Re-chrome parts

Does anyone have any experience getting parts re-chromed?

some pieces I’m thinking about:
Crash bars
Exhaust
Decorative pieces on the side of airbox
Fenders
Handlebars
Carb hats

what kind of results did you get? Was it expensive? Are there things they won’t refinish?

 

i've had loads done, mainly small pieces, but it soon mounts up, think i spent about £200 GBP ,on the cafe racer.
i doubt they would do the mufflers ,unless they strip down, as theyre too mucky for the chroming tanks
but the quality of my local re-chroming place is far better than the aftermarket stuff.

 

Sucess depends largely on the quality of the surface. The surface needs to be stripped, sanded and polished until its near-perfect. The chrome platers do all the hard work, but its dirty, labour intensive work and involves carcinogenic chemicals therefore expensive. Crash bars and handlebars are relatively straightforward, I've always had success with them. XJ carb hats normally have rust pitting, and the pitting is difficult to remove. The finished surface is likely to remain pitted without considerable effort and cost. Exhaust headers are ok to chrome however the silencers will need the baffles to be removed. Unless your silencers are in outstanding condition, I'd consider replacing them.
Are the decorative pieces near the air box steel or plastic? If they are steel there's no problem. If they are alloy, it will need to be pre-plated with copper. I've had alloy chromed, but its expensive and tricky. If the pieces are plastic, you may have a problem. I don't know anyone who can suessfully chrome plastic although it must be possible.