D.P. Harris vs Schwinn Chrome or possible Korean Conflict "War Chrome"?

[horsefarmer]

Cleaning up the drop center wheels on my 56 Hawthorne (mfg by D.P. Harris) and the underlying finish seems to be very grey and dull.
Seems to me like Cadmium plate and not Chrome at all. Rear hoop has a New Departure coaster brake and even under the brake strap the finish is clean but dull. Then I remembered that the Korean Conflict 1950 to 1954 created shortages and indeed a search of the web revealed autos were produced with "war chrome" that rusted in less than a rear.

So what gives? I have cleaned up 2 sets of wheels from 1955 to 1956 Schwinn middleweights and 3 of the 4 shine really nice and one is a rust bucket - but they all are real chrome not this flat grey finish on the Hawthorne. Also the handle bars and goose neck on the Hawthorne have almost no chrome finish left and the schwinn looks fine.

Were Rollfast bikes known for poor chrome? Was Schwinn Chrome plating superior? or was my Hawthorne produced to be sold at such a low price point that Cadmium plate was specified to save money? Or was my bike produced with the government mandated "War chrome?"

 

[deven_science]

Hmm. I believe that things that would have been chrome plated were often nickel plated instead during the big wars. Am I remembering right? I really should Google that.

 

[horsefarmer]

Deven,
According to what I read it was nickle that was scarce - instead of copper than nickle then chrome plate they just did thin copper and chrome and skipped the nickle plating step. They put a primitive clear coat over the top but the parts soon rusted. They also said the war chrome looks noticeably different.

 

[Rustinkerer]

A lot of Columbia, Monark, and others had cad plated rims in the 50s. -Adam

 

[horsefarmer]

Thanks Adam!
I'll stop polishing now, lol