abressive media suggestion

looking for the best media to remove chrome off of wheels?
im worried about getting something to aggressive, or the other extreme not aggressive enough.
looking for any useful info.thanks.

laidlow91 wrote:

looking for the best media to remove chrome off of wheels?
im worried about getting something to aggressive, or the other extreme not aggressive enough.
looking for any useful info.thanks.

I am pretty sure the best way to remove chrome is with submerged chemical dip. If you use abrasives on that, because the chrome is much more resistant to blasting, then as the plating gradually comes off, the areas that are bare will be gouged out by the media blasting leaving you with an uneven surface.

They may be able to chemically strip the chrome with an acid that reacts more aggressively on chromium than on aluminum or steel. A good plating shop may also know if electrolytic de-plating is possible. I would call a good chrome plating service for advice on whats affordable as well as safest.

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i asked how much to have my wires blasted at my work and they didn't recommend it .........

......... as for stripping and painting/powder coating; the cost would probably match a "new to you" set off line
used wires are a dime a dozen on CL and new 20 inch powder coated wheels are around $1200 ........

......... if you follow through with this idea keep me posted on what you do, i'm a little curious myself.

Anthony, I don't know about wheels, but I tried sand-blasting a old chrome bumper......not good. I really don't know of a good way to remove chrome.

I'll call my platers in the AM

My platers say they put part in an acid bath
Some do it yourself but the product (& by-products) are nasty so its probably not worth it
Thats why you let the platers do it.....$ might suck
Other suggestions are oven cleaner & brake fluid
Both are relatively harmless although brake fluid isnt so good to go dumping around.
Oven cleaner sounds easy enough to try.
I have no idea what would happen in the electrolysis bucket I made.
I'll look for a small chrome pc & try hooking it up the normal way & then reverse to see if it does anything
If your in no hurray, hang tight & I'll post up what I find out
EDIT: Found 2 pc's. Will hook up tommorrow AM normal & reverse

thanks for all the advice and suggestions.
ive been doing alot of reading online and talked to a couple powder coaters.
this is what ive found so far.
1. the only way to properly remove chrome is to have a chrome shop reverse the chroming process.
2. powder coaters have fine print about doing chrome becuase it has the chance of lifting.
3. some have had good results using self etch primer, then paint.
4. some have had good results using adhesion promoter, then paint.
5. one guy used pvc primer with good results.
6. 3 and 4 have been used with poor results.

i was reading the can of SEMs adhesion promoter and it says for use when painting glass or chrome.

so thats where im at.
not sure i know any more then i did before.

laidlow91 wrote:

thanks for all the advice and suggestions.
ive been doing alot of reading online and talked to a couple powder coaters.
this is what ive found so far.

1. the only way to properly remove chrome is to have a chrome shop reverse the chroming process.
i was reading the can of SEMs adhesion promoter and it says for use when painting glass or chrome.

so thats where im at.
not sure i know any more then i did before.

#1 is the winner.
I hooked the rust remover bucket up in reverse, that's...
Negative to the electrodes around the perimeter
Positive to the hanging part
This setup makes the hanging part the "sacrificial" metal
Used the same wash soda soution that removes/replaces rust
After 3 hrs in the bath, the chrome has pretty much gone away.
I wire brushed it & there were little dots of plating still holding on but the rest was down to the brass or bronze base metal.
I threw it back in to see what happens. Will post up results tommorrow.
I'm thinking this is the way to go.
I have heard that the solution may be a little nasty (chemically) because of the chrome.
THAT I dont know
Let me know if you want me to do something else to give you a comfort factor