Erzulis Boat 

Clear powdercoat over raw steel on a BMX bike in the collection. Yikes, I just realized that I have a lot of bikes.

Mr. Spadoni 

When did a thing becoming a thing become a thing?

fabiofarelli

I remember several cromovelato iracing bikes in the mid sixties. In the Netherlands. Often J.Anquetil.

fabiofarelli

I remember several cromovelato racing bikes in the mid sixties. In the Netherlands. Often J.Anquetil.

Lattz

Cromovelato is definitely magic. But like with many things when its nice it's really nice, and when it's not it's really not.
Solid or metallic paints, including even the sibling flamboyant cheaper-velato are aging gradually with a nice patina. CV not.
It is going from Wow to "what a pity" with the first flake. No Dust or matte clear coat to hide or at lest soften up scars to give it an "it is still nice if not nicer" feeling.
And if you have a high end frame, the "it is original once" problem multiplies as well. Smaller damages are a pain to the eye, but thinking about a respray is also a PIA. I was struggling with this on my Bianchi and while it was not CV, but was flaking like it was, exposing a bright chrome underneath, which magnified all problems.
Here are two examples from SOMEC:
ETOE is bada55, but I also like this (and the others, not to mention the bikes!!!) ittle explainer:



While this does not look "that bad", if it was a daily rider it would be a matter of weeks to get rid of the rest at this stage.

In an interview Mario Maritini explained, that since SOMEC gave him almost free hands on how to paint the frames, they sent everything properly chromed, so he had to matte up the frame for painting.

Chombi1 

Wasn't the AD Vent Noir also a Chromovelato bike?Through the years I heard prople describe the finsh on them as "Black Chrome", but I suspected it was just a paint tint over chrome = Chromovelato.....

Mr. 66

Yes some Vent Noir were chromovelato.

I think some of the Schwinn High Sierra are also.

unworthy1

there were two iterations of A-D Vent Noir, one had normal "satin" black paint but on those that had the "black tinted chrome plating" most called "smoked chrome" I'm not sure how many were given a tinted transparent topcoat (which would be "cromovelato" but maybe there's a German term?) and how many did actually have coloring added to the chrome (if any).
I certainly have not seen them all.

Scuttlebutt also had it that A-D/Puch/Steyer used what is called "hard chrome" which is the type used for such plated pieces as motorcycle fork tubes.
Does "scuttlebutt" know?

Writenride 

Look, I don't care what anyone says; Cromovelato is sexy!

Lattz

There was also Pnarello Montello, where they called it chromonero, implying, that the chrome plating itself is black, although I think its a smoked chromovelato, not long ago someone popped up here with one, but since his was not flaking (yet), it cant be confirmed what it is.
Besed on these photos, it looks more like a lacquer than a pure dark chrome..... anyhow,,, BADA55....




But if I could get and afford a "strictly wall hanger only" bike, a red would do as well...

Lattz

Aaaand PUCH Mistral Vent Noir

BMC_Kid 

I can confirm that Pinarello's Cromonero color is a true cromovelato; a tinted clear lacquer finish over bright silver chromed tubing. After 30+ years, the color has faded to more of a dark grey color when under bright light.

Here’s mine out in the bright sun.






and inside


Edit: By the way, the Montello handles beautifully. Nice steel frame that is so stable and tracks like it is on rails. I put a set of 28mm tires on it to give it a little more plushness but after riding it for a few weeks now, I think I will take them off and put on a set of 25mm Conti GP5000s and those Pirelli tires on something else. That should give a bit more aggressiveness while still being able to provide the cushiness I was looking for. Looking forward to putting some miles on it this spring.

Robvolz 

wow, and on the seat post too

BMC_Kid 

Matching stem as well, both on the rare side. I believe the matching stem and seat post were only available in the Cromovelato Cromonero finish.

Lattz

It is a marvellous bike, congrats! Both setups are cool.

big chainring 

Spring of 1980 I purchased a Superbe frame from a local bike shop. A customer had ordered it for the parts group and I, having just crashed an old Raleigh Competition, bought the frame and built it up with my Campy NR components. The bike gathered many looks and comments..."Is that gold plated"?...

The finish was durable for the first couple years I owned it but by 1984 it was looking a little worn. No paint chipping, but the finish was wearing thin on the sides of the top tube and along the fork blades. Perhaps the wear was accelerated by road salt as I commuted on the bike one Chicago winter. By 1984 the bike looked a little shabby. Decided to take some lacquer thinner to it and remove the gold. Very quickly I had a chrome frame that was in excellent condition. Even around the bottom bracket the chrome was fully polished.

As to when chromovelta became popular I was looking at a frame on German ebay a few years ago... a Rabenieck from 1958. The finish was black, yellow and red chromovelta...german national colors. It was all chipped up with a lot of chrome showing thru but still a looker. Price was a little crazy and shipping was a no go.

