I remember reading about this trick a few years ago when I was working on an old Nishiki, and there were some people saying that it's just an illusion because the aluminum foil flakes off onto the metal and gives the appearance of chrome but will soon fall away. But I figured the total investment in finding out (including the initial cost of the Nishiki) was about $25, so why not try it?





As you can see, I was left with some pitting. I'm not sure if you avoided that on the Raleigh or the photo just doesn't show it. I don't really notice it on the Nishiki looking directly at it. I didn't do anything to it afterwards and three years later (including a couple of rides in the rain), it still looks good.