Wheel restoration?
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 1,014
Likes: 7
From: Ft Wayne IN
Wheel restoration?
The chrome on my ZR-1 wheels is coming off on all my wheels. The inside is the worst but the faces are starting to do the same in small areas. My question is can chrome be striped in any way like sand or media blasting? If so I would restore to the Grand Sport look i.e. powder coat black face and polished lip or if I can't polish the lip just powder coat the entire wheel blak. What ya think? am I 
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 25,406
Likes: 2,744
I would take a loss on the wheels you've got and sell them for "track wheels" or maybe "hose reels"!
Re-plating chrome is "next to never" accomplished. It's not environmentally friendly to strip the chrome to be able to re-plate them.
You would have many times the price of replacement wheels I believe to accomplish the project.
Someone is going to come by and say just drop them in a bucket of acid with a low-voltage/low amp power supply and it will strip them. That's pretty much the reason it's not done commercially any longer. You need to be able to dispose of the acids etc.
Can you blast them and refinish? Maybe but it will require some specialty primers to adhere to the plating. Most anything is "doable" but maybe not economically!!
Re-plating chrome is "next to never" accomplished. It's not environmentally friendly to strip the chrome to be able to re-plate them.
You would have many times the price of replacement wheels I believe to accomplish the project.
Someone is going to come by and say just drop them in a bucket of acid with a low-voltage/low amp power supply and it will strip them. That's pretty much the reason it's not done commercially any longer. You need to be able to dispose of the acids etc.
Can you blast them and refinish? Maybe but it will require some specialty primers to adhere to the plating. Most anything is "doable" but maybe not economically!!
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 9,226
Likes: 9
From: Irvine Ca
^^^WHA???
Sorry WVZR, wheels are re-plated all the time. Any chrome plating shop has a "polish" Room. In this room the wheels can be striped with buffing wheels and compound.
Triple Nickel Chrome goes through many steps of plating and polishing before they are done.
Adhesion of Chrome is just like anything else, the surface prep is what counts.
If you take your tires off and drop it off at a real chrome plating they'll have them done in no time. Will it cost a bit more than $25 each??? Yes.....but you need to shop around and get quotes.
Sorry WVZR, wheels are re-plated all the time. Any chrome plating shop has a "polish" Room. In this room the wheels can be striped with buffing wheels and compound.
Triple Nickel Chrome goes through many steps of plating and polishing before they are done.
Adhesion of Chrome is just like anything else, the surface prep is what counts.
If you take your tires off and drop it off at a real chrome plating they'll have them done in no time. Will it cost a bit more than $25 each??? Yes.....but you need to shop around and get quotes.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 9,226
Likes: 9
From: Irvine Ca
Here OP, Go here
http://www.reckonplating.com/gallery.php
They have a complete synopsis of what I am trying to relay under the "process" tab
http://www.reckonplating.com/gallery.php
They have a complete synopsis of what I am trying to relay under the "process" tab
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 25,406
Likes: 2,744
^^^WHA???
Sorry WVZR, wheels are re-plated all the time. Any chrome plating shop has a "polish" Room. In this room the wheels can be striped with buffing wheels and compound.
Triple Nickel Chrome goes through many steps of plating and polishing before they are done.
Adhesion of Chrome is just like anything else, the surface prep is what counts.
If you take your tires off and drop it off at a real chrome plating they'll have them done in no time. Will it cost a bit more than $25 each??? Yes.....but you need to shop around and get quotes.
Sorry WVZR, wheels are re-plated all the time. Any chrome plating shop has a "polish" Room. In this room the wheels can be striped with buffing wheels and compound.
Triple Nickel Chrome goes through many steps of plating and polishing before they are done.
Adhesion of Chrome is just like anything else, the surface prep is what counts.
If you take your tires off and drop it off at a real chrome plating they'll have them done in no time. Will it cost a bit more than $25 each??? Yes.....but you need to shop around and get quotes.
I mentioned "NEXT TO NEVER" and "ECONOMICALLY" - I didn't say couldn't! I also assumed that my comments were being applied to an "inexpensive" process that is used to plate "cast aluminum" automotive wheels.
If you're interested in "DISPROVING" my comments take some of "YOUR TIME" and post back with some quotes from platers with prices for "RE-PLATING" "CAST ALUMINUM" automotive wheels!!!
