chroming wheels

he guys i got an 01 TA with factory 17 alloy wheels. Wondering if it would be cheaper to just get factory wheels chromed rather than going out and buying a new set. If so where would i go to get wheels chromed. I live in the DFW area. thanks for your help.

It's been debated many times in the past, and I think the common solution ended up being buying new chrome wheels. Unless you have extremely rare wheels that you absolutely can't buy chromed from the factory, it wouldn't be worth the time to get a shop to do it for you. It's pretty pricey to get wheels chromed....$$$

Polish, polish, polish.....

Originally posted by Hawk350
Polish, polish, polish.....
I don't understant what you mean by that.........
Are you trying to say that if you polish machine finish wheels enough, they'll become chrome?:think:

You must mean something else....

he probably means to just go with/buy polished rims instead of chrome...

What I mean is if you polish wheels, they will look like chrome.

http://members.localnet.com/~mblaszcz/before.jpg

http://members.localnet.com/~mblaszcz/after.jpg

damn, I wish I didn't have my salad shooters now. I'd polish my wheels all day long if they looked like that!! :eek:

If you have already polished wheels, it would be cheaper to have them chromed than to buy factory chromed wheels. I had one of my Mercedes chrome wheels re-chromed for $150 at www.calchrome.com with excellent result. $125 if you want a polished wheel chromed.

Originally posted by Hawk350
What I mean is if you polish wheels, they will look like chrome.

http://members.localnet.com/~mblaszcz/before.jpg

http://members.localnet.com/~mblaszcz/after.jpg

Polishing is the way to go. Mine are actually polished and I love them, much easier to maintain, and they don't flake like other wheels do.

very nice Hawk350, what do you use to keep them up?


chroming depends on where its done and what stage. my tripple chrome plated 91 wheels were around 1500.

It's aluminum polish, not sure exactly what the name is....but i will find out for ya....after each wash, I use the polish and then a coat of wax to act as a clearcoat.

Also....my rims cost me about $100 to do....(sand paper, compounds and a buffing wheel)

Hey Hawk350, what are your center caps made out of? And can you list some of the products that you use? Thanks!

Center caps are already chrome....the little disks around the center caps were painted aluminum and the wheels are aluminum. I stripped the clearcoat with "stripper" a spray that I bought at home depot.....used 230, 600, 1000, 1500 grit sand paper then compounds on a drill with buffing wheel. Takes me a day to do one rim but as you can see.....well worth the results:D

if you could find the polish and what wax you use i'd apreciate it!

So then you have a polished rim with a chrome center cap, correct? I wanted to do this to my rims, but how do I know the shine of the rim will match the shine of the chrome center cap?

Originally posted by Hawk350
What I mean is if you polish wheels, they will look like chrome.

http://members.localnet.com/~mblaszcz/before.jpg

http://members.localnet.com/~mblaszcz/after.jpg I love those firehawk center caps almost as much as the newer ones. Nice polishing job hawk. :bow:

Originally posted by Silver6er
So then you have a polished rim with a chrome center cap, correct? I wanted to do this to my rims, but how do I know the shine of the rim will match the shine of the chrome center cap?

They will be close......are your wheels aluminum?

Yeah, they're O.Z Monte Carlo's, I wanted to do that exact same thing but am thinking the center caps and the rim wont match. What do you think?
http://www.bfranker.badz28.com/appearance/camaro/OZwheels.jpg

Think I should go for it?

could always paint them chrome....alot cheaper and it looks very close.

:D

http://www.alsacorp.com/

That "ghost chrome" doesnt look all to bad, I actually like it. As for the "MirraChrome", I wouldnt do it because it looks a little to plasticy for me. Thanks for the link!:bow:

Originally posted by Silver6er
Yeah, they're O.Z Monte Carlo's, I wanted to do that exact same thing but am thinking the center caps and the rim wont match. What do you think?
http://www.bfranker.badz28.com/appearance/camaro/OZwheels.jpg

Think I should go for it?

Is the center cap plastic or aluminum?

Its plastic, Ive seen them in chrome and they look very shiny, thats why Im afraid to do it.....:confused:

Originally posted by Silver6er
Its plastic, Ive seen them in chrome and they look very shiny, thats why Im afraid to do it.....:confused:

Is yours plastic in a dull color or is it chrome? What color is it?

Well, right now I have silver O.Z's with the center caps all painted viper silver. Ive seen a set of chrome center caps, here look at this pic:
http://www.geocities.com/freakracing/wheel1oz.jpg
See how you can tell the difference? Yours matched perfectly, while I think that mine my not even be close. Great alternative to chroming, but I dont know if I'll benefit from it?:confused:

If you got those caps and polished, they would match.

Hey hawk nice rims i think you have sold me im gonna save the money and just polish my rims. If you couold right down everything u used and wut u did to make them look so good that would be great
thanks

I am currently polishing my last wheel. I am taking pics and I will post within the next few days a link and everything you will need to get great results.