As for my Superbe I held onto it for almost 30 years. Sold it around 2010 for the price I paid originally...$200.

curiousabe

If you wanted to achive similair results on a stainless steel frame would the process be the same?

Ktodd

I was looking at a chrome tandem Univega on Ebay back when I first posted on this thread (way over priced) and was considering attempting a cromovelato paint job on it but I lost interest in the bike. I haven't tried it but "One Hit Wonder Paints" sells lacquers they market as "intercoats". Basically transparent tinted paint used as a middle coat in-between base coat and clear coat. Supposed to enhance metallic lacquer base paints. I don't know if this would work as a base paint for chrome... what is intriguing about the possible usd of OHWP is that it supposed to NOT need primer to adhere to so I'm guessing it's self etching somehow? So I don't know if this would work in making a cromovelato look over actual chrome but this does have the same effect over lacquer paint. Worth looking into more and maybe giving it a go.

rancho66 

I checked out the One Hit Wonder Paints site. Interesting products for sure. Unfortunately, the Intercoat paint requires a "scuffing" of the substrate/base, Like most/all paints. I hesitate in scuffing good chrome as it cannot be "unscuffed." The price for the intercoat paint is reasonable though!

Road Fan

I totally agree it went back into the '50's. I think my 1952 Rudge Aero Special has a flambuoyant finish, though I don't recall it having been called-out in the factory and advertising literature preserved by Peter Kohler in his "on-the-drops.blogspot" blog.

This bike was a Nottingham product, built on the same line with the same parts list as the Raleigh Super Lenton. It that year they were the top models in the spirit of the "Club"-style of product. The next year they opened up again to take orders for custom Raleigh Record Aces. So if I'm correct that it has the flambuoyant finish, it was top of the line so it should have had the fanciest paint job!

In perusing the Kohler collection, I didn't see if such finishes were used in previous model years, and he informs us of products reaching back into the 1920s, including drop-bar bikes. The coal-furnace black finishes were greatly in-evidence.

I wonder how many Brits of the day lost their black bikes, misplacing it in the basement?



Rudge Aero Special more or less as received.

Headbadge is a winner!

Real live Reynolds!

Ktodd

I just bought their metallic lime green and brite blue base coats. I'll start spraying some frames in the next couple-few weeks when the weather warms up just a little. I live in an apt. but bought an inflatable paint booth made for motorcycles off Amazon and an air compressor and buncha air paint equipment from Harbor Freight ...also some airbrush equipment for detail work. I've done some small airbrushing before but this will be my first attempt at bike frames. I have 2 Peugeot Super Comps. 4 varying trek frames from the 80's, 1 Olmo, 1 CBT, 1 Chesini, 1 Bianchi, 2 Bridgstone RB1s, 1 RB2, 2 klein Quantums, 1 klein Stage and a few others.

My only issue right now is sourcing good quality Decals/Water Slides since Velocals went out of business.

Ktodd

Yeah, I was going to find an old car bumber or something else chromed to practice on first. I forget what the instructional videos say what grit sandpaper to use to "scuff" with.

I think you could get a somewhat similar effect with just using a metallic silver base coat or even chrome paint maybe (but most of those suck) and OHWP intercoat. Of course not as good as an actual Cromovelato but kinda similar.

Lattz

The metallic silver base is a different art called "flamboyant", which is also nice, especially if you ditch plain silver paints and get yourself something really shiny. If you know e.g. Gretsch guitars you know what I mean. Bitd they were made with metallic powder of flakes. Forget scuffing the base chrome, the colored clear will emphasize every glitch, actually that's what made cromovelato the option for the higher end bikes or higher class painters. With any regular paintjob scuffing is your friend, so is base coat, which covers errors. But with cromovelato, all the tiny details must be mirror polished, which is a lot easier in a bike factory with 9 tubes than at home with an assembled frame.

Lattz

I guess since that can be mirror polished and is shiny already, it could be sprayed directly with the tinted clear, but there are plenty of good advises against clearing raw metal, no matter if stainless or not.
In industrial circumstances, they can make it happen but at home, it is hard to avoid to lock in humidity or dust.

Kilroy1988 

I've never seen anything to suggest that typical Nottingham-built Raleigh production bicycles in the early-'50s had with lacquer over chrome 'flamboyant" finishes (the common term for the style used in Britain at the time), but companies making custom frames such as Claud Butler, Carlton and Hetchins were certainly offering them. As early as 1947 the Raleigh Record Ace was offered with a range of finish options including "polychromatic," which may have been the same idea. However, after years of looking at them I've never seen an example of a Record Ace or an R.R.A. Moderne which had anything that appeared like a flamboyant lacquer over chrome finish.

The 1950 Carlton Continental I owned is an example with a catalogue-specified flamboyant paint scheme which is very distinctive from enamels. I'll also post an example of a beautiful 1951 Hetchins Magnum Opus which can be seen in greater detail here:

Hetchins MO full chrome 1951

Cheers!

-Gregory