victor,
The typical way to chrome something like that Cinelli fork is to polish the areas that are to be shiny, plate, then prep for paint (masking exposed chrome and sanding or sandblasting the unpolished chrome. Sometimes they will dip just the end needing plating, but not usually in the case of a fork that has plated tips also.
Plating cannot be done after an object is painted.
Brian Baylis
La Mesa/El Cajon
California
Vintage Cycle Studios
(619)449-5977
email: brianbaylis@juno.com
I am doing the forensics on my recently acquired Cinelli (Mod B. probably) and I have a question about the chrome on the fork crown. Was the whole fork usually chromed and then masked and painted, or was the fork masked and then chromed? Is the latter even possible? My fork has chrome on the steerer tube threads and the flat fork crown but you can see where those areas have been taped off, and it looks like it has been media blasted. There are no fender eyelets on the fork and my gut feeling is that they were removed and then the fork crown and threads were protected and the rest blasted and painted. There is no chrome underneath the crown or on the tangs on the inside of the fork legs. Anyone with an older Cinelli that has had a look when the original paint was removed?
Thanks,
Victor Penner
Riding in wet/sunny Vancouver BC