Re-chrome a Colnago fork?

[zoom2zoom]

Is there a good place to re-chrome a vintage Colnago fork?

I am located in northern va?

Around what price range is the project?

[Louis]

Google or use the yellow pages in your area to look up "metal plating." There are sure to be several. From what I hear, doing chrome is a messy job.

[Vientomas]

I had a Colnago fork re-chromed by a local plater. They did a good job. However, the finish was so thick I had to sand down the drop outs to get the axle in and the crown race split when it was installed. You might inquire about the thickness of the plating.

[Louis]

the finish was so thick I had to sand down the drop outs to get the axle in and the crown race split when it was installed

So they plated the whole thing, including the steerer tube? Would it have been possible to do only the legs and the crown, but "tape off / protect" or somehow stop before you got to the crown race seat?

[zoom2zoom]

Around what price range? I had a Colnago fork re-chromed by a local plater. They did a good job. However, the finish was so thick I had to sand down the drop outs to get the axle in and the crown race split when it was installed. You might inquire about the thickness of the plating.

[Vientomas]

So they plated the whole thing, including the steerer tube? Would it have been possible to do only the legs and the crown, but "tape off / protect" or somehow stop before you got to the crown race seat?

The lower half of the steerer tube was plated, the threads were spared! I don't know if taping or masking off an area is possible.

[Vientomas]

Around what price range?

It was a few years ago, but if memory serves, it was about $125.00. Not cheap.

[ultraman6970]

zoom2zoom... look years ago i wanted to chrome one of my bikes and I found a guy in MD... actually in one of the 270 exits... rockville... Kensington or so, but the issue he had was that he did not know if a bike was able to fit in the bath he uses because hi specialize in plating of small objects, maybe a fork fits but you have to talk to him.

This is the web site... you can get the number from there, when i called him he couldnt figure it out even how much to charge me to refinish a pair of chainstays because at that time he hadnt work in a single bike. Maybe he did, who knows... probably you will need to go there personally and figure it out with him. Better than sending the fork to richmond or in the middle of nowhere, this is the site. The guy at least was super cool when i talked to him a couple of years ago.

http://www.metroplating.com/index.html

In DC metro nobody does chroming because of the EPA and crap.

Pls let me/us know how it went because would be cool to have somebody doing chroming close you know.

[ultraman6970]

Forgot this, there is regular chroming, double plated and triple plated... the explanation is pretty obvious.

[Pete Mckeon]

Talk to Joe Bell in CA or Cyclearts...also Tom Kellogg from SPECTRUM cycles in PA probably knows a good one on east coast :)

[ShockTreatment]

Another excellent option is Velocolour in Toronto. A lot of folks from the DC area send work there. Going to a plater that is not familiar with bike frames is not a good idea.

http://velocolour.com/

Good plating is not cheap, and sometimes you can find a new fork or one in good condition for less money.

[Peter P.]

Your best bet is to send the fork to a bicycle refinisher and let them send it to whoever they subcontract for chroming. That subcontractor is likely already familiar with the special requirements of bicycles such as protecting threads, fork crowns, etc. You'll likely pay a higher price since you'll be going through the refinisher but I see it as a worthwhile price to pay.

So the suggestions above to contact Spectrum and Velocolor are good.

[zoom2zoom]

i did a quick search on ebay and found NOS forks for around $200.

maybe i will wait around to see if any used forks pop up here on the classifieds or CL.

in the mean time, can i do a quick silver spray paint on the current fork? or sand it down?

Another excellent option is Velocolour in Toronto. A lot of folks from the DC area send work there. Going to a plater that is not familiar with bike frames is not a good idea.

http://velocolour.com/

Good plating is not cheap, and sometimes you can find a new fork or one in good condition for less money.

[Andrewlcox]

Your best bet is to send the fork to a bicycle refinisher and let them send it to whoever they subcontract for chroming. That subcontractor is likely already familiar with the special requirements of bicycles such as protecting threads, fork crowns, etc. You'll likely pay a higher price since you'll be going through the refinisher but I see it as a worthwhile price to pay.

So the suggestions above to contact Spectrum and Velocolor are good.

+1 I would also recommend Eric Estlund. He might suggest letting him prepare it because the chrome shop may only like to dip and ship rather than take the time to prepare the piece like Eric would. The chrome work will only be as good as the prep work to the fork. If it isn't prepared perfectly, every imperfection deeper than a few microns will show through.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out,
Andy

[zoom2zoom]

just got response from Tom Kellogg:

"We can have it done but it is pretty expensive, like around 300.00, and it may take quite a while, like a number of months. "

I think i will keep the fork as is and ride it as is until i am able to find a used fork.

[wallymann]

he has some local guys that do GREAT work, know the special needs of BIKE chroming, and offer FAIR pricing.

http://majortaylorcycling.org/events/2012_zullo-maiden-voyage/P1010972.JPG

[ultraman6970]

1st thing you have to do is to get rid off the rust and then polish it again and might look better. The good thing is that doesnt look the fork is pitted or have chrome delamination problems. Maybe that rust is just superficial.

By the way, did you call the guy in kensington?? thats like 30 mins from where you are if you have a darn car.

Good luck.

