Thread: What does chrome plating cost?

I am restoring a 1972 CT70 and have several parts that need to be re-chromed. Does anyone have any experience with this? What are the costs? What prep can I do before I take the items to the chromer?

About the only prep you can do is to remove as much rust, grease and dirt as possible. Don't sandblast anything. The parts must be polished to get a decent result and that's where most of the cost lies. You paying for a skilled craftsman's labor and the process is labor-intensive.

If you know how to polish steel, then you can take the parts to the plater and have the old chrome stripped. This must be done before polishing. If you've never attempted polishing steel, then this project probably isn't for you. It's not easy and requires specialized equipment.

For good quality triple chrome figure about $100-125 for an engine guard; $40 for the upper triple tree, about the same for the fork trim rings + upper bolts; $75 for the tail light bracket; $45 for the brake arm, another $25 for the lever; fenders around $100 a pop; about $125 for a pair of handlebars and lastly, about $40 for a sparkplug guard. It's more cost-effective to simply replace most of these items. However, a good custom plater can make your old parts look nicer than OEM new, if they're in fairly good shape to begin with.

Cost is going to vary a great amount depending on the chromer and how much motivation and workload they have. You can get 5 different quotes from 5 different chromers, and some shops are complete hacks. Talk to lots of people and find someone you can trust and get some good referrals.

I'd recommend triple chrome as some shops will just nickelplate!

It all depends on what you want for an end result...

Ask around..

I have a 1970 KO and paid $325 to chrome 7 pieces: engine guard, spark plug protector, fork legs, 3 pieces making up the brake lever. The work was done by a chromer in Massachusetts.

Good luck...

For those unfamiliar with the chrome plating process, "triple chrome" refers to the process of first applying a layer of copper, which gets polished, followed by a layer of nickel, then a layer of chromium which gives the nickel the characteristic bright silver appearance and also seals & protects the nickel.

Copper serves two functions. First off, it acts as filler. A good shop can apply a heavy layer of copper either in a single application or through multiple strikes. This fills in minor scratches/blemishes and allows some additional metalfinishing without thinning a part or changing its contours. It also allows aluminum & pot metal to be chrome plated. Unfortunately, cyanide copper, which is the better system, has been all but outlawed by the EPA. The few shops that still use copper, use acid copper and it's difficult to work with, especially on non-ferrous metals. It also tends to cause problems with hollow pieces, as it's difficult to remove all traces prior to the first strike of nickel. That's why some shops have ceased using copper. It's pretty easy to tell if a plater uses copper, or not. If they won't plate non-ferrous metal and if the price seems too good to be true, they don't do triple chrome.

Applying nickel directly to steel parts can work, but the results are usually pretty shoddy as too many surface imperfections will show through the finish plating.

This stuff is pretty trick http://alsacorp.com/products/chromefx/chromefx_show.htm

Its expensive for paint but the quality is worth it. Automotive paint stores have the sample pieces for youto look at from chrome to glow in the dark, heat changing and crazier effects.



... its an alternative to chrome that you could do yourself if you were interested.