Metal finishing Q&As since 1989

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Home Chrome Plating

Q. I would like to chrome plate my rims, can you give me info on how to do that or can you give me a good internet site. So far all I have is Chromate, Sulfuric acid and a 55 amp battery charger [on eBay or Amazon] .

Martin E [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Wallsburg, Utah, USA
2003

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2003

A. Apologies, Martin, but this is just not something you should do at home. You have to remove any paint, then you have to mechanically polish and buff, then depending on whether they are aluminum or steel you need to go through three to seven chemical treatments, plus rinses and neutralizers. Then you need to electroless nickel plate them, then copper plate them, then buff them again, then pretreat them again. Then nickel plate them with a Watt's semi-bright nickel solution, then plate them with bright nickel . . . all before you chrome plate them in the carcinogenic, hexavalent chromium that made Erin Brockovich famous.

You can learn quite a bit about chrome plating from our "Intro to Chrome Plating" FAQ, but please take them to a plating shop. Best of luck.

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

Chrome plating does not like ripple. A battery charger is a poor choice. Also, a 6 volt unit will require that you go with tank anodes rather than conforming. This will not get down into the crevices and recessed areas very well. Do you have $1,000 to ship off your waste to a certified land fill? If you do not, plan on a $5,000 fine if caught. Life is too short to try to plate a set. Anodize aluminum, possibly, Chrome plate-NAW.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
2003

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Don't even attempt to home plate hexavalent chromium. It is quite difficult to do correctly, uses very harmful chemicals that can cause cancer and you will run into all sorts of problems disposing of the waste. You will also run into problems with your environmental agencies.

Trevor Crichton
R&D practical scientist
Chesham, Bucks, UK
2003