# Chrome Plating - Experience?



## turbomatic73 (Jan 22, 2004)

Anyone have any experience with having a bicycle part chrome-plated at a local shop? I am toying with the idea of having a fork chrome-plated. Any ideas as to potential cost or whether chrome shops will even consider working on bike stuff? "pedal-bike" stuff that is...


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## Scooper (Mar 4, 2007)

Chrome plating bicycle parts requires a lot of preparation to the part to get a decent result, and that is very labor intensive. Without the proper prep work, the end result will be disappointing.

CyclArt does a great job prepping and plating, but they charge accordingly. Here is their Q&A on chrome plating: http://www.cyclart.com/questions.html#chrome1.

Their price for new chrome plating a complete fork is $140. You can find platers who will do it for less, but make sure they include the necessary preparation work.


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## paredown (Oct 18, 2006)

Scooper said:


> Chrome plating bicycle parts requires a lot of preparation to the part to get a decent result, and that is very labor intensive. Without the proper prep work, the end result will be disappointing. . . . You can find platers who will do it for less, but make sure they include the necessary preparation work.


I recently had a Colnago fork plated by a firm that has been doing resto parts for the Schwinn Flyer crowd.

I think it was a $125--and it turned out not so great. He didn't run his plating up over the bearing race area (like stock) and I can't tell if it had a proper under-layer before chroming--it looks like it didn't. Looks better than it did, but I'm not too hopeful about durability.

Nice guy, but . . . I think if I were to do it again, I'd find someone local and fanatical--maybe a motorcycle guy & prep it myself if I could.


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## pdh777 (Oct 7, 2005)

Per what Scooper says - to get the job done right you need to go to people who knowbikes - in addition to Cycle Art - there is also Joe bell in Southern CA. I am sure there others but those are two you can trust.


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## mj3200 (Apr 18, 2008)

I had these forks plated by a company in the UK called Atlantic Boulevard. They were painted in the first place. The cost here was £80. Always trust people who are experienced. Having lived in the US and seeing the amount of first class plating around I would have thought it would be fairly easy to find the guy you need.


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## ultimobici (Jul 16, 2005)

mj3200 said:


> I had these forks plated by a company in the UK called Atlantic Boulevard. They were painted in the first place. The cost here was £80. Always trust people who are experienced. Having lived in the US and seeing the amount of first class plating around I would have thought it would be fairly easy to find the guy you need.


If that's 753, I'd be wary of riding it. Reynolds expressly stated that 753 was too thin to be plated and voided any warranty. So an old 753 with plating is very dodgy indeed.


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## Dave IV (Jan 20, 2009)

I recently restored a Hill Cycle. I had the fork and rear stays re-plated at a local industrial plating shop. They charged $125.00 for the complete job and the results were superb.


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## mj3200 (Apr 18, 2008)

ultimobici said:


> If that's 753, I'd be wary of riding it. Reynolds expressly stated that 753 was too thin to be plated and voided any warranty. So an old 753 with plating is very dodgy indeed.


Thanks for the tip. I've put the paint back on and they feel much safer.


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## paredown (Oct 18, 2006)

Sweet looking resto! Would you be willing to share the name of the firm?

Is Hill American or British?

Cheers,
Dean


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## Dave IV (Jan 20, 2009)

The plating firm is James Abbot Metal Finishing in Philadelphia, PA.

The Hill Cycle is a privately labeled Holdsworth Professional that was imported during the 70s by Hill Cycle Shop in Phila. PA.

The bike in the photos was purchased in 1973. I am the original owner. The restoration was done last year. It was rechromed and repainted to its original colors. Original decals were sourced from Lloyd's in the UK


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## ultimobici (Jul 16, 2005)

mj3200 said:


> Thanks for the tip. I've put the paint back on and they feel much safer.


Nah, Black is too brittle. Paint them white.


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## TWB8s (Sep 18, 2003)

I've had a few things chromed locally as there is a plating company in my neighborhood. I did the prep work on my Serotta to have just the dropouts chromed. A few years ago I had some of the brackets on one of my motorcycles chromed. It wasn't that expensive, but as said above, the preparation work is essential if you want the chrome to appear smooth and flawless. Filing, sanding, emory paper, buffing, wet sanding and keeping it free of corrosion before chroming are the steps I took. 

In the end the parts and the frame looked sweet.

My Phinney is further down the thread...


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## SEK82089 (Dec 19, 2004)

Did you just have the rear stays done? Did you have to repaint the frame or were they able to dip the frame in before the seat tube and save the main triangles paint?


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