Originally Posted by
pierce
I'd expect it would be considerably easier to polish a glass beaded surface than raw steel, as half the work has been done for you already, especially on a complex shape full of nooks and crannies, like a bicycle frame. in fact, I bet if you copper plated over the glass beading, THEN polished, then nickel and chrome over that, you'd get a great surface.
I wanted to get some forks re-chromed ages ago, and found out from the local Harley custom shops that it would have to be sent to Nevada or Wyoming, as noone in California did decent chrome anymore. said <bleep> it, went with sandblasting and powder coating, was less hassle.
A good plating shop will typically NOT want to owner to attempt to do half his job for him. He will want to clean and prep. BTW: Sandblasting thin wall anything will likely destroy it. Save sandblasting for car frames and bridge steel. Today the methods, if using blasting at all, is media blasting with Soda, walnut shells, plastic beads, etc. Cheaper, cleaner, doesn't ruin the item, etc.