I feel as though it is.

 

PC does not do anything to the wheels. In order to affect the material properties the wheel would have to be brought up to at least half the melting point of the material. In the case of aluminum wheels the melting point is 1200F. That would mean that the wheels would have to be cooked at 600F and most powdercoating ovens are not even capable of reaching that temp. The temp depends on the powder, but around 350-400 is the norm.

-end rant.

 

What's the difference between "Chrome Plating", "Chrome Electroplating", "Chrome Dipping", "Chroming", etc.?

Nothing. Chrome is always applied by electroplating, it is never melted onto parts in the fashion of chocolate on strawberries, or applied in any other way than by electroplating. Note the previous paragraph, though, that everything that is somewhat bright is not necessarily chrome.


Is all chrome plating about the same, then?

Not quite. There are two different general applications for chrome plating: "hard chrome plating" (sometimes called 'engineering chrome plating') and "decorative chrome plating".





Hard Chrome Plating

Most people would not be very familiar with hard chrome plating. Hard chrome plating is chrome plating that has been applied as a fairly heavy coating (usually measured in thousandths of an inch) for wear resistance, lubricity, oil retention, and other 'wear' purposes. Some examples would be hydraulic cylinder rods, rollers, piston rings, mold surfaces, thread guides, gun bores, etc. 'Hard chrome' is not really harder than other chrome plating, it is called hard chromium because it is thick enough that a hardness measurement can be performed on it, whereas decorative chrome plating is only millionths of an inch thick and will break like an eggshell if a hardness test is conducted, so its hardness can't really be measured directly.

Hard chrome plating is almost always applied to items that are made of steel, usually hardened steel. It is metallic in appearance but is not particularly reflective or decorative. Hard chrome plating is not a finish that you would want on a wheel or bumper.

There are variations even within hard chrome plating, with some of the coatings optimized to be especially porous for oil retention, etc., others "thin dense chrome", and so on.







Hard Chromium Plating, Robert K. Guffie



Many shops who do hard chrome plating do no other kind of plating at all, because their business is designed to serve only engineered, wear-type, needs. If a shop says they do 'hard chrome only', they have no service that most consumers would be interested in. Follow the link for a list of some shops that offer hard chrome plating.




Decorative Chrome Plating

Decorative chrome plating is sometimes called nickel-chrome plating because it always involves electroplating nickel onto the object before plating the chrome (it sometimes also involves electroplating copper onto the object before the nickel, too). The nickel plating provides the smoothness, much of the corrosion resistance, and most of the reflectivity. The chrome plating is exceptionally thin, measured in millionths of an inch rather than in thousandths.

When you look at a decorative chrome plated surface, such as a chrome plated wheel or truck bumper, most of what you are seeing is actually the effects of the nickel plating. The chrome adds a bluish cast (compared to the somewhat yellowish cast of nickel), protects the nickel against tarnish, minimizes scratching, and symbiotically contributes to corrosion resistance. But the point is, without the brilliant leveled nickel undercoating, you would not have a reflective, decorative surface.

 

good short read Andy.

 

I'd actually like a set of hard chromed wheels, they would be easy to clean, pit and chip proof and look pimp. Too bad It would be very cost prohibitive.

 

 

You have never seen a hard chrome 1911?

 

I don't like chrome guns & don't like chrome wheels on an s2000

 

Hard chrome isn't bling.. It's a satin/matte finish.

 

aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh nevermind then