In the chroming process copper is used first and plated thick enough to fill or covered all the defects in the base material then sanded and polished to a silky smooth finish, then nickel,then the chrome. Any flaw in the base metal would be seen giving you a terrible finish on the chrome. Pretty caustic processes wouldn't recommend doing in a garage without the proper setup and knowledge of doing so. Caswell plating has a lot of information on all types of coating processes and supplies.