rear mudguard stay fiasco

[spyke]

Hi Chaps,

Bought a pair of original looking rear mudguard stays on Ebay, then spent a few hours mounting the rear mudguard making brackets etc. all looked fine, so stripped it all apart .Next time I passed the dreaded chromers I popped in and asked how much to chrome the stays , "about 120" he says, after me saying "120 what" he sarcastically says "pounds", after another dumfounded series of questions he says "Ill go and check with the boss" and comes back 2 mins later saying "sorry I was a bit out it will only be £85"!  So after not taking him up I came home and bought a set already chromed on Ebay again,  for £32, they arrived today and although fair condition are about 2" shorter, meaning my brand new mudguard is going to have some surplus holes in it already as I will have to modify the bracket positions. Can any one tell me which ones are right for my setup (goldstar type mudguard).Short set I have are 14 1/8" between holes long set 16 5/8"between holes.
Cheers Spyke

PS. seems that the price of chroming has got so high that it only seems to be worth it now if that part is not available at all any more  or am I using the wrong chromer, someone told me the only good chromers are up north ?

[flashblack]

Hello Spyke, i recently had some chroming done by alderney plating in poole. They do a proper triple chrome plating of copper -nickel -chrome, probably better than most plating on parts you can buy new, already plated. I paid £250 GB for a box of a few bits, and owing to a cock up by me, i also had to go back with one pair of rear shock shrouds which i should have got done in the first place, and they cost £50 on their own! They do get very busy and you might have to wait a few weeks for your bits, but, like i said it`s a first class job. By the way, i have no connection with Alderney plating, but i was a plater myself years ago, and i can`t fault the work they have done for me. Also, they do an awful lot of bike bits so they are bike sympathetic. I can dig their details out if you need them.
                                                              cheers  Rich

[spyke]

Thats the place! I have no problem with the quality Its good but the price seems high they did a rear brake plate a few weeks ago and that alone was £60. Maybe im out of touch with prices

[flashblack]

Well ,i had my bits done this time last year and, like you i had a rude awakening regards the price, but it seems their prices have gone up even more since last year! Oh well, that`s life.
BTW, whereabouts are you? i`m in poole myself, just around the corner from the platers.
                                     regards Rich

[a101960]

The stays that you bought already chromed are incorrect. How do I know this? I bought a pair too. They were wrong on every measurable dimension, and the metal had not even been properly polished before plating! I returned them and got my money back. Did yours come from Liverpool by any chance? I had the originals re-chromed and it cost me £90. Expensive but worth every penny. The finish is superb. There are a lot of parts on sale that are utterly useless it really is a minefield. At least re-plating your original parts will ensure a proper fit. Incidentally, I had my stays re-plated at Yate in Bristol it took about 3 weeks from start to finish.

[spyke]

Hi Richard Im in  Colehill Wimborne., you havnt got a dimension have you?

[flashblack]

Well, we`re practically neighbours! If you need a close look at an A10, let me know, we could arrange a meet.
                  Rich

[spyke]

Cheers will do, is that Badbury Rings bike looks great.

[RichardL]

As an aside with regard to the cost of chrome, you don't often see published prices for doing the various parts. For a frame-of- reference, with respect to U.S. prices, here is a price list from one house that did a few bits for me.

 http://www.brownsplating.com/admin/2008_retail_catalog.pdf

[Richard]

try Doug Taylors just outside Wester Super Mare , excellent triple chromers and prices are reasonable and try offering cash!!

[flashblack]

Spyke, yep that`s Badbury rings last oct. I`ve just measured my standard rear mudguard brackets (only with a tape measure), and they are 16 3/4" (more or less) from centre to centre.

Richard L , that`s  interesting to see a published price list from a plater, but $65 per foot of exhaust pipe? that`s about $390 for a pair of pipes  blimey.

Rich 

[muskrat]

G'day all,
            same down here with prices. $250 AU for a rim. It's getting cheaper to make bits from stainless than to get old bits chromed.
cheers

[flashblack]

I`m glad i like stainless better!  Fit and forget. Every so often give it a polish. As opposed to a re- chrome every once in a while- no thanks 

[A10Boy]

Rich

Your bike looks lovely..

 

[Desburnett]

My experience with platers has been variable.
To the outfit mentioned earlier outside Weston Super Mare = nil points
To Marque Restore in Coventry = 10 points although they did overlook some threads that were detailed for repair making the job tricky after plating and painting.

Des