Chroming is a very expensive business in any event- even the disposal of the toxic wastes, etc. is also very high.
Not every chromer can chrome bikes-they require large tanks (for a full frame), the tools to work around the BB, and the knowledge of getting rid of the acid that enters the frame during the process.
Any chromer that works with Brian and Joe must be very good indeed.
I suspect that full frame chroming for a private customer will be between $1000-2000 depending on various factors. Note that if cable guides are braised-on polishing/chroming that area will be very tough-cheap chrome jobs will often leave the BB area painted black.
Also, if you're going to put decals on the framest will need clearcoating-another expense.
The finest chroming I've ever seen was on ICS framesets-their gilding was also without par.
George
George Hollenberg MD
CT, USA
> One thing I've noticed and heard said is that Italian chromed bikes
> (especially models like Atala, Frejus, Bianchi, and Colnago) had very
> thin chrome that didn't last long "back in the day". A good
> rechroming (at a place like 'Equality Plating' in La Mesa which Joe
> Bell and Brian Baylis use) would be an upgrade for those bikes.
>
> The costs of chroming are mostly from the costs of polishing. One
> must polish the steel until it shines like chrome BEFORE you chrome
> it. If the steel is pitted badly you can polish after the copper
> layer to avoid perforating the steel. The copper layer is meant to
> fill minor pits and to smooth out irregularities. The nickel
> layer is
> what you see on a chrome bike, but the nickel is pinkish and the
> chrome is bluish - which cancels the pink to get white.
>
> if you take a fully polished frame set to a chromer they should
> do it
> for maybe $150-$200. However, at $60 an hour for polishing it's easy
> to pay 5x more than that for 10-15 hours of polishing,
> especially for
> a bike that was originally painted and not chromed.
>
> - Don Gillies
> San Diego, CA, USA
> _______________________________________________
>
George Hollenberg MD
CT, USA