Fork rechroming

Rhubarbray

Rhubarbray

Joined
Feb 27, 2019
Messages
195
Age
58
Location
Ottawa, ON
Bike
'04 ST1300,
New to me ST13 has some rust on the fork chrome which Im going to have to address. Im looking at getting the legs re-hardchromed but for some reason nearly all the facilities are in the UK?! Has anyone gotten theirs redone? Some of the places are claiming an accuracy of + or - .005". Im an aircraft mechanic but also a machinist. .005" is NOT what Id call close tolerance. You should be able to get .0005" on a centreless grinder no problem. Im wondering if the legs come out on the upper end of the tolerance if theyll even fit in the lower fork bush?

I`ve seen a new pair of legs offshore online for a reasonable price but not sure of quality/ fit/finish/ etc.
 
I'm guessing since you're a machinist you've already tried the obvious surface cleanup with something like fine steel wool and that didn't resolve the issue? We don't get much rust around here (except at the beach) so I'm not sure what "some rust" means where you live, probably more than I'm used to seeing around here.
 
Ive cleaned up the surface with steel wool and wd-40 and its gotten rid of the staining and high points and most of the pits arent in the normal range of travel. An emergency brake might bring me into that range. Google " rust pitted forks" and look for the milder cases, that would be mine. Ive got/had a few bikes and never had rust so I can only assume the bike had sat somewhere for a while. Theyre not leaking but I know its going to bother me knowing they`re rusted.
 
I tried to do a re-chrome on the stations of my ‘76 Yamaha XS650C and really couldn’t find anyone around here that would/could do it.

I eventually opted for a new set and they only cost me about $179 CDN (which is about $12.45 USD at the present rate of exchange I think).

I think the problem is the environmentally nasty chemicals that are required and it seems that there are few chrome shops left anymore.
 
You can get lightly rusted chrome surprisingly clean by scrubbing with chrome polish on wadded aluminum foil.
 
Rhubarbray said:
I[ ICODE ]ve cleaned up the surface with steel wool and wd-40 and it[ /ICODE ]s gotten rid of the staining and high points and most of the pits aren[ ICODE]t in the normal range of travel. An emergency brake might bring me into that range. Google " rust pitted forks" and look for the milder cases, that would be mine. I[ /ICODE ]ve got/had a few bikes and never had rust so I can only assume the bike had sat somewhere for a while. They[ ICODE ]re not leaking but I know it[ /ICODE ]s going to bother me knowing they`re rusted.
Click to expand...
Geeze it was driving me nuts trying to figure out why the two typefaces. Pesky apostrophes.
 
Most of the chrome plating shops around here have closed due to environmental regulations and the high cost of treating their waste water for heavy metals (copper and chrome, among others). Only the big shops with large accounts can afford to treat the water as necessary and they generally do not take retail/small jobs.
 
ST Gui said:
Geeze it was driving me nuts trying to figure out why the two typefaces. Pesky apostrophes.
Click to expand...
Oh! So that's the reason. It wasn't driving me nuts, more like furious as these old eyes simply can't read that small typeface. :old1:
 
ST Gui said:
Geeze it was driving me nuts trying to figure out why the two typefaces. Pesky apostrophes.
Click to expand...

Is that what it is!!? I thought it was just something on my computer that nobody else can see. Glad someone pointed it out, now I'll see what's causing it.
 
MaxPete said:
I tried to do a re-chrome on the stations of my ‘76 Yamaha XS650C and really couldn’t find anyone around here that would/could do it.

I eventually opted for a new set and they only cost me about $179 CDN (which is about $12.45 USD at the present rate of exchange I think).

I think the problem is the environmentally nasty chemicals that are required and it seems that there are few chrome shops left anymore.
Click to expand...
Dang, I’d be rich in Canada. o_O
 
Rhubarbray said:
Has anyone gotten theirs redone?
Click to expand...
Give these guys a call and ask them about doing your forks- Pollissage & Placage G.G.
They are just South of Montreal. They are very well known as being the premier motorcycle chrome plating shop in the greater Montreal area. Every Harley owner gets their chrome plating work done there. I had the forks of one of my previous bikes done there many years ago and I had no problems. Call and make arrangemnts well in advance of when you want them done. They have a strong reputation and as a result a huge demand for their services and a long lead time before they get to your parts. You can't drop them off and expect them back in a week.
 
Thanks. Something tells me I have used them in the past for rechroming my clip-ons for the Yamaha SRX600. But that`s decorative chrome over a copper and nickle base, not hardchromed which is a lot thicker.
 
Most of their business is indeed decorative chrome but they do both- or at least they used to. I had my fork uppers hard chrome done there but that was at least 20 years ago now- maybe they don't do hard chrome anymore.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom