I've had this Schwinn High Sierra for a while now and just recently removed a rather stuck seat post. It has what was once a nice black chrome finish that appears to be paint applied to a chrome plated frame.

My questions are:

Has anyone stripped a frame like this before? What is the most effective method of safely removing the top coat of paint? What kind of plating quality and frame finish should I expect to find once the paint is removed?

paint stripper. brush-on gel kind, or the wallpaper kind. the gel will be better at getting into nooks and crannies, the paper kind is better for larger tubes etc as it doesn't drip , of course.

NO wire brushing except with a bristle brush (you can trim most of the length off an old paintbrush if you have one lying around). DON"T sand paper later! use more stripper, or maybe a heat gun on final parts and scrape off with a soft piece of wood. dismantle it more before you go to work, and don't use anyhting too acid or too base: you want a solvent stripper. wash with alcohol later, then polish with chrome polish or buffer.

no i've never done a bike frame like that, but yes i have done some motorcycle parts...