+1 on Dr. Deltron, he knows his stuff.

As for the choming, that depends on what you are chroming. The most important rule of chroming is garbage in, garbage out. The surface MUST be bare metal and polished smooth, chroming doesn't cover defects, it amplifies them. The problem of bikes (over car parts) is their odd shape and relative fragility (I don't know if that is a real word). It is very very difficult to manipilate a frame on a buffing wheel.

Also, it is best to plate with copper before the chrome, it fills the defects and buffs smooth. As for price, I would guess a fly-by-night place would charge about $300 for a frame and a good job could run up to $1,000.