I had this chromed. It still looks great, but close-up you can see that the chrome is beginning to flake a little, especially on one side. There’s also a little rust on the mesh filter cages. My plan had been to put it the best side up, and then after 2-3 years get it re-chromed.
Ah no, I didn’t chrome it myself, but sent it away. If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t go to the same place, but go to this one, which is even better: Agbrigg Chrome Platers (near Leeds). You can find them on the web, although their website seems to be down at the moment. They did a bunch of stuff for me recently, and it was amazingly good (they also do polishing).
I did replace the filters on my old mushroom filter, but I can’t remember what type there were.