Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ

The authoritative public forum
  for Metal Finishing 1989-2024
  

How to remove chrome plating peeling off of rims!

adv.

Q. By using 15% sulfuric acid to take the chrome off the aluminum wheels does anyone have an approx. ASF and time to take the chrome off?

DVD / Blu-Ray:
"Erin Brockovich"

on eBay or

Amazon

(affil links)

A. Hi Dale. I would not do that if I were you ...

Metallic chrome is just metal and is harmless ... but if you remove it electrolytically, you turn it into hexavalent chrome -- the toxic, carcinogenic, environmental poison that made Erin Brockovich famous. Instead, if you know how to safely work with acids, remove it by a dip in hydrochloric/muriatic acid ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links]

The chrome is very thin and will come off in seconds. But there is a heavy layer of nickel plating under it which will still be there. 40 ASF is probably a good number for trying to remove the nickel with sulfuric acid, but I think you'd be better off with a proprietary nickel stripper like Metalx (Ronatec.us) [a finishing.com supporting advertiser]. Good luck.
Regards,


Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

⇩ Related postings, oldest first ⇩

Q. I have recently been given some rims that the chrome plating on the Aluminum rims is peeling off. I am wondering if there is another way other than muriatic acid ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] which eats the aluminum. I have tested this on a chrome plated thermostat housing and the results were not good. First it wasn't long enough in the acid then I tried it again after cleaning it off then I let it sit for 15 min and it turned it black it cleaned up after sanding but was pitted and no longer usable I have also tried a grinder and am afraid to go too far and hit the aluminum. Please help if you have any info.

Q. I have the same problem, and I cannot find out how to remove the chrome but so far I been peeling some off, but can't get the rest, I'm going to go to couple body shops and ask, but anyone else has a comment bout them reply here. thanks

A. Reverse current in 15% sulfuric acid will remove the chrome and underlying nickel without damage to the aluminum, but I don't think you want to do this at home. Most plating shops can easily do this for you.

Jeffrey Holmes, CEF
Spartanburg, South Carolina

Q. How many amps would it take for the current?

A. Hi Bh,
You need to estimate the surface area of the wheel or other object in square feet. 20 amps per square foot of surface area should be enough to dissolve that metallic chrome and turn it into the toxic, carcinogenic, hexavalent chromium that made Erin Brockovich famous. You ought to think about how you will get rid of that hexavalent chromium.

I think a better approach is to dissolve the chrome into hydrochloric acid (which generates trivalent chromium, which is not toxic) and then strip the nickel with Metalx (Ronatec.us) [a finishing.com supporting advertiser]
Luck & Regards,


Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

"Automotive Cheap Tricks & Special F/x"
by Craig Fraser

on AbeBooks

or eBay or

Amazon

(affil links)

A. Sandblasting [portable sandblasters on eBay or Amazon [affil links] is going to be the easiest and safest way to remove the chrome with minimal pitting and material removal.
If you don't have sandblasting gear, check with your local welding shops and see if they can help you out.

Marc Banks
Blacksmith - Elizabeth City, North Carolina

A. I remember when I wanted to take chrome off my bicycle wheel I would put fire to it (direct fire) the chrome would peel and was easily scraped off. Sand and paint.
I'm about to do some rims off my truck from chrome to polished.

Edwin James
- Brooklyn New York
April 2, 2008

! Hi, Edwin. Thanks for joining in and helping. But I don't think I can agree. Maybe you successfully burned off shiny chrome-look paint? I personally strongly doubt you can remove real nickel and chrome plating from aluminum wheels that way.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

A. I have heated up chrome plated emblems with propane torch ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and the chrome starts to flake off and Shrink then fell off

Michael Baltzer
- Nova Scotia
March 28, 2019

Well, that makes it two against one then and I'm overruled ... but at least I get to say "told ya so" when a reader is unhappy with the result :-)

Luck & Regards,


Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Q. Can anyone help: my car wheels are chrome plated; one has started to peel and it's peeling off like wall paper.
The other 3 wheels are fine but now I have 1 bad one can anyone help with ideas for a D-I-Y strip that won't damage the wheel underneath the chrome.
The wheel that has started to peel has what looks like a nice smooth black paint underneath so if I could get the chrome off myself I won't have to get them repainted as I wanted them black as the chrome is terrible.
Any help would be great. Cheers ROB

A. Hi Robert. If there's black paint underneath, they are certainly are not chrome electroplated. Sounds like shiny chrome-look paint or PVD "Chrome" (probably actually aluminum). Sorry I don't know how to reliably remove whatever it is except by blasting, which will almost surely wreck the existing "paint".

