Not at all! I sought advice and this is what I got. I probably knew inside of me that this wasn't the right occasion, but needed someone to tell me!

If you're looking for a rider, you could remove the rust in many different ways then have it powder coated. But I think the appeal on this frame is the sexy chrome. Rechroming would be very expensive.

Well beaten, but here's some stuff I've run into.
Poor preparation/cleaning or chrome work sets a frame up for finish failure like that.
Some builders omit triple chrome plating - copper, nickle and chrome and try to flash chrome, or chrome over copper. Italians seem to do this on lesser bikes, though I've seen it many places.
Storage in a pool shed or garage next to the pool maintenance chemicals will set it off quickly, yup, even over a couple months.
Some manufacturers buy their forks from a fork builder. I've seen a lot of original and replacement forks that have better chrome finish than the rest of the bike.

Just buy it!

Can you get the seller down to a price where the condition is no longer an issue? If so, grab it for what it is, then go over the rear triangle with fine bronze wool to find out if you've lucked out.

In the worst of cases, you've satisfied your curiosity and have a groupset to spare for another build - or a commuter beater of your grail bike to suffice until a nicer one comes along.

-Kurt

Perhaps the OP could give the seller a link to this thread?

It comes down to price, price and price.

The bike has been very poorly cared for and looks to be worth perhaps a couple of hundred dollars, tops.
Sellers bonus is knowing the bike is going to someone who really appreciates this particular model of bike (like few others would).

I've "saved" and ridden many bikes in similar rough condition. But generally such bikes came to me for free, or for a nominal parts cost of well under $200.

The logo reminds me of "Cycle-Pro," which IIRC was a North American company that contracted out for the components and accessories they marketed. I believe the hubs were re-branded from Miche.

I am a real fan of chromed forks and stays. I once looked into re-chroming of a fork. The 2 shops I spoke with while very experienced with auto and motorcycles parts, were very reluctant to work of thin gauge tubing since if there was lifted chrome due to erosion or pitting, that they would not be able to remove all the oxidation or pitting and the new plating might have a rough appearance. Additionally, they also recommend (for cars and motorcycles that are used), that unless a part is absolutely not replaceable, a new replica part is probably a more cost effective bet.

A frame builder told me back in the 1980s that chroming lost favor due to environmental concerns and also that cheaply chromed frames could develop oxidation from improper post-chroming processes and could result in corrosion at brazed areas.

I also know that both chroming and nickle plating can be adversely affected by what would appear to be protective or cleaning treatment chemicals that will leach into pinholes in the plating and actually begin to compromise the bonding of the chrome and underlaying treatments of metal, causing flaking.

Bronze wool is one of the best ways to keep chrome plating on items looking new as it does not scratch the harder chrome. Just make sure the chrome gets a good coat of pure wax after use. I have used bronze wool for many purposes, especially deep sea and surf fishing fishing reel parts. I have reels pushing 60 years old that still work and look like new, even though the guts are all replacements.

Ha, This is always an acceptable answer. I am actually a big fan of ratty bikes. You don't mind using them, i.e. riding the snot out of them or locking them up at a bike rack.

OP, your original questions were implying that you wanted to "fix" the rust on the chrome. But if you just want to own your dream bike and you can tolerate some less than perfect chrome and as long as there isn't substantial rust on the inside, you can ride it for many years like that and really enjoy the bike.

jonny7

You mentioned "400 kilometers", so perhaps you dwell in the great white north?

I believe ​​​​​​bertinjim recently had a fork re-chromed in the Thorold area. I can't recall if he told me what that cost so perhaps he can offer his thoughts since Canadian prices are usually much above 🇺🇸 prices. He does not accept second best on his bikes (unlike me) so if he had it done it would've been well done.
Fyi there is a 61cm Marinoni Ciclo on St. Catherine's kijiji right now for the low, low price of $1,500 to put this one in perspective. The kijiji listing has paint chip but no obvious rust issues. If you can talk seller to realistic number maybe Marinoni might re-paint....??

Does look like a Maillard 700 sticker under that though.

-Kurt

I do ! And I've done a bit of research today. From what I found, shops are (understandly) more likely to refuse to re-chrome when rust like this has appeared. In a normal situation, when the bike is in good shape, it seems like a rear triangle can cost ~250 and a fork ~150.

With the rest of the bike being in pretty nice condition, what I'd do is go for a chrome-like paint job on the rear stays.
Wouldn't be perfect but does no harm, and will maintain the original presentation while looking OK from five steps away.
Do it yourself, or find a local wet painter for a more professional job.

I've dealt with worse chrome then this and it looks like surface to me. Depending on where you live there are options these days. 1) Hydro Dipped Chrome 2) Chrome powder coating, though not quite as good as the real thing but looks good.