Powder-coating and Chroming aluminum wheels

[frank s]

I have a nice set of aluminum wheels that were powder-coated shiny black before I bought them, new. They look very good, all black. But, I think they would look even better in chrome, on my black car.

The original wheels never came in anything but painted silver, so I'm not likely to find chrome ones on the secondary market. The natural solution is to clean off the powder coat and take them to the chromers.

My questions: Is removing powder-coat common? Can it be done easily, for reasonable cost? Would a chrome-plater regard powder-coat removal an unusual step in preparing wheels for chrome-plating?

I'll appreciate any expert and/or constructive replies.

Thank you.

 

[Newman]

A decent chroming of wheels will be expensive and not worth it . I had one done by a good company in Cali and it was worth more than the wheel new.

And should be able to sandblast the powercoat off.

 

[frank s]

Thanks for your response.

You're probably right about "not worth it" on the chroming. The similar wheels I've seen in both silver paint, polished, and chrome all looked good, but the chrome ones were dazzling in a way nothing else could be. I'll have to check prices to be certain where the "worth it" line is.

Of course practically nothing I can add to my car is "worth it" in any non-fantasy practical sense. We'll see. Maybe.