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Q. I recently bought a set of Keystone Klassic rims which were chipped scuffed and the chrome was peeling on all of them. I work at my dad's repair shop and stayed after hours to try different ways to get it off, and so far have been somewhat unsuccessful. I tried sand-blasting them, and it worked great to take off the majority of the chrome, but had minimal effect on the sides and edges which weren't peeling. I used a resin pad on an air tool to remove the rest on one but it left the aluminum shiny and chrome-like, I am now trying to find a better way to rough up the smoothed aluminum while also looking for a different method of removal. I was wondering if there are more abrasive mixtures available for the sand-blasting method (other than glass beads)that anyone has any experience with. or maybe a cleaner that will help. (P.S. the repair shop my dad owns is strictly mechanical, body repair is just hobby of my own, so I have limited resources of which to use) Any ideas?

Multiple threads merged: please forgive chronology errors and repetition  🙂

Q. Need to remove chrome & nickel plating from Eagle alloy wheels

Eagle Alloy Wheels

on eBay or

Amazon

(affil links)

Q. I have a set of eagle alloys wheels that I will be powder coating. I run a powder coating business and these are my personal wheels. The wheels are flaking pretty badly. I had my industrial blasting shop try blasting the chrome/nickel off it took far too long to get through the layers. I need an effective way to remove the plating from the wheels. I have contacted the local plating shop here but they said they would have to ship the wheels out to be stripped down. Is there a proper way that I can do this myself? I have lots of experience and the proper PPE for handling chemicals. So if anyone can tell me where I can get the stuff to strip these down I would be very appreciative. The reason I need them stripped to bare metal is because of the pitting in the aluminum, I need to correct this in order to powder coat them. If there is any more information that I need to provide please ask I will gladly answer anything I can. The wheels are aluminum, when blasting it was determined that there is chrome/nickel/copper on them. I was able to watch the layers expose themselves when blasting.

Thanks,
John H. Forman

A. If the wheels are aluminum you should be able to strip the chromium in a caustic solution and then strip the nickel off in 50% nitric acid.

George Shahin
Atotech - Rock Hill, South Carolina

A. If chemically stripped, both metals (chrome & nickel) will produce toxic regulated waste. Blasting may not depending on local regulations.

Guillermo Marrufo
Monterrey, NL, Mexico

"How to Restore
Metal Auto Trim"
by Jeff Lilly

on AbeBooks

or eBay or

Amazon

(affil links)

Q. Hey guys, basically same question most everyone is asking. "How do I strip the chrome off"

I got a set of aluminum wheels that are chrome plated. I'm the kinda guy like some that triss to do it all on a budget. Not the biggest fan of chrome and I want to black out these wheels. Would it be worth my effort to just have the wheels powdercoated black or spend countless hours trying to strip them my elf to then paint my self!

Suggestions or comments?
Or
Answers!

Battery Terminal Cleaner? Really?
If that actually works, I'm impressed!

A. This was most likely not due to the cleaner but due to the sulfuric acid in the battery corrosion. Sulfuric acid is used in chrome removal as well as car batteries. You can use sulfuric acid ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] to remove chrome by submerging your part in it and hooking up a car battery to the part. The negative terminal or cathode. Hook the anode or positive terminal to a lead bar or just something lead and submerging that to. Watch it bubble. Check the part regularly and be careful this stuff is dangerous! It's called electrolysis and is the reverse of how they chrome plate. Thanks.

Charles Cook
- Batavia Ohio
April 4, 2013

Hi Charles. Thanks. You have correctly identified the cathode as the negative terminal (I like the mnemonic aid 'andode & canthode' to help remember the plus & minus), but you have the terminals reversed in your description because the item you want to de-plate must be connected to the positive terminal so electrons are removed from it causing the metal to convert to positively charged ions.

