I have not done it. Chroming was done in both shop where I worked, (my wife did it) But I was not involved. Just chromating aluminum and passivating stainless. They both mainly are cleaning and etching, and for the alumiinum, deoxidizing and dipping in a chromate solution. Anodizing as I understand it (which may be wrong) is cleaning, hooking up the electricity to do the etching, and then dipping into a dye or paint. So yes it much thinner than paint, but still seals the surface. Oh and it looks pretty for a while. I believe the surface takes the heat and abrasion better than most paints too.