At 08:01 AM 03/11/2007 -0600, Tom Hayes wrote:
>Anyone ever strip the paint from an older frame that was completely chromed
>underneath in order to "create" a chrome bike? And if so, what did one use
>and were the results worth it? I guess one thing that I have wondered about
>in this process, never having seen one that I recall, is the chrome
>underneath as durable or of the same quality as the chrome that shows on the
>forks and chainstays on many of these bikes?
My '78 Nishiki Landau came with chrome dropout surfaces. Being pretty much a daily rider in the beginning, it got a lot of stone chips, which I first noticed on the fork. When I had it apart for an overhaul one winter, I started scraping more paint off the fork and discovered it was chromed all the way, including the crown. I used paint and varnish stripper from the hardware store with a little help from some fine steel wool. I also stripped the rear triangle about 1/3 of the way and the drive side chainstay almost all the way. I found that the chainstay only had chrome half way and then nickel underneath. While the fork appears to have durable chrome all over, the rear of the frame not so much. If you do this, it's advisable to keep the chrome waxed for extra protection. I haven't ridden that bike on over a decade and from just sitting in the basement, the chrome looks a bit spotty.
John Betmanis
Woodstock, Ontario
Canada