WOLFGANG posted:I suspect the powder coater used fairly gentle media blasting. Wonder if more aggressive sandblasting or a sanding disc followed by a flapper sanding wheel would remove the flaking remaining chrome? It might leave pits and scratches that powder coating won't smooth out though. There has to be some nasty chemical out there that would remove it too. Try muriatic acid used to clean paint/cement from bricks (protect eyes and don't breath fumes). Suspect you only need to do the front.
Thanks for the ideas Guys. Greg most of what's in those links are now legally banned for pollution and personal safety reasons now. I had thought about some bootleg, homebrew chemical process but decided against it. I used electrolysis years ago to remove minor rust from inside the whole length of steel aircraft lift strut tubes. The process was excellent and I could see the date stamp on the outside of the tubes when done, no sanding required. Summerhill Tube Company April 1947.
Flapper abrading would remove the flaking chrome if you could get a flapper wheel deep down into the crevices of the wheel but you can't reach it all. The powder coat shop and I came to some compromise / agreement yesterday and they said they'd "make it work " so i'll get my wheels back early next week. The tires are on hand and the hubcaps are somewhere in the city so I should have all bolted up by next weekend to show off to our flying club friends. Annual party at my place for about 40 people...always a good time.