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Chroming... Why so expensive??

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lcfc:


  I know bright zinc when i see it as opposed to chrome, bath taps are not zinc.

  Dealing with nasty chems.... thats the job it is, unavoidable whoever, wherever it done.

  Waste products and the disposal of them............ they all got the same problem.

  Cheap nasty chrome job only fit for the lucky bag........nah! this bike was the nuts looking with a deep looking sunglasses inducing shine.

   Yes there is the bulk contract bread and butter stuff that keeps them going, and i understand why that is done for a fraction of the cost for a one off part like a bike frame, but that dont seem to me to be able to justify the extreme cost that they charge.........in my opinion, but i am often wrong.

MartyC:
Well, my local chrome platers are a family run business and I went to school with both of the older boys and tbh I have asked about bike frames and the simple answer is that unless you have the tubes and fiddly bits (brake bridges, bottom brackets, headtube gussets) properly cleaned up and highly polished they cannot guarantee a high quality finish.  They also find BMX frames difficult because they are small, tubing is close together (seat stays, bb, etc) and makes it hard work to get an even chrome finish at a cost that punters find acceptable.  20 years ago they were chroming heaps of bike frames but today and maybe thanks to China the work isn't there so the cost increases as these are one-off jobs for them and they are time consuming.

Most of the cheap stuff you have seen chromed is polished tubing which has been polished before any welding, etc has been done.  There was a good thread posted by Ed at ColoredTuffs when he was asked if Skyway are going to chrome any of the 25th Anniversary TA's; he responded saying unlikely as the tubing was not polished enough for a good base to chrome over, says it all really.

brass monkey!:
I with the guys on this one, you get what ya pay for;

Also you need to consider; Quality, Economies of Scale, helath & safety etc.., we're only going to get one-off's done and they need to be best quality for show. Don't expect your local chromer to do a show chrome job for chinese prices…..it ain't gonna happen ! The cost of shgipping the bulk far east stuff is cheap, all transported by boats owned by Chinese conglomorates - they can do everything cheaper. Blieve me ! I work in the Automotive manufacuring industry, we're moving all of our sites from Western Europe to the likes of China, India, and even Slovakia and Turkey - labours costs, BOM's etc are all so much cheaper !

I did still manage to get a pair of Landing Gear Forks show chromed for £20 (But that was a favour from a mate), inc all the process that Dan described above.

meticulous:
some people always want a perfect job done cheaply, expecting some self employed man, with all his insurance and rates to pay, to work for £100 a day, maybe the same as what they get employed. a plumber or a joiner wants £200 a day, and generaly wants £50 to knock on your front door,  but us refinishing guys, whatever it may be, car bodywork or chroming,most people dont realise how much skill and time it takes to do a near perfect job.

Bob_Acid:

--- Quote from: kirk on February 13, 2008, 07:28 AM --- bloke who gets paid a bag of beans a day, who lives in a shed
--- End quote ---

These people just don't know when thay have it good  :buck2:

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