Yellow Chrome?

I bought a pair of chrome Commando headlamp ears from Andover, I tend to buy everything I can from them as they are very reliable and the parts all come numbered....I like the website and personally find them really good to deal with for Commando and Rotary parts.

Anyways, the fork ears had a coat of protective oil and they looked slightly yellowed under my garage lighting, almost nickel in colour. Like a plank I ignored that, thinking it may just be the preservative or a trick of the light.....so I fitted them. I managed to get the fiddly O rings just right and they fitted brilliantly, nice and smooth, no looseness or fouled O rings.

I was just mentally patting myself on the back while I cleaned off the preservative oil and offered up the headlamp...cleaning the oil off made no difference, these things are quite yellow, especially when compared to the headlamp which is typical bright silver chrome.

The very last thing I want to do is take them off as most of the front end is now on.....but it's more than a bit annoying. My question is...does anyone know the reason for a chromed part to emerge yellow/gold? and is it detrimental to the finish, does it mean it's micro thin for instance....and is any sort of polishing likely to improve it?

Ordinarily I wouldn't take aggressive polish to new chrome parts....but if there is a chance of polishing them back to silver then I'll give it a go.

Mick.

Poor chrome plating job - with an insufficient thickness of chrome over the nickel. Could be intentional (cheaper) or just a poor batch. Polishing will just make them yellower as you remove what little actual chrome may be there.

bmw used to put cosmoline on various metal parts to protect from rust...shows up as a yellow coating that is a pain in the A to get off...i wonder if andover does that with stored parts...?

Bo***cks!.....that is exactly what I didn't want to hear......I wonder if ANIL will entertain taking them back now they have been fitted?

In fairness they are the first sub standard part I have had from them, and they came well wrapped, so I guess no one at Andover ever laid eyes on the finish.

The double downside is that Andover are closed for the next couple of weeks as they are moving premises.

It never rains but it pours.

Mick......kettle738

Well darn it kettle. This is a big part of why I consider a Commando a real man's motorcycle, [at least in my case] as tests the living daylights out of my emotional and rational reserves and will power to steal time and more money to re-do major stuff I gooffed up on or part was not right for one reason or many. My only advice is advise Anover and bite the bullet or it will remain a spur in your saddle especially when admiring at home. Very few things we have much control of for perfecting to matter, but a Commando gives us a shot at it, so its so worth while in the long term while still here.

I think I will, ANIL have always been very reasonable and easy to deal with, and as you say, if I leave it then it will be a constant source of irritation.

Pain in the A**e though as it stops me from completing the front end and will likely put me back a couple of weeks....plus whatever backlog they have.

To be honest it just shouldn't happen, whoever took them out of the chrome bath and rinsed them should have seen they were not right.

Curses!

I'm impressed at the number of replies in such a short time though, almost as if everyone has the day off.

Mick.........kettle738

Well darn it kettle. This is a big part of why I consider a Commando a real man's motorcycle, [at least in my case] as tests the living daylights out of my emotional and rational reserves and will power to steal time and more money to re-do major stuff I gooffed up on or part was not right for one reason or many. My only advice is advise Anover and bite the bullet or it will remain a spur in your saddle especially when admiring at home. Very few things we have much control of for perfecting to matter, but a Commando gives us a shot at it, so its so worth while in the long term while still here.

They are not stainless steel, are they ???

Having done a course in chromium plating, I'd comment that the only other reason I can think of that the finish is yellowy in color is that they missed the chrome plate bath completely, and only got the nickel undercoat ? Nickel tends towards being a yellow shade of silver. Even a mere flash coat of chrome should be a bright shiny silvery colour, even if it is only microns (or less ) in thickness. You waz robbed ?!

Unless...

Very lightly polish with metal polish somewhere not so visible, and see if the yellow will polish out. Maybe first trying some paint solvent or similar - just in case the surface has absorbed some sort of protectant - good chrome is (microscopically) porous, and just may absorb something. This may void your A-N warranty, so only if time is of the essence. Although they will probably like to know where the system has gone wrong along the way too...

Very likely what is called a "misplate" when I worked in a Chrome Shop during the 70's. Quality control missed that part and should of been rejected. Send it back where you bought it from if it were me.

Thanks for the replies, I think you are correct that they are sub standard.....that said, having had time to think about it over Christmas I will e mail ANIL to tell them about it but I probably wont send them back, reason being despite the fact they are sold singly, the poor finish on these two is identical, they are going to be part of a batch.

I dont want to end up in a situation where I waste a couple of weeks sending them back only to get another pair that are the same...or maybe worse.

ANIL are temporarily closed at the moment I was told when I put in an order last week as they are moving premises, so it could turn into a saga....I'm going to wait until I see a set at one of the large autojumbles or shows and buy some when I can actually see what I'm getting.

It's a drag...but as someone institutionalised by Japanese bikes for the last 30 plus years I notice something a bit odd about the Commando. Some of the parts are of very high quality and look beautifully made....the alloy castings for instance....but alongside a thing of beauty will be something that shouldn't make it past the quality control in a Christmas Cracker factory...what's all that about?

Mick......kettle738

kettle738 said:

Thanks for the replies, I think you are correct that they are sub standard.....that said, having had time to think about it over Christmas I will e mail ANIL to tell them about it but I probably wont send them back, reason being despite the fact they are sold singly, the poor finish on these two is identical, they are going to be part of a batch.

I dont want to end up in a situation where I waste a couple of weeks sending them back only to get another pair that are the same...or maybe worse.

ANIL are temporarily closed at the moment I was told when I put in an order last week as they are moving premises, so it could turn into a saga....I'm going to wait until I see a set at one of the large autojumbles or shows and buy some when I can actually see what I'm getting.

Click to expand...

There is absolutely no reason why you should resign yourself to accept this.

Joe Seifert, MD of ANIL is 'ZFD' on this forum, if the complete batch is substandard then I'm sure he will want to know about it, so I have sent him a PM directing him to this thread.

"but alongside a thing of beauty will be something that shouldn't make it past the quality control in a Christmas Cracker factory...what's all that about? "

Why indeed?

Kettle........just ride a little faster and no one will know the difference. :roll:
The last Taiwain pair I got were on the yellow-ee side too.


Tim_S

Gentlemen,
Sorry to hear about the yellow chrome but so far I was not aware of the problem. Here in Germany I sell these items all the time and should have encountered the problem, Norton Motors GmbH being one of the top 3 ANIL dealers worldwide- but haven't.
I will unpack the ones I have in stock and report back later today.
Apologies,
Joe Seifert

Checked the couple of sets I have in stock, nothing yellow about the chrome on those. No idea what went wrong on the set Mick got. Never had that, seriously!
Joe/Norton Motors GmbH