Re: [CR]Chrome plating company in NYC area?

(Example: Production Builders)

From: "Daniel Gonzalez" <dannyg1@mail.com>
To: "Robert Clair" <r.clair@cox.net>, Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 10:59:58 +0800
Subject: Re: [CR]Chrome plating company in NYC area?


Are you both certain that what you're positing is always true? I see here, a photo of an aftermarket nickel plate job, with a cost of $160 done in 8/06, that loks remarkably lovely:

http://www.bicyclefixation.com/50buckbike.html

Danny Gonzalez Lenox Hill NY, NY USA

----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Clair" To: hsachs@alumni.rice.edu, dannyg1@mail.com, "Classic Rendezvous" Subject: Re: [CR]Chrome plating company in NYC area? Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 21:23:39 -0500

... as usual Mr Sachs is spot on, so heed his advise please. but may i add one addendum.

chroming bicycle parts is dearly expensive, dearly. my first resto was/is a 1948 (my birth year) Urago track bike many years ago. i hesitate to call anything with pencil thin seat stays a track iron, but anyway ...

... anyway the plater that CyclArt used then was incredible. just spot on perfect for all the moving parts. but i think the total was almost more than half for the entire effort.

do it over again, well of course we would.

but an entire frame in this day and age, don't be stupido ....

robert clair alexandria, va 22308 usa ----- Original Message ----- From: "Harvey Sachs" To: ; "Classic Rendezvous" Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 9:01 PM Subject: re: [CR]Chrome plating company in NYC area?

> There is at least one shop in suburban MD that would polish and > plate a frameset. They have done decent work on parts for a > couple of us. But, I would recommend against it for several > reasons: > > The most important is that it will never look like "factory" > chrome. There are parts that just can't be polished right after > the frameset is built, particularly the tubes near the bottom > bracket. Looking at the BB is an easy way to pretty reliably spot > after-manufacture chroming. > > Related to this is the different standard of metal finish > required for plating, as opposed to painting. The very best > painters allow themselves a bit of "cheating" with a little extra > primer or a little of this-and-that for the most minor scratches > and defects. All that has to be done in metal for chroming. Every > defect is magnified maybe 10x on a chromed surface. > > Yup, this means that good plating means removing metal to get > below the pits and scratches - unless you build them up > beforehand. Don't ever give a pitted frame to an ordinary chrome > shop, which might make it a very light guage indeed. It is almost > inevitable that chroming loses some detail (lug shoreline > crispness, lettering and stamping on parts, etc). > > Of course, there are reputable people like Waterford who simply > refuse to do rechroming; removal and replating can be deleterious > to the frame's health. > > Finally, plating is a pretty dangerous business. The finer the > grit, the more likely to grab the part. Are you willing to pay > fairly for the risks involved, not just to the workers, but to > the environment? > > Obviously, I've had a bit of rechroming done, on things like a > "senior" Magistroni crankset, and a Paramount hub barrel. I'm not > on a tirade against all chrome. But, I do think about what I'm > trying to accomplish, and how the most likely results are going > to compare with my dreams. With parts like cranks and handlebars, > the risks are smaller than with frames and forks. > > But, your mileage may vary. > > harvey sachs > mcLean va usa.

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