Hot Rods Chrome on aluminum

Why can some aluminum not be chrome plated. I have windshield stanchions that would not take chrome. Excellent plater tried a couple times and it would not stick. Had to settle for polished

 

He wasn't so excellent, was he? I've got some cast aluminum parts I had plated a decade ago and they still look great. They were cast in 356 aluminum. Plated with a first layer of copper. Did your guy use copper?

 

Advanced platting did mine with no problems. HRP

 

There are many different aluminum alloys. Which one are your stanchions made from?



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I have had so called impossible aluminium parts plated. Prepare and polish, then nickel which will stick to the aluminium, then copper and polishing, then nickel again and finally chrome. My parts were poor quality cast windscreen posts on the T bucket in my avatar. They got linished and welded a couple of times before this process. The guy who supplied them told me they will never chrome properly, better to paint them. All the chrome on this car still looks great 10 years later.

 

being a lazy ****** that i am, i wanted my alloy intake and rocker covers chromed to avoid continual polishing....but the plater guy advised against it.
so i hand sanded with wet and dry to a reasonably smooth surface and then had then ceramic coated and could not be happier....just a wipe over with mr sheen furniture polish,as well as all the chrome and it all sparkles....
cost wise much the same as chrome

 

my parts are cast welded to fabricated