The frame looked like it had...
The frame looked like it had been dragged down the road and was a major eyesore.
Fashions come and go in the custom scene, but there's one stalwart finish that everyone loves-chrome plating. If we had to make a list of the top fifty things that made America great, there's probably only one industrial metal finishing process in there. Yes, chrome plating is as American as apple pie and obesity, and it's as popular now as it's ever been.
It was in the 1950s-just after the war-that this super-shiny finish first became popular. Whether it was pimping on a Chevy Bel Air or a Harley Panhead, chrome was the sign of a bright new future.
Fast-forward 60 years and chrome plating is as brilliant and popular as ever. Since the custom sportbike scene started loading the mirror-finish onto Japanese superbikes, the sky's the limit. Bikes with top-to-bottom chrome jobs or just a single small adornment are common at every bike meet across the globe.
Showing its age, the top triple...
Showing its age, the top triple tree definitely needed to be cleaned up.
The spread of chrome to the sportbike world has allowed firms like Classic Components in California to extended their business out from the traditional chopper and custom car market, and they're as happy plating a Honda CBR900RR frame as they are a set of Harley wheels-and that gave us an idea...
Our classic sportbike was in pretty good shape considering its 17-years of service, but the frame was showing serious wear and tear and the swingarm's previous polish job was rather half-assed. To get everything looking as clean and neat as it deserved we first stripped the bike down and sent the parts off to Classic Components.
The Basics
Chrome plating is pretty simple if you remember any of your high school chemistry. When a metal item is placed in a special solution containing dissolved chrome, then has an electrical charge passed across it, the chrome is deposited out of the solution and onto the metal surface. Gradually, you get a thin, but perfectly pure, shiny layer of chrome plated onto the base metal component (see 'Electrickery' sidebar).
As in life, it's not as simple in practice, and there are a few steps to achieve the perfect chrome finish.
1.) Strip Down
When the parts arrive at Classic Components they are immediately engraved with a code to assure your parts are accounted for and able to be tracked.
Once that's done it's important to have a good surface to work with. Plating chrome onto a dented, rough or chipped base will only give you a shiny, dented, rough or chipped final result. So the guys at Classic Components begin by stripping off the old paint (or rust) with paint stripping chemicals down to the bare metal. The surface is then prepared by wire brushing and buffing it smooth, before it's thoroughly rinsed clean.
2.) Nickel Time
Once the operator is satisfied with the surface preparation, the plating begins. Oddly, the first layer of plating isn't chrome at all, but nickel. It's a dull base that simply helps the copper stick, but it's essential for a solid end result.
3.) Copper Bottom
Next up is a layer of copper. This acts as a filler layer, smoothing out small imperfections and filling in any hollows in the surface. It's another crucial step in making a mirror-smooth base for the final chrome plating to be deposited onto.
4.) Chrome
Finally we get the chrome layer. This last layer is crucial to the finished look, so the platers must pay close attention. The parts are wired up again and dipped into tanks of special chemicals.
Chroming tanks are pretty nasty places and feature a variety of poisonous chemicals. But it's all worth it when your frame, swingarm, wheels and triple-trees come shimmering out of the tank for their final rinse and polish.