Originally Posted by
Captain Blight
Well, Mercian is said to know a thing or two about framebuilding as well, Olly. I suppose it depends on where one puts one's priorities. I can very much see where an aggressive polisher could take too much metal off and significantly weaken a bike. On the other hand, the chromed forks lowers just look *so* pretty....
It's truly a matter of getting a plater that will listen to your request(s). There are certain things they love to do - like grind, fill and polish. But if they know they can't go crazy, because beyond-repair is devastating rather than what they're used to, they can pull off a lot. My guy has to be reminded that these 50-130 year old pieces can't be replaced, and special care has to be taken; tubes can't be ground, filling has to be done carefully and with attention. Everyone has a claim to this or that, and while some sense can be made, I would argue about tubes being too thin to plate, especially these days.
I guarantee there are high number ( > 531), thin walled Reynolds frames and forks out there with chrome, just as there are plenty of Italian thin-walled frames with it.