Chainsaw Repair

I don't know how it's done on aluminum alloy .However over steel the process was dubbed "triple  chromed " .First a thin layer of copper followed by a thin layer of nickle then the chrome .Chrome being very hard would tend to crack if it were not for the softer metals under it . The process of using hard high silicon content nickle came along later in the evolution of plated cylinders .
If you look back historically at automobiles you can see the demise of chrome .For example the late 70'e Olds Cutlasses etc in about 6-8 years the bumpers would rust right off of them because of using the less robust chrome caused by curtailing the use of hard chrome because it was in short supply  .You don't see many chrome bumpers these days .