Granted JT. But it's not like we're out there polishing the chrome every day or every weekend. And in this case he's got issues with that fork that in balance are going to be best dealt with by using some Simichrome or the Turtle wax stuff to get the damage down a little and smoothen it out as much as practical.

Outside of the realm of someone with an obessive compulsive order it's highly unlikely that anyone is going to polish off the chrome. As already mentioned it's pretty tough metal even if it is only that thick. Besides, if you know a plater then you already know that the chrome doesn't come out of the vat already mirror finished. They use lots of buffing wheels with more aggresive compounds than the super fine stuff found in the polishes. So the chrome has already been through the wringer.

Did he suggest anything more suitable for cleaning up the chrome? It's always nice to hear about options from someone that's actually in the field.

Trombone Al, if that bike spent much time on a roof rack in the "wrong" part of the country that may well explain the almost sandblasted look I see in the second picture. I can't help but wonder what the car looked like after the same amount of exposure.

If the bike really means a lot to you it may be an option to get the forks re-chromed.