This.
When every auto and truck on the road had a stamped steel front and back bumper, chrome plating shops were in nearly every town and city. Virtually all of them would accept metal headboards, guns, auto wheels, etc. for chrome plating. Some platers knew their job and took care in the process, while some were staffed by summer teenagers who needed a job and didn't mind the heat and odors of the hot plating tanks in a hot industrial building. Hard chrome plating has its' own processes specific to it.
Nickel plating [not electroless] requires a different plating technique than chrome - a steel firearm cannot be directly plated with electrolytic nickel as it won't adhere properly. The firearm must be plated with nearly pure copper, polished, and then the nickel finish is electrolytically applied over the copper. Nickel is a soft metal and should not be exposed to ammonia based solvents, copper solvents, or 'miracle cleaners'. They can weaken the plating to the point where it can be peeled off with a fingernail. Use silver polish to clean and polish bright nickel guns.