rod cap/bearing

Im just saying what I heard a long time ago. Wouldnt copper be too soft to decrease bore size? Why would the whole rod get plated?
In plating copper sticks to steel really well. The over size or out of round condition is in the thousands, so the plating is very thin. Try peeling the copper plate off a penny, or bite into a penny, you will get the feel for how well copper sticks to steel and how hard a thin copper plate is.
The whole rod is coated to get uniform build up, that is how electrolysis works.