Flaking Chrome Rims. Any Refinishing Options

Mister Pig

Pigamus Maximus
Hi,

Actually this is for my 94 Mustang GT.

I have a set of Eagle Alloy rims that are chromed. Well the chrome is flaking on the inside well. The outside spokes look fine, and I hate to toss the rims. Rechroming is not cost effective, they want an arm and a leg. So do I have any options? These are some sort of alloy, and I was wondering if I had them sand blasted clean, can they be polished and sealed? If so, will the finish hold up?

I thought of powder coating, but don't see any finishes I really like. The chrome powder coat looks like pewter, and has a dull finsh...of course. I don't want to waste these rims, but I want them to look respectable too. I appreciate any thoughts and suggestions you may have.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
Polishing will cost as much as a rechrome. Sand blast and paint or Powder coat.
 
I went through the same thing with chrome wheels. Its not cost effective to rechrome compared to buying a new set.. and powder coating over the old chrome will not last. Sandblasting won't get it all off.

On a more positive note, if you like black 18" five spoke wheels I have a set that will fit your car! haha.

Good luck!

Evan
 
Yep.. cheapest route will be buying new ones... Rechroming is NOT cheap.. The old chrome can't be chromed over... You can powder coat over the old chrome though, but since it is chipping off, it will continue to do the same even after coating them. Sand blasting won't take off all the peeling chrome. Once it has started to lose it's bond, eventually most of it will come off if you give it enough time..

To Re-chrome they basically reverse the process to remove the old chrome, and you will be lucky to find someone that would do that. The only time I've known of people to do that is right before they are changing out their tanks, and aren't worried about what happens to the chemicals.

The cheapest way to deal with it is just don't look at the rims, and keep on driving..
 
Well But......

Thanks for the responses. Ok, the chrome on the front of the wheel is in nice shape still. They look good from the front. But the inside "dish" of the rim is where the flaking is happening. Is there a way to arrest the flaking? Can I say sand with a fine grit to get an even sheen and then seal over it? Just thoughts. It seems criminal to throw rims away that cost $800 a set.

The Mustang rides much better and handling improves on the 50 series tires versus the stock 16's. I need to buy new tires, so I was hoping to get at least one more tires worth of use out of these.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
no way to stop the flaking once it starts. Water and dirt get under the plating where it's flaked, or chipped, or pitted, and it just keep, corroding, and keeps going.. About all you can try doing is powdercoat it to maybe seal it some and make it last longer. A clear or even colored paint won't offer much sealing protection in the long run compared to what a powder coat would...

I would make sure to chip back as much chrome as possible though to get the corrosion under the edges cleand up as much as possible.

Seriously.. if it were me, I would either buy new rims if it bothered me that bad, or just let it go, because the amount of work and cost just isn't going to justify too well how long they will last..
 
I've got a good friend Mechanical Engineer. He is a Porsche owner and has attended several wheel seminars put on by the manufacturers. To quote him, chrome will flake off of wheels, it is just a matter of time.

Since they are going to flake, you can have them replated.
 
I think I get where you are going with this... No harm can come from removing as much of the peeled chrome as possible, feather-edging the damaged areas, then applying some type of coating to "seal" the repair.

The only question is "what" to seal the repaired area with. I'd give a product called "rust bullet" a try (google their website).

I realize you aren't trying to lock out rust from a piece of ferrous metal, rather an "electrolysis" between the chrome plating and aluminum, which starts when moisture is introduced. This product produces a glass-like finish to lock out moisture, and sticks ferociously to whatever it's applied to (or spilled on). Also leaves a metallic silver finish, which should be acceptable for the back of a rim.

You're only out the labor time, and the cost of a quart of the product.
 
AHA Yes Thank You

I think I get where you are going with this... No harm can come from removing as much of the peeled chrome as possible, feather-edging the damaged areas, then applying some type of coating to "seal" the repair.

The only question is "what" to seal the repaired area with. I'd give a product called "rust bullet" a try (google their website).

I realize you aren't trying to lock out rust from a piece of ferrous metal, rather an "electrolysis" between the chrome plating and aluminum, which starts when moisture is introduced. This product produces a glass-like finish to lock out moisture, and sticks ferociously to whatever it's applied to (or spilled on). Also leaves a metallic silver finish, which should be acceptable for the back of a rim.

You're only out the labor time, and the cost of a quart of the product.


Thanks, this sounds promising. I will now go and try to find this stuff.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
Another thing or two to consider:

Chrome is generally hard - very hard. That's why high budget crankshafts have chrome journals. That also means that the chrome is usually harder than (conventional) blast media. If you try to blast something that has a GOOD plating job, the media will just bounce off.

Next, chrome plating is only as good as the preparation, just like a paint job. Steel is usually polished, then plated with copper to fill the imperfections, and polished again. Cheaper chrome jobs skip the copper, hence the rust and peeling. If the wheels are an aluminum alloy, the copper is out of the question, so they plate right over the POLISHED aluminum. Chrome won't bond quite as well, and you have peeling again.

I heard once that plating can be removed by a chemical bath with reverse current much like the plating process itself, but don't know for sure.

There's always Craig's List..............
 
You can have the plating removed fairly cheep and then powdercoated. And powdercoating is fine if its done right and preped well it will hold up quite nicely. Finding a place that will do a good job sometimes is hard, ask around car buffs and part stores (unless the store does it there....obviously they wont be byist). Anyways if you don't wont to go through that bother, than the only other good option is to, as said before, get a new set of rims. I wouldn't bother getting anything re-chromed its just not cost effective and usually turns out bad. Well thats my 2 cents, Nick
 
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