Chrome plating motorcycle parts is a beautiful, durable way to instantly customize and change the look of your bike.

As I wrote about in the motorcycle chrome article, chrome plating your motorcycle accessories is a popular way to dress up your beloved scooter, but the thought of removing parts from your ride and trusting them to someone else may seem unsettling to some, especially if your motorycle is like a member of the family. (YOU know who you are! :-)

If you have a chrome plating shop that you trust, don't keep them to yourself, share the love!

To get a quality job for chrome plating motorcycle parts, there are a few things to keep in mind about the shop you want to use:

Experience

I want the company handling my parts to be experienced at chrome plating motorcycle parts. Plating has a huge learning curve and can be a fairly expensive.

Use a chrome plater who will get it right the FIRST time. The bigger the job, the more important your plater's experience is.

Exchange?

One option for chrome plating your parts is exchange. In other words, if you send the plater a Hayabusa swing arm, they'll send you a chromed Hayabusa swing arm back, but it won't be YOUR part.

Other platers carefully track and plate your parts, returning your original parts back to you. This can work well either way. Exchanging may be the only option if you're extremely pressed for time. Me? I'd rather have my own parts back.

Type of Chrome

There are two types of chrome. I won't go into the chemistry here, but the two types are hexavalent and trivalent.

Both are very similar in terms of chemistry and offering protection for your bike. Trivalent is being used more now because it is increasingly difficult to get licensed with all the EPA restrictions for hexavalent chrome.

Hexavalent, however is a brighter, whiter show quality chrome more traditionally sought after for chrome plating motorcycle parts.

Copper buffing step

Copper buffing is a step that's bypassed by some platers to save costs, but you definitely want a plater that copper buffs (and one that uses copper). This is an important step to help with pitting issues your parts may have.

(Cast parts are made with very fine sand, and it is normal for some very small pieces of sand to disengage from the part, and leave little pinholes a.k.a. ‘pits’.) Copper is a soft metal that, when buffed, will fill in much of the pitting you may have on your wheels and parts.

Warranty

Does your plater stand behind their work? When chrome plating motorcycle parts it's important to make sure the plater offers a warranty.

Get a better idea of what goes on at the chorme platers by reading my chrome plating process article.

Suggested Projects

Winners of bike shows get to the top of the podium by paying attention to details. Don't overlook these areas of your bike when chrome plating motorcycle parts.

• Brake Hardware (Calipers, discs, master cylinders)
• Chrome Motorcycle Wheels
• Timing Covers
• Swing Arm
• Triple Tree
• Frame
• Kickstand
• Foot Pegs (expecially passenger)
• Fenders
• Derby Cover
• Handlebar hardware (controls, clamps, etc.)
• Headlight / Taillight Hardware
• Nuts and Bolts
• Fork Legs
• Dash covers, inserts and panels

Since most of these projects will require vital parts to be removed from your bike, the best time to do chrome plating motorcycle parts projects is the winter offseason.

A good motorcycle plater will get very busy starting in late December or early January. Getting your parts in before the holidays is great timing.

If you live where it's warm and don't have a "convenient" winter off season to have your chroming done, don't even THINK about asking me to be sympathetic! ;-)

Checklist for successful Chrome Plating Motorcycle Parts projects.

• Keep your new chrome clean, clean, clean. Dirt is the biggest foe of chrome. You can use baby shampoo and water and wax occasionally with a paste wax. Fancy cleaners and polishes are generally not recommended, and many can even harm your chrome. I’ve had excellent results for years with Simichrome Polish .
• Use an experienced plater.
• Get your own parts back if possible.
• For best looking chrome, choose a shop that uses hexavalent chrome.
• Always use a plater that includes a step for copper buffing.
• Ask the plating shop to warranty their work.

Have you used a Chrome Plating Motorcycle Shop that scores high on the above test? Then give them a plug and share your review with other motorcycle customizers reading this page. You can even share a photo of your pride and joy. We'd love to see it!