Don,
I just want to add something about chrome plating frames. The possibilities that one runs into regarding chroming frames are numerous. There are all kinds of possible problems; all of which can be solved or eliminated if the people involved care enough and have the skills and equipment necessary. Some of the information the painter/restorer needs to know; and the rest is what the plater/polisher needs to know.
For the restorer having chrome done is almost always a nightmare; especially if it's a rechrome. A previously painted frame is a bit more work than a fresh new frame to plate; but previously chromed frames present the greatest number of difficulties.
Regarding using the plater near us, "Equality Plating" in La Mesa. I have to mention here that I would only recommend taking a chrome project to them if I really didn't like the client (which I would never do). Their prices are now ridiculous and the quality of the work has been steadily dropping since the two long time employees quit there about 3 or 4 years ago now. I have switched to a plater in Los Angeles which requires a 2 hour drive each way to get to. The other plater is 5 mins. away. But I refuse to go there under the circumstances, and prefer the 4 hour round trip through traffic to doing business with Equality Plating.
I am also looking for other platers in the Orange County area as back up, since it's a little closer than L.A. There are still some good platers with reasonable prices out there; unfortunately the one near me isn't one of them.
Brian Baylis
La Mesa, CA
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