I've searched high and low for an answer to this question, including some forum threads, but can’t seem to get a definitive answer so I am turning here. I want to powder coat a set of chrome wheels and need to know how to prep them properly. Some of the chrome is flaking off in the inner wheel along with some minor pitting which I'm concerned about blistering up after the powder is baked on. I am not going to have them chemically stripped b/c of cost. Sand/media blasting is an option but I was wondering if I could achieve the same result with a wire wheel and elbow grease? If anyone has some experience with this or could point me in the right direction it would be much appreciated.

 

Are you doing this yourself, or having someone else do it? If someone else, they would be the right ones to ask. If they don't know the answers, they shouldn't be doing your work

 

If you're trying to powder coat a chrome set of dodge wheels, you can't do it.

If they are actually real chrome wheels, sand blast them.

 

The wheels are aftermarket 22", not the chrome clad stocks. I am having them powder coated at a shop. He has coated over chrome before, but it was chrome that was in good, almost new, condition. That is far from the shape that mine are in. I usually do my own prep work, but that was on smaller things for my bike which were also just painted. With those it's obviously just a matter of removing the paint down to bare metal but chrome is more complicated. Getting the chromium layer off probably will not be an issue, but would the nickel under it be a stable surface to adhere to? The nickel is something that I am 99% sure I can not remove myself (need chemicals). The bottom line from the powder coater is that he will powder coat the wheels, but he can not guarantee that they won't bubble and/or flake later on. Don't want to be dropping money into something that will look like crap later on.

Maybe I am just better off cutting my loses and selling them haha

 

Best bet would to spend the extra money too have them professionally stripped. That way if anything were to happen too the powder coat it's his fault. It boils back down to one of those you get what you pay for situations.