Thought this might be of interest, from YouTuber RideswithChuck: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsxd4oovvBg
Cool video, but they aren't exactly secrets anymore. I want to know what he charged; I counted many hours in my head watching all the steps.
The question I have whenever I see some one going through the plating process is what are they rinsing the parts with? Looks like water but they're rinsing the parts off over the solution vats, wouldn't the water, if that's what it is, delute the chemicals? How often do the chemicals need to be changed and what is done with the old chemicals?
Props for putting this on here, read the basic process before but nothing like see it first hand. Only wish we had chromers where I live. EPA ran them all away, now all we have are the spray chrome variety.
That's like wishing every hot rod and custom ever built was ridler award quality. These guys in the video are top end and very expensive. They take 5 units of extra time into a part to make it 2 units better in final quality. If that's what the customer wants and is willing to pay for, more power to them. If you are not referring to the aesthetic quality of the plating, and only to the durability and proper adhesion of the plating, then I completely agree with you. Thin and/or peeling plating being pawned off as good is ridiculous, and there is plenty of that available today. To answer the question about water spray diluting the solutions: Yes it is water. Given the top-shelf nature of this particular shop, its probably de-ionized water. The tanks are constantly heated to various high temps, so the water sprayed into them actually replenishes what is being lost in evaporation. Even with the spray rinse, they likely still add water regularly to keep the levels up.
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