Red Tabby

Hi everyone,

Last week, I noticed what I'll call pitting on ONLY my right rear 2010 GS chrome wheel. I can feel it with my finger and used a loop to take a close look. It does appear that these tiny spots are where the chrome is chipped or missing.

Does anyone have any thoughts on what may have caused this?

The car is a garage queen and has very very low mileage on it. I'm too embarrassed to even say how low. I am the 2nd owner and have had it for 3 years. It's never been anywhere near snow or salt and I only had it in the rain once - coming home from Corvettes at Carlisle, of all places!

The car has only been out of my sight once this year and that was when it was getting its State Inspection. The paperwork does not say which rear wheel was pulled to check the brakes.

If this was caused by brake dust, then why only one wheel and only in an area by the tire and a very small area on one of the spokes????

I'm thinking that there is no way to repair this either. I will attempt to post a picture that shows the two locations where this occurred, circled in red.

BTW, I've never used any cleaner on the wheels other than soap & water and FK-425.

Thanks in advance for any ideas as to why and if anything can be done.

RR by bkthunderkatz, on Flickr

Jim D.

Hard to say what actually caused it, but it could have been some of the road salts left behind.

You may never know the actual cause, but you can get it refinished.

Keep in mind that these are not true chrome plate, but are a process called PVD or sometimes branded "PermaChrome" -- basically a high-tech paint process with a clear coat. Google "PVD wheel refinishing" and see what companies will refinish your wheel (vs. doing an exchange). Wheel Collision is in Pennsylvania and should be able to get it done for you.

0Killrwheels@Autogeek

Chrome pits and chips are caused by a number of items. It could be from brake dust, it could be from a tire chemical left on the rim or perhaps a protectant. It could be something that popped up or scraped the wheel (even during tire installation). When the wheel was originally chromed perhaps that area had some contaminant on it.

Luckily its probably not that noticeable and to re-chrome can be expensive.

Use a good wheel coating to protect the wheel as best as possible. Keep the wheels clean whenever possible. It wasn't the soap of Fk425.

Jim D.

I'm pretty sure those are PVD, and the refinishing of a PVD wheel is not too bad as it does not involve stripping of the old chrome plate (since there isn't any traditional chrome plate). Likely it'll be between $200 and $300 per wheel for the black chrome PVD, and possibly less... shop around. And be sure they can match it properly so you don't have to re-finish both wheels on that side of the vehicle.

Red Tabby

Thank you for the replies.

The picture makes it look a lot worse than it really is. Strange that it is only on the one wheel and a small area. This just happened recently because I've cleaned these wheels almost every time after I've driven the car.

Jim, I would guess that they couldn't "spot" fix it and not have to do the entire wheel due to the color not being an exact match. Is that correct?

Would something like Rejex or Liquid Glass keep brake dust (if that's what caused it) from penetrating and causing something like this?

Thanks.

0Killrwheels@Autogeek

Look to a "coating" for the longest and best protection. I highly suggest :

http://www.autogeek.net/gtechniq-c5-wheel-armor.html

One bottle is more than enough for all 4 wheels and the barrels. Just use sparingly and control the application as over application does not mean better protection.

Jim D.

On the PVD coating -- no real chance for a spot treatment that I'm aware of -- Physical Vapor Deposition is a process that can probably be best described by being similar to powder coating process, but it's done in a vacuum chamber using very high-tech science. Anything done at home would likely be very visible, though you don't have much to lose by trying.

More and more OEMs are specifying PVD as an alternative to chrome plating as it's much more corrosion resistant than chrome plate.

And since it's finished with a clearcoat that is similar to other coated OEM wheels (e.g., silver wheels and two-tone wheels), you can use protective measures such as you or Nick mentioned, or a synthetic wax or spray wax (like our California Gold) if you wish. Light scratches can be removed with a product like our Scratch Remover for body paints.

Disclaimer: I work for Mothers Polishes-Waxes-Cleaners.

Red Tabby

Thank you both for your responses. I'm going to purchase something to coat the wheels to protect them more.

0Killrwheels@Autogeek

I believe the G-techniq line is on sale this week

Rob4092xx

Might be on sale but I highly recommend you take a close look at shipping cost as it will likely eat up any "discount" or "sale price." Happened to me today. Read here:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-autogeek.html