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Chroming in Manchester Area

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Oddjob:
I'd agree that the better the chromers the better the result but none will cure the problem, I asked when I had mine done why the bottom of the fins looked dull and was told it was because they haven't got anything that can get deep enough inside the fin to polish the surface, the smoother the surface the better the nickel coating will be. If you've got 6 years old of yours then you must wrap the bike in cotton wool, my first set lasted less than a year before they were unsightly. My BIL has my K reg 500 and when he came round on it in the summer last year the engine looked great, the clamps were a real mess, so much so that I couldn't stop looking at them, they spoiled what was a nice bike with many thousands spent on it.

My aim in commenting on this subject isn't to say "Look at me I'm so clever" it's to advise members of the potential pitfalls of just throwing parts in a box and expecting the chromers to sort all of it out. They'll sort 95% of it if they are really good but they'll charge you the earth to do it. Or you can pay less and get an inferior result. The alternative is to sort the problem as well as you can before giving it to the chromers, they'll charge less and take less time as well. My current chromer charges me around £5 to chrome a gear lever off a 500/550. That's because all of his time consuming work has been done for him. He took a week to do it as well, which was really fast for a chromers these days.

McCabe-Thiele (Ted):
Time someone made SS clamps then

Oddjob:
That’s not a bad idea Ted.

paul G:

--- Quote from: Oddjob on January 25, 2023, 03:24:50 PM ---I'd agree that the better the chromers the better the result but none will cure the problem, I asked when I had mine done why the bottom of the fins looked dull and was told it was because they haven't got anything that can get deep enough inside the fin to polish the surface, the smoother the surface the better the nickel coating will be. If you've got 6 years old of yours then you must wrap the bike in cotton wool, my first set lasted less than a year before they were unsightly. My BIL has my K reg 500 and when he came round on it in the summer last year the engine looked great, the clamps were a real mess, so much so that I couldn't stop looking at them, they spoiled what was a nice bike with many thousands spent on it.

My aim in commenting on this subject isn't to say "Look at me I'm so clever" it's to advise members of the potential pitfalls of just throwing parts in a box and expecting the chromers to sort all of it out. They'll sort 95% of it if they are really good but they'll charge you the earth to do it. Or you can pay less and get an inferior result. The alternative is to sort the problem as well as you can before giving it to the chromers, they'll charge less and take less time as well. My current chromer charges me around £5 to chrome a gear lever off a 500/550. That's because all of his time consuming work has been done for him. He took a week to do it as well, which was really fast for a chromers these days.

--- End quote ---

£5 to chrome a gear lever  :o there has got to be some corners being cut there either that or he is loosing money on it.
Even with all the prep done it is going to cost him more than that in his time going between tanks washing things off and going to the next process.
You have then got to take into account energy costs, and I know from what my chrome company tell me, the cost of the chemicals has gone through the roof.

Oddjob:
I think that because he doesn't have to get any of his employees to do any work on it that he does it for pocket money. TBH it's a decent job, not perfect but again TBH it's because I don't get the surface as smooth as they get them, mainly because I don't have a linishing machine.

This is one of the levers I had done.

It's more than acceptable in my eyes.



Oh and this is the exhaust clamp I had done as an experiment, to see how they would come out.

I'm having some chromed and some chrome ceramic coated, those are currently being done this week. I'll fit which I like best.

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