Even dismissing the dangers of sulfuric acid, remember that while chrome metal is harmless, electrolytically removing it converts it to hexavalent chrome, the stuff that made Erin Brockovich famous :-(

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Q. I need a little help here. I have a chrome plated [real thin] breather cover off an old car that I am powder coating. I started out bead blasting it just to etch it up some. Well as I am doing this a small section of the chrome flies off, so I started to see if I could just blast the rest off. Well, it would not release any more chrome. I blast it at 135 lbs of pressure and still no more chrome will come off. I know now that I have to get all the chrome off but no more will come off. This has to be done before I coat it. I just don't know what to do. PLEASE if you know what I need to do to get the rest of this chrome off, please feel free to help me out here. THANKS.

Marc Banks.
Marc, I did something just like you said and it came out great. Once I coated it with powder, let it cure -- man it was awesome. It really was. But thanks a whole lot for your help. I hope this could help someone else.

Remove chrome from aluminum rims with muriatic acid

Q. How badly will a 30% muriatic acid solution attack aluminum and effectively help strip the chrome? I'd like to get some assistance in removing the chrome but would hate to ruin the aluminum of the wheels. I plan on sanding and painting after removing the loose chrome and achieving an even surface.

A. Hi Orion. In the narrow sense of the word, yes, muriatic acid will quickly dissolve chromium. But the plating on wheels is not "chrome" (that's just slang), it's a heavy layer of nickel plating followed by a thin flash of chrome ... and muriatic acid will not reliably remove the nickel plating (the nickel plating is more resistant to muriatic acid than the aluminum is).

Please consider Jeffrey's suggestion of sending them to a plating shop for electro-stripping, or Mark's suggestion of flap wheel sanding and blasting. Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Hydrochloric acid strips Nickel along with Chrome in Nickel-Chrome Plating Q. Hello Everyone, We are trying to strip only the chrome off of Nickel-Chrome plating, but Nickel also gets stripped off. Could anyone provide insight into this issue? Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks, Adi Adi L - Mumbai, India September 9, 2016 A. Hi Adi. Apparently you already understand that this is not the usual case and that people rather frequently remove chrome from nickel plating with a quick dip in HCl. But maybe you're not dealing with just a flash of decorative chrome, but a heavy chrome over nickel, as in the forks of motorcycles? Did you do the plating yourself so you know there is nickel plating under the chrome? What is the substrate? What is the HCl concentration. How long are you stripping for? Again stripping the usual decorative chrome takes just seconds in the acid. Telling us that an approach which other people know to work isn't working for you is fine ... but people probably can't offer you much help without more detail -- the situation could be virtually anything including the possibility that you have chrome-look paint rather than real nickel-chrome plating on it. Give us more detail please! Good luck. Regards, Ted Mooney, P.E. RET Striving to live Aloha finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Q. The chrome is peeling/flaking off of my 20' wheels that came in a package for my 2014 TSS Tundra. I see a nice black finish beneath the chrome foil (that's what it looks like to me... lol) and would like to know a quick and safe way to get rid of all the chrome to expose the nice black finish on the wheels please?

It seems ALL TSS Tundras have this same issue and the dealerships in the US would replace it but being that I'm from the islands, corporate offices is giving me the runaround if not flat out ignoring me. Any information you could give me is greatly appreciated. P.S. I bought the car in Texas and shipped it home. Thanks a bunch!

Q. I have a set of Foose legend rims that have the same problem as the person with the Toyota Tundra. The chrome film and a clear film has peeled off in flakes. Of course they said if I pay shipping to send it back to California they would "consider warranting the rim". BTW. the rim is only 9 months old and hasn't even been on my car for the last 4 months.

ANYWAY ... I was interested in doing the same thing with my rims, and removing all the chrome to expose the shiny black surface underneath. Anyone know of a shop in the Chicago area that can do this. Or a chemical spray that would allow me to remove the chrome film and clear film off the rims. It actually looks like tint paper that is coming off.

Gold plating over chrome that's not in greatest shape?

