R&S Electroplating Limited

[Lynx]

Has anyone used these people before? I'm having a right nightmare with them. They've lost a part I sent them. They claim they have posted it back and it's gone missing in the post but they forgot to send it tracked??! I've paid for the re-chroming and the postage but they won't give me a refund. Just said they will do me another one for free. Big deal  .

[AshimotoK0]

All chromers I have experience of seem to be the same, although not lost anything yet. They never give you a price estimate or anything like a real timescale.

A real CB750 aficionado I know used to use Prestige in Mexborough with good reports.

My Copy Chrome chemicals got washed away in the floods late last year, so never had a chance to try out the process.

Cheers.. AshD

[paul G]

I use Prestige plating and found them to be excellent.
I am on my third restoration now and used them for everything.
They are not the quickest, some times up to three months wait but always been worth it.

[AshimotoK0]

I use Prestige plating and found them to be excellent.
I am on my third restoration now and used them for everything.
They are not the quickest, some times up to three months wait but always been worth it.

What are typical prices you are paying from Prestige Paul?

How about these in the same area ?
http://www.jem-chromeplating.co.uk/

Cheers .....  AshD

[Bitsa (Ralph Wright - RIP)]

Agree with Lynx its the part I want may not be able to find another
Yeah big F deal
Cheers
Bitsa

[AshimotoK0]

If this is R&S near Oldham then yes I've dealt with them before.

I had all my parts for my CB500-4 done by them in the mid 80s, excellent job but then they moved from central Manchester to their present location. I had a clutch cover for the 1300 done by them in 2009, it lasted about 3 months and then the chrome started to flake off, nothing I had done by them has lasted. Wouldn't recommend them after that.

This company comes highly recommended

http://www.qualitychrome.co.uk/index.php#

Hmm got to be careful what I say here but QC (local to me) plated some parts for my 750K0 and loused up my mega rare 'antimon' alloy fuel cap. I may have to use them again  as I hate having to post off rare parts but IMHO they don't really  live up to the hype given in the magazines I have read. Took an age too and no upfront estimate given.  They have moved premises since I  used them in 2011. Maybe I am not being totally fair, as chroming and all it's HSE restrictions must be a nightmare of a business to handle but it's the one area of restoration, which is the great unknown, in terms of timescales and costs. I just wish there was a place you could go with your own polished parts for them to just chrome them. OK some people don't prep properly but any decent chromer should be able to asses a part and if not prepared properly, then throw it back to the customer.  I did this with a place in Hull who chromed my 400/4 parts back in '86. I prepped them myself and the guy said I had wasted my time and they would cost more than if I had not touched them. He then went on to say that the chroming costs very little it was the prep and polishing, which was the major cost. So I then told him to chrome them as they were and that I would suffer the consequences if there turned out rubbish and I he reluctantly did it. Those parts cost very little to chrome and are still perfect today.

cheers ... AshD

[Ewan 500 K1]

Phew, that was close. I was due to send a parcel off to R&S today... but will now reconsider. Anyone used Jacson plating : http://www.jacksonplating.co.uk/   They gave me the cheapest uote out of Quality Chrome, R&S and Jacksons

[Trigger]

Ewan, i have some parts at Jackson at the moment. Was recommended by a mate that does custom work. I was sending out to Bulgaria because of price and a spot on job. But i didn't have enough parts this time to make it worth it.
Ash, this is one of the problems we have if we post. And it is all down to the prep work. Send a chrome shop a new part and it always comes back Nice.

[Ewan 500 K1]

cheers Trig, were they new parts you sent to Jackson's .. if not will they do the prep rather than relying on customer to do a good job ?  Also , have copied comments above to R&S (with names deleted) to see what he says .

