It is true that the part to be re-plated (or powder coated) needs to be of a certain thickness/in good enough condition to withstand the process. In most cases the reason for re-plating is damage to the original finish; peeling chrome isn't too bad, but corrosion due to pitting/damage to the substrate is more serious and often involves aggressive sandblasting of the part to remove not only the original finish but the damaged base metal so a smooth surface is restored for the new plating. If the wall thickness of the part isn't sufficient to withstand this process, pinholes can be created in some parts like lug casings --other parts like hoops could end up with uneven edges/flange areas/tension rod holes, as well as other problems. Not as much of an issue with die-cast hoops, but a quality shop will want to inspect a part beforehand just to be safe.

Another reason a shop might want to inspect a part before taking on a job...someone might want to do something crazy like chrome-plating an aluminum shell. :) If it might reflect on their reputation, they'll understandably be concerned.

Jeff

Snowdog

Thanks for that information. The plating factory I called a few months ago said they did some rechroming for drummers in the past and they would want to inspect my hoops first. So this does sound right. I don't want to end up with nice bright hoops I can't fit on my drums.

I will want to make sure:

First, that they know exactly what I want.

Second, that they know what they're doing (don't want em to damage the hoops so I can't use them)

Third, it would be good if they've done this before - with great success!

And it would be important I guess that they don't charge me more than the hoops are worth or to replace on .........say.....eBay/Craigslist etc.

Thanks for the reply.

A good visual of the problems that could occur would be to watch an episode of OCC where they are grinding and picking powder coating out of bolt holes in the parts of the bikes. Looks like a bunch of bs type work to say the least....

True, which is why it's usually not a good idea to coat threaded parts unless they were machined/cast with tolerances which allow for the coating...and most are not. Hoops and shells however usually don't present a problem in that regard.

Jeff

I got quotes from a couple of car/bike plating shops - both with lots of cradentials - they look like they know what they're doing. They asked a few questions and said they'd have to inspect the hoops. The quotes were $60-90/hoop and $75/hoop. Sounds expensive, but by look of it they do high-end triple chroming.