Suzuki 2 Strokes

Hello
I have been getting items chromed as I'm restoring a T250 and a couple of items such as the rear and front light feel rough under the chrome. The chromer in question does not triple chrome he did give me some technical jargon why he doesnt but I'm a little concerned that I will regret it later. I still need the exhausts chromed so I'm in a dilema whether to get these triple chromed plus I have been advised that if there triple chromed I might lose the original writing on the exhausts.

Any advice would be welcomed from forum members.

Paul

Like all finishing processes the end result is mostly dependent on the quality of the underlying surface. So not knowing the state of the parts you gave him was. If they were pitted unless you put a lot of effort in to removing the pits they still will be there a evident under the new plating. To remove the pits you either grind and polish the metal back or fill them in then polish it smooth. On tinware the base metal is thin so grinding back often results in holes or paper thin sections with no structural integrity. Small areas can be built up with weld then ground and polished but its not practical for large areas and the risk of heat distortion high.

The advantage of triple plating is the copper layer can be built up quite thick quickly, and it tends to preferentially plate into the pits filling them in. Think of it like hi-build primer in painting. Polish it smooth (like blocking primer) and you have a great surface on which to put down the nickel and chrome which give the color an luster.

Down side is copper is expensive so your going to pay for copper consumed and the extra time in the plating bath, polishing etc.

So there is probably nothing wrong with the plating you got, put perhaps a more expensive triple plate job would have given a better outcome. Of course there is the potential your are feeling bubbles under the plate from de-lamination (its not sticking to the metal) which would be a concern and indication of a bad plating job.

I used http://www.marquerestore.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for mudguards and bigger items they triple plate and put extra thick copper down but the results was fantastic, but I paid for that workmanship but have no regrets about that.

AK66