[Ewan 500 K1]

messgae sent to, and the response from R&S: (he doesnt know what forum the comments came from)

Hi Mark
 
saw some reviews of your service, which dont reflect  well on you:
 
Has anyone used these people before? I'm having a right nightmare with them. They've lost a part I sent them. They claim they have posted it back and it's gone missing in the post but they forgot to send it tracked??! I've paid for the re-chroming and the postage but they won't give me a refund. Just said they will do me another one for free. Big deal
 
If this is R&S near Oldham then yes I've dealt with them before.I had all my parts for my CB500-4 done by them in the mid 80s, excellent job but then they moved from central Manchester to their present location. I had a clutch cover for the 1300 done by them in 2009, it lasted about 3 months and then the chrome started to flake off, nothing I had done by them has lasted. Wouldn't recommend them after that.
 
any comments ?
 
Ewan

Not really anything I can say these forums are used by people who would rather moan via a keyboard than contact us direct. With this I mean yes a part has gone missing in the post and this person was quite willing to accept the terms and conditions of making sure there is adequate insurance in place in case of any loss or damage so why when an item gets lost in transit it is suddenly my fault and not the postal service who lost the part neither does this person mention that as a gesture of goodwill I would also chrome his front wheel at a discounted price or the fact that I have been in hospital and off work and still kept in touch to make sure he was kept in the picture. As for the part lasting 3 months this could quite well be true as no chrome plater is perfect and when you are working with complex chemicals occasionally this can go wrong although not very often but again unless we are informed of a problem how can we be expected to put it right again hiding behind a keyboard. Also I cannot check back as it was my father who was here then and he has since died so I cannot even ask him. I do feel though that your mind has now been poisened and for you own piece of mind you had probably better to look else where. In the meantime I shall be looking into the forum as there is no way I am having my fathers memory tainted in this way

Regards Mark

[AshimotoK0]

From a 'behind the keyboard moaner' 

One thing the chromer in the 80's said to me is that I would not be able to guarantee that all the chrome and nickel plating was removed from the parts I prepped myself. To make sure this didn't happen, I dipped the prepped part into an acid copper solution ( copper sulphate/sulphuric acid). You then get a copper finish on all of the steel exposed parts but anywhere there is nickel (or chrome) you get silvery area's. It's dead easy to buff off the copper afterwards and you then know all the old plating has been removed.
I think one problem also is that chromers don't appreciate that the original Honda parts were not highly polished and in some cases just a cast or blasted finished ( e.g. Honda rear brake arm). For originality they should still have linish marks etc but many chromers want to get a perfect finish ( like on old brit bikes). Problem is with thin parts, there just isn't enough thickness to polish to such a high degree and you can get a really thin part back.

I suppose postage is always a problem and often quite hard to prove the worth of the contents. I sent some circuit boards I had build worth £1K by RM Special Delivery Insured, and they lost them. Trying to claim compensation  was a nightmare because I had made them. Whilst still chasing up, the customer rang me, a month after posting, to say they had arrived that day!

I wonder who David Silver uses for his 400/4 restos ? I know I saw on his Facebook that it was one of the most difficult aspects of the project and just not economically viable to get done in the UK. I agree, often a part after chroming, if costs are broken down to resale value of the original part value + chroming costs, is greater than the cost of a NOS part.

Cheers ... AshD

[UK Pete]

The bottom line is do not use them, especially on very rare parts, recorded delivery or good courior should remedy the lost in post excuse
but no body in their right mind would use firms like that , i have had problems similar with powder coating firms
pete

[Ewan 500 K1]

So despite not having the best rep, I've gone with the local boys at Cumbria Metal Finishers. http://cumbriametalfinishingltd.co.uk/ At least lost in transit shouldnt be an issue. I'd really being trying to find somone who was going to be able to do a quality job, wouldnt have a lost in post potential and who wouldn't take months to turn the job around ....  but just couldnt get there.  Maybe powder coating would have been an easier option.

[Lynx]

What I would like to add in reply to R&S's response is, I did send my stuff to him insured and tracked but he didn't send it back to me like that!

[Lynx]

A quick update on this. I have bought a replacement rear brake arm for £20. He's going to do that obviously, but also my centre stand grab handle and handlebars. They're not that bad but as it's free, I might as well. As long as he doesn't loose them  ).