I had always been under the assumption that powder coating would only adhere to bare, base metal ......perhaps the 1st coat prevented proper adhesion of the 2nd ?

If you asked me about cerakote I could answer, I only just started powder coating. I have 6 big truck wheels I am doing now. My gun is not enough to do layers so single stages has been working well. I suppose you could wet sand and polish that if it is thicc.

This is correct. What you are seeing is called stacking. For a second coating, which is typically avoided at all costs, you need a different voltage and a further stand-off distance. We typically would strip parts, which is expensive, before attempting a recoat. It just seems to never yield a very good result in terms of both durability or appearance.

ETA: I don’t powder coat anymore but I managed a plant for several years where we powder coated differential joints for Chrysler and Toyota. I had to get certified to manage the plant operations.

I was waiting on him to answer. Aircraft stripper will not hurt the chrome. If that does not get it and you want to send it to me, I would be happy to media blast it for you. That will not remove the chrome but it would dull it.

I have used the below product to remove powder coat from bow risers before cerakote. Expensive, but pulls it off great and can be shipped, unlike a bunch of the other ones.

https://www.removepowdercoatpaint.com/product-page/1-gallon-remove-9001-gel