There's a lot more to motorcycles than the mechanics, and with notably few exceptions the bikes you will see will be painted, chromed, polished and otherwise treated to some finishing touch - even bare metal bikes aren't quite as bare as they look.

But surely paint is paint? Chrome is chrome? Anodising is ... what's anodising? Nothing is quite as simple as it first seems and this is where we delve deeper into the lustrous lacquer that provides so stunning a facade to the bikes we ride.