Honda-SOHC

What's your take on customers doing their own prep work Mark, as I have access to the large polishing machines, like the ones chromers use.
My reason for asking is that way way back in '86 I had my CB400/4 smaller parts rechromed by a company called Alliance in Hull (don't exist any more). I prepped all of the parts myself and removed every trace of nickel and polished them so they actually looked almost as bright as the chrome. The guy at Alliance told me I was a fool and that I had done more damage than if I had given him the parts untouched and they would actually cost more for him to re-prep and plate. He told me the real art and time consuming bit was the prep and that this accounted for a high proportion of the cost. I was a bit miffed so told him to chrome them anyway and I would suffer the consequences if they turned out sh*te. He plated them, they came out perfect and they were amazingly cheap to have done and the turnaround was a week (normally several months). I moved house and the bike was stored in my brothers barn for 22 years. Some of the chromed Genuine NOS parts I had fitted unfortunately micro-pitted in storage but non of the parts I had done by Alliance suffered any corrosion.
Forward 23 years and I had quite  a few parts for my CB750K0 done by a local chromer  here in Hull (used by a lot of the classic magazines) who did all of the prep work. They polished the hell out of the thin items and I just wish I had prepped them myself. My method of prep is to remove all of the old plating by reverse plating and then rough finish on a linisher. Then I dip them in acid copper to reveal any areas of nickel remaining (if any). This copper is easily buffed off and then I polish on the industrial polisher I have access to. That way if I trash the part in polishing/prep, then it's down to me.

I appreciate that not everyone has access to the equipment / chemicals  I have at my disposal.

cheers ...AshD