Q. Hello I just started gold plating. I've plated some small items, and now I'm gold plating some chrome car wheels. While the wheels look good and are still shiny, when up close you do see some wear to the chrome compared to a new set where the chrome is thick and perfect. My question is would using bright nickel after stripping increase the appearance of gold and brightness? I've done one wheel that I cleaned, hand polished, stripped, activated, and gold plated and it looks good but you can see up close the defects under the gold -- scratches, cloudy (trying my best to describe)? Any advice would be helpful, or are the wheels doomed? Just trying to find out how to get the best finish on chrome that's not new on used rims? Thanks

"Automobiles of the Chrome Age"
by Michael Furman

on AbeBooks

or eBay or

Amazon

(affil links)

A. Hi Pablo. It can be a big jump from "small items" to wheels :-)

Gold plating of chrome car emblems is the easiest plating there is, because you simply strip a few millionths of an inch of chrome from beautifully prepared, highly reflective, perfectly nickel plated articles, and put a few millionths of an inch of gold in its place.

Although I'm not sure that I understand you 100%, it seems you have stripped the chrome and, having done so, discovered that the underlying nickel is not in very good condition. The gold plating is not going to be flashy unless the nickel plating under it is flashy; it's not going to be corrosion resistant if the nickel plating is porous, pin-holed, or otherwise compromised; and it's not going to conceal any scratches.

I think you are on the right track in your belief that nickel plating will prove necessary, but I do fear that it may not prove as easy as your experience in gold plating small items might have led you to believe. I hope they are your wheels rather than someone else's because success is not at all guaranteed.

But after stripping the nickel, if you are successful, you will need to zincate and replate. If you don't strip the nickel, you will have to do a Wood's Nickel Strike or an "Iodine" step (search the site for "nickel on nickel iodine") before the additional nickel plating. Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Q. Thank you Ted Mooney for your helpful response, but I was told I can't bright nickel plate over nickel because it won't stick?

Were you referring to nickel plating, and not bright nickel plating? How would I nickel plate again? Is this a process where the wheel would have to be dipped or could I nickel plate myself? Thanks

A. Hi, Pablo. I'm not the plating sheriff and you're certainly welcome to try any type of plating you wish. But in my own personal opinion, in going from gold plating of small items that still have beautifully prepared nickel-plating on them is one thing, whereas in trying to gold plate onto old & damaged nickel-chrome plated pressure-cast aluminum wheels you will be trying to leap a huge chasm :-)

You were correctly told that you can't directly plate bright nickel plate over old nickel because it won't stick. So now you will be having to learn to do a "Wood's Nickel Strike" or the Canning "Iodine process" on your wheels first to activate the old nickel, before you do bright nickel plating on them, before you learn what is different about gold plating a wheel versus a small emblem.

Best of luck with it, but practicing all this stuff on small, simple, disposable scrap items first is what I'd personally recommend.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Did plating shop corrode my wheels?

Q. Hi,

My alloys were originally chrome and then repainted over the chrome a few years ago.

After some time the chrome has started coming off in strips along with the paint.

Took one of my alloys to a shop that put it in acid to strip and tried to re powder coat.

When collecting the wheel from the shop I noticed what looks like a lot of corrosion on the inside of the rim some of which is fairly deep.

Can someone advise on what could have caused this as the shop is stating that the corrosion was already there.

Have checked the other rear wheel and it doesn't have any major corrosion on the inside. there was a lot of white residue all over the outside where the chrome was just lifting off.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Kind Regards,

 Hi Gary. Someone might be able to help you, but don't be surprised if they don't. Human nature is averse to involving itself in other folks' contract disputes, which is what this sounds like :-)

But best of luck, and Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

A. Hi Gary
Road wheels operate in some of the most aggressive environments that surfaces are expected to face.

Your question has two clues. East Kilbride has harsh winters with lots of salt on the roads and you say the wheels were re-painted some years ago. Old alloy wheels corrode! That is why there are so many companies specialising in re-finishing them.

Chrome plating on alloys can set up corrosion problems and painting on top makes the situation worse.

Your best bet is probably to get them polished.

Geoff Smith
Hampshire, England

A. I've learned a great deal from Geoff's postings so I don't like to quibble, but there is no way that road salt gets into that area of a wheel if I'm viewing the picture right -- it's within the pressurized air envelope.