[zoom2zoom]

thanks for all the information.. i will try about getting the rust off the fork first, if it doesnt work, i will contat the person in kensington

1st thing you have to do is to get rid off the rust and then polish it again and might look better. The good thing is that doesnt look the fork is pitted or have chrome delamination problems. Maybe that rust is just superficial.

By the way, did you call the guy in kensington?? thats like 30 mins from where you are if you have a darn car.

Good luck.

[Hindmost]

Contact a plating shop to see what the costs are. They will want to batch your fork with other parts to reduce costs. The automotive guys do a triple plating: copper, nickle, chrome. The parts are hung in a tank during plating so the steer tube is usually partially plated near the bottom; means the crown has to be re-faced for the crown race. If the fork blades have those little vent holes they will need to have the acid rinsed out.

The less expensive route would be to get the fork stripped of chrome and to paint it. Stops the rust and looks ok.

[Pars]

A chrome shop in Illinois was given a good writeup on BF:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/844098-Forks-rechromed-by-the-Blues-Brothers-in-Rock-Island-Ill?highlight=chrome

They seem to be pretty reasonably priced as well.

[Ahneida Ride]

Mr. Bedford or Mr. Wages could build a fork out of KVA Stainless.

Polished stainless = better then chrome.

(just a suggestion ..... ) :)

[jet sanchez]

I had a chrome Colnago Precisa fork re-chromed at Mayfair Plating in Toronto for $60. They didn't think it was a big deal to do it all and had it done within four days.

[zoom2zoom]

i just got an email from Mayfair for $65 CAD

will be sending the fork off for re-chroming.

I had a chrome Colnago Precisa fork re-chromed at Mayfair Plating in Toronto for $60. They didn't think it was a big deal to do it all and had it done within four days.

[cnighbor1]

you could have plater simply remove old chrome
than sand fork smooth (very smooth for re chroming) and paint it yellow to match color on frame or blue or white

[ultraman6970]

For les than 100 bucks shipping included to canada is good price IMO. I would call locally and see how it goes tho.

The SS tubing fork somebody suggested is a good idea too.

[mistermo]

I've sent two Merckx forks to Allan Wanta who had them re-chromed. He has a source, I didn't ask. Both came back looking NOS. Price was more than OP has been quoted by Mayfair, but not outrageous in my view.

http://mistermo.smugmug.com/Cycling/Merckx-7-Eleven/i-qNkNFMV/0/L/IMGP6087-L.jpg (http://mistermo.smugmug.com/Cycling/Merckx-7-Eleven/25404266_m5ZK95#!i=2090591287&k=qNkNFMV&lb=1&s=A)

[zoom2zoom]

this is what happens with a $7.00 bottle of Naval Jelly and 2 hours in the garage can do...

i was able to remove about 80% of rust on the fork (the red on the fork is my sweatshirt of the reflection), which is good enough for my commute ride.

[Buzz Killington]

I had my Ibis Scorcher fork re-chromed by www.barchromeplating.com. It came out great. They're in CT.

[AgilisMerlin]

oops scratch post. just looked above

just hit it with jelly every year

[ispy]

Interesting if somewhat long article (http://www.bicyclefixation.com/50buckbike.html)by Gina Morey and Richard Risemberg of Los Angeles' Bicycle Fixation blog, about their experience completely chroming a Miyata. Everything went beautifully except for a slight structural crack in the head tube resulting from the thickness of the chrome. Despite this, the finished bike is still ridden frequently (I've seen it in person) and a beauty.

[ultraman6970]

Told you the chrome looked kind'a ok. When you have pits and delamination there is no way to fix the chrome.

this is what happens with a $7.00 bottle of Naval Jelly and 2 hours in the garage can do...

i was able to remove about 80% of rust on the fork (the red on the fork is my sweatshirt of the reflection), which is good enough for my commute ride.

[Highgear]

Senior MemberJoin Date

I know this is a old thread, but anyone can find it doing a Google search for "chromium bicycle fork". Just wanted to pass a great experience I had with a plater here in Connecticut, Meriden to be exact. This name was given to me by a Mercedes buff that had work done. I can't say enough for the work they did. This fork was well masked to protect the crown race and given a triple plate job. That is a buffing of the steel, a coat of copper and buffed, a coat of nickel and then the chrome. You end up with a smooth mirror finish. I did all my business through the mail due to time restraints. For the job they did for $15 for stripping and $50 for the triple plate job is a great value in my eyes. Give them a shot.
http://www.barchromeplating.com/site/32d4a67bdd724b89a71256484fc4a857/default?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbarchromeplating.com%2FCo ntact.html#2831

[ultraman6970]

How much did you pay ????

[zmudshark]

Amazing prices. Did they bake the fork to address hydrogen embrittlement issues after plating?

I am not a frame builder or metallurgist, but from the tiny bit I know, this is a concern, especially with the alloys used in bicycles.

Perhaps one of the smart people can chime in?

[cbresciani]

I wonder if this suff might work.

http://http://www.eastwood.com/ew-liquid-chrome.html?reltype=3 (http://www.eastwood.com/ew-liquid-chrome.html?reltype=3)

[ultraman6970]

That thing it is a paint type of chrome... I would use that for a cromobelatto paint job, way better and faster than painting over real chrome, more durable too.