extensively, either for features or for full-chrome plating in the Singer and Herse fashion, and was fortunate in finding a company that offered the black chrome option, as used by Austro-Daimler on their "Vent Noir" model, I think.
I can recall only one instance of a problem with acid residue, and that was caused by own lack of care in venting the particular part of a frame in question. Replating never caused any problems..and I cannot remember any concerns that the base metal of the tubing would be eaten away by the chromic acids, and the wall-thickness eroded. I do remember worries however when certain paint-sprayers appeared to be not very choosy with the grade of grit used to blast off old paint, electing to use a coarse grit and high air pressure instead of the opposite. I remember that Bob Jackson's always used to soften the old paint with a large soft flame burning town-gas and compressed air, to loosen the paint prior to a light blast.
There are, I estimate, quite a few members of the List who are owners of Singers or Herses, some of whom have visited their workshops. Can anyone tell the rest of us what the policy of rechroming is/was in these two constructeurs workshops?
Norris Lockley, Settle UK