yeah the chrome doesnt have to be off, but scratching it does work. I mentioned that in a post before and somebody said scratching it doesnt help. but oh well. yeah, i painted my forks and bars (almost typed bras) and the forks are still perfectly good. the bars are messed up cuz i always drop my bike, but yeah. if you scratch the paint off at any time, just paint over it. i did that with my forks and my bars and the paint seems to stick more after you paint over it.