FYI to those planning to re-plate Nikasil cylinders (edit) and possibly plate Alusil cylinders (edit). I received this email back in May 2021 from US Chrome:
A Message To Our Dealers
During the past year, we have received an overwhelming amount of work from our dealer network and retail community. With increased demand and a shortened supply of materials and resources due to the pandemic, our turn times have been drastically affected. We understand what that means to our dealers and these events have shown us that to be able to support you, we need to make a change.
For the foreseeable future, we are suspending all direct to consumer (retail) cylinder repair services. This means that we want our retail community to work directly with their local dealer. Our hope is that this will allow us to refocus on our turn time and also drive more business through your doors, to meet new faces, and build relationships.
You will have the option to assist these customers with sending in their cylinder to U.S. Chrome for plating services or in finding a suitable replacement option. We are currently only accepting jobs from dealers who are registered in our system. If you need to register, please visit our website to fill out our dealer application form.
We have also made changes to the services we will be offering going forward. We will no longer be welding cylinders in our repair process. We recommend the use of the several specialty shops that can sculpt and complete this type of repair. If you would like to take on the repair project, we now have a ‘Strip & Return Only’ option. We have also stopped offering our rush service as that would make those who are waiting, wait even longer.
We understand that behind every cylinder is someone who just wants to smile and have fun. These are the sports that we enjoy too, they are our passion, and while making these adjustments may be disappointing for some, it is the move we need to make to assist our dealers. Thank you again for working with us.
Looks like that dealer-only approach remains for 2022. Their pricing schedule on the website says so
https://www.usnicom.com/plating/pricing
And always make sure you know what the proper finished surface roughness must be and confirm the dealer relays it. Don't assume the plating vendor will know.