Chrome plate alternative suspension

[bzrse7en]

Hi
The Lotus replica I'm building would have had chrome plated A arms back in the day.
I'm shying away from Chrome plating because of hydrogen embrittlement and that chrome hides cracks.

Is Electroless Nickel a satisfactory alternative?
It seems to have a good, hard finish with corrosion resistance and doesn't hide cracks. However I'm not sure if hydrogen embrittlement is an issue with it.

Thanks
Patrick

[Leon]

Hi Patrick,

I think the following link is a similar situation to yours, which means you could chrome your A-arms if they are mild steel.

lvvta.proboards.com/thread/199/chrome-plating

[bzrse7en]

Thanks Leon. From a quick bit of research, it seems chrome hides cracks, so is not liked in motorsport circles. Electroplated bright nickel and electroless nickel have been recommended to me by two people who work in and around race cars. An electroplater said there wasn't much difference in the results, other than electroless nickel cost twice as much and it coated inside things such as threads. So I'm going with bright electroplated nickel.