Luck & Regards,


Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Chrome peeling / curb rash

Q. Hi, just came across this thread as I am looking for ways to repair my chrome clad wheels on a 2011 caddy dts. I just bought it and then noticed some curb rash on driver's side rear wheel. The other 3 look new. The rash is only minor but has caused some small patches of chrome to get ground off. The area is at the end of spoke (it's a 9-spoke cap ) on 3 of the spokes in an area of about 1,2 inch patch. It's plastic underneath. Can I just get some chrome paint & touch it up or should I sand / clean 1st & maybe put some type of resin / epoxy over 1st to keep more chrome from peeling? Thanks, Marty

A. Hi Marty. Others on this page were discussing wheels; you are discussing a plastic hubcap, which changes the economic situation. Have you priced one at a Cadillac dealer?

Some sanding, perhaps body putty, and some spray paint that looks shiny is probably all that can be justified.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Q. Thank you for the response Ted. I did contact the dealer body shop & was told they replace the whole wheel with a new one at a cost of $500-$1000 dollars or to contact an aftermarket distributor. He said they don't sell just the "CHROME CLAD CAP". I explained after marketers sell caps for other cars including Cadillacs but not this style Mf #'sOEM: 09597243, 9597242, FPM OEM Option: N80. I explained I'd watched on pages where they can get the cap off & re-affix a new cap onto the old wheel. I just have a hard time believing they don't have this style cap as in the aftermarket they sell reconditioned wheels? I've seen other comparable caps for $50-$75 dollar range. Other than ordering a new wheel they couldn't help me. I realize touch up can't replace real chrome so just looking for a way to make it look better & last awhile also. I thought about putting an adhesive putty like JB Weld ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] to keep the chrome from continuing to peel & the sand down to a smooth finish & touch up paint. Again I thank you for your comment and I would appreciate any advice offered. Marty

A. Hi again. Sorry, I've never looked at one of those wheels or really thought about it. Perhaps I'll learn better some day and will have to apologize, but for now I'll say that making a very easily damaged, completely non-repairable, highly decorative, $50 plastic hubcap a permanent, non-replaceable part of a $1000 automobile wheel sounds like a ludicrous design choice.

I followed my parent's life-long allegiance, and bought GM cars exclusively for 38 years -- then GM acted in a way I found duplicitous in a warranty/defect matter, stringing me along for 2 years, claiming they had 'opened a file on the whole subject', as I paid their dealer $1300+ the 2rd time, and then again a 3rd time, to have the same short circuit repaired down deep inside the steering wheel. I swore off GM for life -- not because other makers don't also make design mistakes or build a lemon, but because I feel that GM corporate headquarters very deliberately deceived me, costing me several thousands of dollars for their design mistake; thanks for reinforcing my commitment -- I'm on my 4th Toyota :-)

Yes, JB Weld ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] is fine stuff, and if you can get some along the loose edges before sanding, that would be great.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

? Have you tried salvage yards for a good one off a wreck?

Jeffrey Holmes, CEF
Spartanburg, South Carolina

  Thank you for the suggestion. That did cross my mind and I checked a local yard and no luck. It's a pull-a-part where you go back and find one like yours. Problem is this car is now 9 yrs old & although in excellent shape finding a nice one will probably be hard to find. I plan on expanding my search area as the weather breaks here in Indiana and they get more cars in sporadically. The wheels on these cars usually won't last more than a couple of days if they're nice. I'm kinda a junkyard dog since at one time I had 4 daughters in college at the same time and trying to keep all their cars and mine running was, well to say the least, a monumental task as since I was & still am broke paying the bills. I am open to any & all suggestions and appreciate your input. Even at my age I can still learn. Again, thanks, Marty.

A. Keep looking.

There are websites to which salvage yards subscribe, so one request by you will go out to many.

Also it's worth checking eBay. There are many salvage parts listed there.

Somewhere there is a wrecked car with a good wheel cover.

Jeffrey Holmes, CEF
Spartanburg, South Carolina

Ed. note: Stuff comes and goes on eBay, but on the day I checked there were pre-owned "2006-2011 Cadillac DTS chrome wheel center caps" available for $49.99 ⇦ this on eBay , but I don't think this is what is damaged in your photo.

adv.