real chrome

Good to know ... So, if you think that the cost of the kit plus all the time you spend doing this will cost you less than what they want to charge you - and you have the time to do it - go 4 it !

Peteski

well, you're forgetting something. once i have the setup, i can rechrome everything i have that needs it. and caswell's system is triple chrome, the results are beautifull. ny thought is why not get it all? i have a friend who loves chrome.....

Well then ... you'll be in the chroming business yourself ! Now, you'll be able to charge $500 for a $600 job and get more business than you can handle !

And you didn't even know you needed another hobby ... :-)

Peteski

i don't think so. i would actually rather find a cheap place. all that acid and electricity don't make for a healthy area. i wouldn't be as big a rip off as the place i contacted. i've heard from others they are overpriced.

All depends on how many mils thick the set-up is rated to plate...

Yup...chrome is hobby.

you can do triple chrome and control thickness.

Chromium is not only a very hard metal (after all, it was used in WW-II to coat not only aircraft engine piston rings, but also the cylinder bores themselves, as well as coating the inside of rifle barrels.

Chromium is also, in itself, very resistant to even strongly concentrated acid. That is why it is stripped electrically, in the reverse of the process by which it's plated onto other metals.

Even a simple replate job (no straightening or dent removal) of such a simple, yet large object as an automobile bumper can run up to around $450 or so, and that's not even "show chrome", just restoration (per Bumper Boyz out of Los Angeles--who hit virtually every major real car show & swap meet across the country, doing bumpers on an exchange basis.

For starters, Caswell's setups are not designed for large parts--just the smaller ones you see on any car or bike. I would assume that a bike wheel would qualify as a large job. Therefore, I suspect that to adequately do a bike wheel would take a minimum of 30-gallons of the electrolyte, plus a requisite amount of copper, nickel and chromium (and, chromium itself is a very expensive metal!).

Add to this the labor involved, not so much in watching the plating "evaporate" in the solution, but in the buffing that will have to be done, not only on the original steel substrate, but also of the copper-plating basecoat, as chromium itself is hard enough to virtually defy buffing. It's the buffing that is the labor-expense item--that does take experience, as one false move, one moment of carelessness or inexperience, and the part can be damaged, or even irreparably destroyed. In addition, if the wheel is at all made of any pressed or roll-formed steel, its surface will be filled with minute stretch-marks, which are a bitch to polish out, so the final work there is generally done in the copper stage, as copper bonds readily by electroplating, and can be built up relatively cheaply (even though pure copper ain't exactly a cheap commodity either!). Then, the copper coating itself is buffed, to level it out, much like one would color-sand and rub out a nice paint job. Again, as with any buffing process, one misstep, and the part can be ruined, so it takes a skilled buffer to get it right.

Finally, it's on to the nickel plating step, necessary as chromium itself bonds poorly to copper (witness all the peeled chrome on automotive bumpers you surely have seen over the years). Finally, chromium is electroplated over the nickel. Well done, the result is jewelry. Done poorly, the result is disappointing.

One last part of this equation of which you may not be aware: A good-quality plater will use separate plating baths for each metal used, one for copper, one for nickel, and one for chromium. Either that, or they must stop and clean the electrolyte after each metal, to avoid contamination of the next step--are you prepared to do that? Oh, and you would be well-advised to not just dump the stuff down the drain--your local sewage department won't like you very well, and the US EPA, not to mention your State's Environmental people, if they catch you, can make your life very, very miserable.

Lastly, I suspect that if you are talking about a steel motorcycle wheel, it is a wire wheel, or at least a wheel that is very lightly built, correct? If so, then be aware that ordinary chrome-plating will make wire wheel spokes as brittle as glass! That's called hydrogen embrittlement, and is a result of improper plating techniques for that particular purpose--nobody worries about embrittlement in a large part such as a car's bumper, but on any stressed component, like your bike's wheels, it can be deadly--to you. The only proper way to plate a motor vehicle wheel or other stressed part of a vehicle is to have it "aircraft-spec" plated, which avoids your having to worry about the part(s) becoming embrittled. I doubt you want to do any hospital "sheet time", and certainly none of your relatives or friends want to read your obituary any time soon.

Now, after all this diatribe, it seems to me that $500 bucks per wheel isn't all that bad--you might take some comfort as well that the plating shop also likely has product liability insurance in place, just in case it's needed (and they'd better, if they are smart!).

Art Anderson

That type of chroming (know as hard chrome) is a completely different process and requires post plate honing or lapping. It is done by vacuum deposition and is not germane to the discussion of chromed bike parts. The chrome is depositied directly on the steel with no intervening layers of other metals.

you're making a lot more out of it then there is. i'm plating a rim. the container only needs to be as thin and high as the rim. so 3"x20. 2 gallons of bath. i would not plate spokes...stainless steel are cheap, lacing them up i know how to do. the caswell kit does the copper and triple chrome. people DO car bumpers with caswell kits. and it was 300 per wheel. but as heinlein said, pay attention to the experts when they tell you why something is impossible, then go ahead and do it.

I *WAS* being sarcastic in my last few comments... Yes, I'm sure there are many chrome plating outfits around - so you can find the best price.

Peteski

I *WAS* being sarcastic in my last few comments... Yes, I'm sure there are many chrome plating outfits around - so you can find the best price.

Peteski

gotcha...i'm thinking of taking a trip to mexico. a friend told me of some excellent platers charging 1/5 of us prices. i feel it a duty to help developing nations and their oppressed peoples.