Customer Reviews

How To Plate, Polish, and Chrome (Motorbooks Workshop)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Half of what's wrong with this book could be fixed by retitling it "An Overview of Painting, Polishing, and Plating." It spends 75 of 132 pages talking about painting, which is fine if that's what you want to know. There are other books dedicated entirely to auto painting that go into more detail.

The author spends the first chapter discussing the aesthetics of motorcycles and hotrods - what makes them look good and what artistic choices can make them look bad. This is great; too many "how to" books discuss techniques without exploring when it is appropriate to use them.

The polishing section has some good charts and information on when to use different wheels and compounds, but didn't even mention using "set up" wheels, with abrasive glued to the cloth wheels, for coarse cutting.

The plating section really doesn't give enough information for you to start plating in your shop. It does give information on a couple suppliers of plating kits to get you started. I got the distinct impression that the publisher's lawyers read the manuscript, gasped, and deleted specific references to acids and chemicals in order to avoid potential lawsuits. As a result, the book tells how plating is done, but not how to do it yourself.

Bottom line - the author tried to cover too many subjects in one book and ended up with an overview rather than specific detailed instructions.

This book has some good information for those who wish to add a little extra shine to the bling on their bike. It could have been more in depth but it is helpful and nicely presented. Plenty of photos and illustrations let you easily grasp the concepts presented here.

My main reason for acquiring the book was to learn how to polish my frame on my motorcycle. The book, however helpful, spent a great deal of the print dealing with painting. It was helpful to me in getting some the equipment for polishing but it it should have went more in depth and since it's title is "How To Plate, Polish, and Chrome" it should have a more step-by-step approach to polishing, plating and chroming.

The title of the book is misleading and makes a buyer expect a lot of step-by-step instructions.

Except for a somewhat detailed painting section (which is not even included in the title of the book!!!), the plate, polish and chrome sections were dealt in a very shallow manner (almost like a high school class assignment).

I am a big fan of the Motorbooks Workshop series but this particular book is beyond disappointing.

I had always assumed that stuff like chrome plating and anodizing had to be done in an expensive shop somewhere. I had no idea that I could do it myself. I'm very glad that I bought this book. Even if you don't plan on doing the work yourself, this book will help you find the right shop to do the work.

This book is informative and interesting and covers a vast range of topics. Far more indepth and worthwhile than I had expected. A definate good book to have on the shelf.

If ever there was a wrong title for a book, this is it. Yes there was some information in the book about plating and polishing chrome and, surprisingly enough, it was good, useful information. That said though, the actual contents of the book were all over the map. There was a LOT of information about painting and powder coating, things not even mentioned in the title. That coverage was quite thorough and very, very useful.

I think the title was contrived to grab the attention of the broadest spectrum of potential users rather than identify the actual contents of the book. I'm usually impressed by the Motorsports Series of books and while I am impressed by the contents of this book, I'm not impressed by the title of this particular book.