From:Drew e-mail:drewehe@verizon.net
Subject:RE: Nickel Plating Date:Thu Feb 7 19:26:48 2008
Response to:1933


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Hello, i'm restoring my 27 Henderson. Could someone please tell me what the correct nickel plating profile is for most all the hardware on my bike? "Dull Nickel" is this an electroless nickel plating? I know some parts are polished nickel, i'm more concerned about acheiving the correct dull look.

Thanks Luke
I thought I would throw in my two cents here.
First of all lets discuss bright and dull. Lets refer to bright as mirror like in terms of shinnyness. Dull will be anything less than mirror like.
The surface you are plating will determin the finish you get.
For example your engine cylinders have a rough texture- they will never be bright or shinney or mirror like they will always be dull.
If you take a pc of unfinished metal -even bare untreated(no plating) steel you can with some effort make it look very shinney if you were to nickel plate this same item it will be very shinney mirror like.
To keep this simple it all depends upon what you start with. Nickel is not like chrome.
one more comment on nickel. as it ages it does yellow, exposer to sun and heat will speed up the process.
I really dont understand why more people dont properly use nickel plating instead of painting. Nickel plating is cheap and looks great and is very long lasting.