hey guys,
I picked up some 2-line 16" irocs this weekend and may have jumped the gun. I want the factory polished(not shiny) look so I have to get the chrome plating removed.....its peeling up in several places.
Here's the issue....I paid $200 for the rims with tired mostly good for nothing and a local shop wants $160 to remove the plating.

I've been seeing rims and very like new tires in the $400 range.....polished but still a steal.
Anyway I could de-plate the wheels myself or did I make my first wrong impulse buy?

Thx...will post pics tonight.

 

Soak it in a bucket of bleach.

 

Cool, I can give that a shot. Just picked up some factory finish 1-lines today too. Pretty stoked about that.

Thx

 

Really? Have you done this first hand?

 

Yea, it works best with plastic parts that have been chromed as well as cheap plating.

Its best to use commercial bleach or chlorine but standard household bleach SHOULD work if its soaked for long enough.

 

Ay fellas I'm open for suggestions here. The bleach should be cheap, like the chrome job, so can dip em in a bucket over the weekend to try it out.

Was considering a media blast but that probably at least $100

 

I'd take them to a wheel chroming place and have them dipped in the right solution. I do not think that household bleach has enough concentration to remove chrome off of wheels. At least now without soaking them for several days.

Anyway, if you decide to use bleach, make sure you dispose of it correctly. And let us know what kind of results you get.

 

Hey guys, just an update. I didn't get around to the wheels this weekend but I read that a diluted solution of muriatic acid with induced current would take chrome off within minutes.
Has anyone tried this....seems like the home made version of the shops chemical process, just need to properly dispose of solution when done.

Any thoughts???

 

That would probably work even without the acid in regards to the electrolytic process. I would think with a large enough cell, you could use one of the wheels as the anode and some scrap metal as the cathode and run a small current using say, a battery charger though it.

 

I've done this before for a friend using blasting media. Took the chrome off in about 2 hours for a set of 4 wheels. They were primed, painted, and have held up just fine for a year now.

 

It will stain the aluminum.

Bleach will take off the chrome, but will leave the copper and zinc underneath.

 

okay now that's concerning to me....stain as in I'll need to paint over or i'll need to polish up a bit after?

Also, any thoughts on any of this altering the chemical/physical(structural) properties of the wheel?

Thx for all the feedback.

 

Are u suggesting running a current through the wheel in series with a piece of metal.....no acid?

Thx

 

Stain as in you'd need to sandblast it afterwards. Pretty much any way you could chemically strip the chrome is still going to need blasting after.

Chemically you're not going to affect anything but the surface, physical dimensions won't change significantly enough to worry about.

 

Take the wheels to a specialist.

 

You mentioned this before....but there's something about the word $peciali$t I don't like?

Being a budget build and the fact that the local shop will charge $160 to only chemically strip I'm going to take matters into my own hands or acidic solution.
Worse case scenario ill get a sand blasting machine from harbor freight......could use it throughout the build.

Will keep y'all posted......4 day weekend coming up!!!