2A. if your willing to get them rechromed then you can buy wire brush bits for a drill... use that and it will go back to metal in seconds but would scratch it all and therefore need rechroming/cleaning up
2B. paint stripper, lerave for a while though
2C. no pain no gain stick to the wire brush
2D. take it to a chrome place and they will do everything. they soak it in very hot STUFF whcih melts everything off it and returns it back to metal and then they chrome it for you
2D is what i am going to do as is easiest thing to do. i did this for an old front bar that i needed fixing. they dip it in acid like stuff and gets all the paint/chrome off and even gets rid of rust too. then i took the bar to my beater who heated it, shrunk it blah blah blah and got it back perfect and then back to chrome place for rechroming... for the front bar dechrioming and chroming cost $180 (6yrs ago) and my beater charged me nothing cause is a good friend of mine