dukebluedevil

Hi, first post here.

I may have on hand a lugged steel frame. I love the polished lugs look and currently weighing up options on how to achieve this for my frame.

So far i've read here, is to chrome the parts I need "polished", mask the chromed parts and spray the rest. But paint don't stick well to chrome, and I might powdercoat this frame, so that may complicate things.

Second option is to polish the lugs with a dremel tool, finish it, mask it, then spray. But then again I read that you shouldn't polish anything that's not stainless as rust might be an issue.

Can you guys help me out with this thought process? Much appreciated.

WNG

The 'polished' lugs look is actually chrome. And the only satisfactory way to achieve a lasting finish is to put a stripped frame through a nickel-chrome bath. The chromed finish is applied first before painting.
Anything you wish to stay chrome is masked off. I think you can powdercoat over chrome. Since the chrome layer will conduct and provide the electrostatic charge.

Try to locate a chroming shop. They do a lot of automotive restoration, custom motorcycle parts.
Best to provide the frame and fork stripped down to bare metal. Or you will be charged for the strip work.

Lamplight

From my understanding, chroming a bicycle frame involves polishing the steel, then plating in layers of copper, nickel, and then chrome. Apparantly some nickel plating is good enough so that the copper is not needed. Regardless, it would be very pretty and very, very expensive.

PaintIt

Chrome would be the best way to achieve this look and it can be painted with no issues if done properly. The steel actually has to be perfectly polished before it is chromed as any imperfections in the steel will be in the chrome. Copper is used in show chrome and is really just a fillr that is smashed into the metal after palting to fill imperfections. Most frames do ot have any copper under the nickel in my experience. 2 types of nickle are generally used to control corrosion and then the chrome is applied. You could expect to spend $150.00 and up to have the lugs prepped and then the whole frame usuallygets chromed but the lugs are the only pretty part. Stell can be polished and then clearcoated but it only lasts for a few years before rusting.

Scooper

Lamplight and PaintIt have is right; chrome plating a bike is very labor intensive (polishing the bare steel to a mirror finish), then nickel plating, and finally chrome plating. After all of that, the frame has to be baked for several hours to relieve hydrogen embrittlement. Also, there are evironmental laws that have caused many platers to just fold up shop. In any case, to do a decent job is very expensive.

CyclArt has a very good write-up on the process HERE, and it includes what's required just to plate the lugs (basically, much of the frame around the lugs has to be plated as well, then the lugs are masked as the frame is painted).

stronglight

A decent powder coating service can provide some very good faux-chrome finishes. There are in fact a few different siver tones I've seen used. The powder coater does need to know what they are doing though, since the silver metal finishes have to be baked (literally) for just the right amount of time (less than the usual full duration) or the silver finish begins to darken a bit. So, I'd ask if the the company has had good success with this finish. From what I've seen, the silver finishes typically used on alloy or even steel auto or motorcycle wheels has come out looking very good. Perhaps not quite as bright and shiny in the sun as true chrome, but still very nice. A final clear-coating is usually needed to keep the brighter silver finishes from "tarnishing".

Best of all... it's relatively inexpensive and powdercoating tends to fill in flaws and irregularities in a frame MUCH better than any other finish, either plated or enamel.

_ Bob

This is part of someone's motorcycle frame on one powder coater's website.

dukebluedevil

goodness. the process of chroming sounds, expensive. thanks for the link, very helpful. now, to do a cost-benefit analysis

PaintIt

looking at the part post I would bet that is bare metal with clear powdercoat on it. Look at the welds, you can see all of the detail and powder coating is thick and hides detail like that. I have seen some pretty good metal like finishes in powder though.

repechage

cost review will show buy a chrome or chrome lugged Paramount or Raleigh International. There are others that have chrome lugs from the mfg.

Bright and shiney equates to damn the cost. girls like those sparkely objests too, and Christmas is coming.

Scooper

repechage gets it.

Grand Bois

Does anybody remember the PX10 with the leafed Nervex lugs posted a while back?

J T CUNNINGHAM

If indeed you do deside to 'plate', don't 'fool around', with 'bumper platers',

get a 'bike plater'; they know all of the 'in's & out's', on how to do a proper job.

Also, 'baking', out the hydrogen may just be more important than the chrome job !


Regards,
J T

dukebluedevil

woops. too late. the frame is already in my hands, an old repainted Carrera Volans. And due to injury I can't work on the frame myself and will have to pay from stage one of the process, not good.

And I would agree with the suggestion of getting an already chrome lugged frame. It would generally be cheaper than going through the whole process of chroming-masking-painting/powdercoat.