My son works in a shop that does repairs and custom finishes on wheel rims.  They have been burning chrome platings off in their ovens!  This seems alarmingly hazardous to me!  Can anyone suggest a safer method for removing chrome plating?  I have been looking around the internet but I’ve yet to find anything that seems definite and authoritative.  I’m hoping that some of you skilled smiths can help me.

I've never heard of cooking it off, usually it is either chemically done, reversal of the plating process or sand blasting.

I'd also be worried about the integrity of whatever they are are removing it from. A Quick google and the melting point of chrome appears to be well above that of aluminium and steel, perhaps they are using a combination of chemical and heat to speed up the process?

what ever the process, if they are using suitable extraction and filters, have someone whom knows what they are doing safety wise, it should be safe - But if it were me,  I'd still be telling my son to get a job doing something safer.

Check out a recent IFI. thread entitled, "Removing chrome plate from copper" posted last Tuesday.

SLAG.