Quote:

(Chrome will not plate on steel but will plate on nickel. Nickel will not plate on steel but will plate on copper. Copper will plate on steel. That's why "chrome plating" is actually copper-nickel-chrome plating.)



This is not true. Nickel will absolutely plate on steel.

The triple plate chroming of copper, nickel, chrome is only done on high end plating jobs. The copper is actually used as a filler and in the case of pitted metal it would be sanded down and replated in copper until the final copper dip showed no imperfections. Only then would it be nickel then chrome plated. The nickel is actually the coating that provides the color, the chrome is sort of like a clear coat and the color would vary with the underlying tone. If you look at early Corvettes, you'll notice the bumpers have a gold or yellow tint to them - possibly from skipping the nickel process (I've never wondered enough to find the reason why).

As I said, lower end chroming jobs will often skip the copper because its expensive and labor intensive. Not only do they have to buff the steel surface but once dipped the copper also needs to be buffed. So the copper step is skipped and the part just gets nickel and chrome.

That said, I would imagine that back in the day many production vehicle bumpers received only a nickel and chrome finish. Looking at the AMD repro bumpers, I think that's all they get too.

You can usually easily see the difference. Done properly, a triple plated piece will be perfectly smooth as the soft copper can be buffed to a finer finish whereas the harder steel will usually show the marks right through the nickel and chrome.

FWIW nickel provides a nice durable finish over steel and is something that can be done in your own shop. There are loads of you-tube videos.

With regards to the OP's wheel issue, I doubt those would be triple plated. Most likely nickel/chrome. I that solution I seriously doubt the chrome will be harmed. To remove chrome you need a strong caustic soda solution - like Drano !!

Sorry to take this off the original "rust removal" topic but some things stand to be corrected.