Picked these bad boys up yesterday

[Gooch]

15" AC Schnitzer reps (99% sure they're not the real deal...they don't say W. Germany or anything on the lips like I've seen in all of Nico's FS threads), saw them posted on Craigslist on Father's Day for $125 so I emailed the guy and snatched them up last night. I figured it was a pretty good deal with tires and all.







I figure I'll be able to restore them pretty well, they're a little oxidized and the chrome is peeling. Any ideas how to remove the chrome? I'm seeing mixed opinions on sand/bead blasting vs. chemicals. Anyone with personal experience?

Thanks!

[Mossman]

You can't strip chrome with any normal chemicals. I would call around local harley shops and ask them if they can strip chrome or who they send stuff out to. Those guys have to know.

[ditchdigger]

Seeing that chrome plating is an electrolytic process I googled and found this

I used to do a little brass refinnishing and among the most popular items were the Alladin and Rayo lamps, which were orriginally chromed. The proceedure is very much the same as removing rust but with different chemical. First, degrease completely and scrub thoroughly with detergent. Mix 1 cup of Muriatic acid with 3 gallons of water in a plastic bucket. NOTE; ALWAYS ADD ACID TO WATER. NEVER WATER TO ACID !!! (It WILL explode) Hang two or three copper wires (#12 or larger) around sides of bucket. Connect these to ground of battery charger. Hang item to be dechromed in fluid with positive lead connected. Be sure part doesn"t touch ground wires. Within a few seconds or minutes, depending on thickness of chrome, it should come clean. More or less time as required. When finnished, wash parts in mild soda water solution to nutralize acid. (Do this right way to prevent rust) As with any caustic acid, handle with care.

Sounds right to me, A large plastic tub would hold the wheels but I wouldnt know where to purchase muriatic acid. As a plus when you were done you could reverse the electrodes and chrome plate some random item for shits and giggles.

Disposing of the acid water solution might be a problem though. A PH test kit and a strong base (Lye?) could render it harmless enough to pour into a drain.

[KevlarWeave]

You can pick that up at a pool supply store, or Home Depot type shops IIRC.

[ZM Blue Devil]

Nice pick up... Brooklyn right? Saw them on cl, never made it out. They should clean up nice.

[Bimmerista]

Sweet deal

[Borat]

they look pretty genuine to me. its possible the writing was just covered when the chromed them. just have a look in the phone for a place that does paint/metal stripping. I had to get one of my ACS wheels stripped in a similar way. Be warned its a lot of work if you want to bring back the polished lips after they've been chromed.

[Schmalex]

Very nice

[Gooch]

Nice pick up... Brooklyn right? Saw them on cl, never made it out. They should clean up nice.

Yes. :D

they look pretty genuine to me. its possible the writing was just covered when the chromed them. just have a look in the phone for a place that does paint/metal stripping. I had to get one of my ACS wheels stripped in a similar way. Be warned its a lot of work if you want to bring back the polished lips after they've been chromed.

My friend said the same thing, I'm not really sure, I hope they are the real deal for obvious reasons, but I'm not too optimistic.

Thanks to everyone else, keep the ideas rolling.

[Gooch]

After some digging through the classifieds, I think they're definitely replicas.

Here's a picture of a genuine ACS:



And here's mine:

[naika]

Good deal man, even if they are copies, that's still damn cheap

[BrewCity11]

ALWAYS ADD ACID TO CHICKEN. NEVER CHICKEN TO ACID !!! (It WILL explode)

I liked the look of satin black face with a polished lip.

[bmw325csi]

Sick deal bro. Nice how all the pirelli's match and everything

[cactusjacks1]

Find a company does chroming (bumpers, wheels, etc.) & have them strip the chrome. Stripping chrome is just the reverse process of the plating. They already have the vats of chemicals, they just dip the wheels in reverse order. They will also prep the stripped wheel, for paint or polish or both, if you doing spokes & lips different - & they are much cheaper than strippers!!

[Gooch]

Any idea on a ballpark price range? I'm hearing that a chrome shop/company/place is my best bet, but I was really hoping to do this myself.

I went to pick up some sandblasting sand from a local place nearby and they said that it would severely pit the aluminum and sent me to an auto parts store with a machine shop. The guy in the machine shop suggested glass beads and if that didn't work soda blasting.