The Advanced Fuels Campaign has made progress in developing an ability to fabricate high quality 'generic' chromium coatings applied to commercial nuclear cladding alloys free of the proprietary considerations inherent to the industry materials. The availability of such source material is critical for execution of fundamental studies as well as open collaboration between the national laboratories, within Office of Nuclear Energy programs, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. This milestone report provides insights on the impact of processing parameters on the microstructure of 7 micron Cr-coated Zircaloy-4. Coatings were applied using High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HiPIMS). Scanning electron microscopy was utilized to investigate the overcoating of cladding and cross-sections of the interface. Characterization confirmed that a high quality, continuous coating was achieved. Burst testing was then performed to evaluate the performance of high-quality coatings to coatings that contain known flaws and uncoated materials. Results demonstrated that coatings containing flaws allowing for direct exposure of the base cladding to atmosphere exhibit burst behavior matching that of the uncoated material. However, continuous coatings resulted in measurable improvement. This work will be expanded in FY22 to include a broader set of mechanical property studies and test irradiations.