Thanks for the encouragement and compliments, everyone. I'm extremely happy with it. Next step is to upgrade my locks..my u-bolted cruddy black Trek got stolen last year, I don't even want to think about *that* kind of attention that I'm going to be dealing with now (this is Chicago, after all, where messengers and the fixed-gear crowd have no qualms discussing what they've wrenched off of poorly-secured bikes). My friend got the rusty rear wheel stolen from a '72 Schwinn Varsity.

Anyway, if anyone comes across one of these bikes and wants to do see what's underneath the paint, this was my method (no guarantees offered or implied):

I got a can of "Klean-Strip Premium Stripper" in an aerosol can from Home Depot. After removing/covering vital components, I just sprayed this stuff on (pretty sticky, good at not running), and the paint and decals just bubbled up and I was able to scrape them off with a plastic scraper within a minute or two. The way this stuff ate paint, you could really just wipe the residue off with a rag or towel (wear good gloves, obviously). Very fast. I had the paint off and the bike reassembled in an hour and a half.

I don't know much from chrome, but it looked great straight away. I did apply a coat of Mother's Chrome Polish that I got from Pep Boys, which did shine it up noticeably.

I'm very glad that the Raleigh headbage was in good shape when I bought this bike. It's really the only ornamentation now; perfect. I'll probably start telling girls it's a custom job.