Chrome Wheel Problem
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 353
Likes: 22
St. Jude Donor '17
Chrome Wheel Problem
I have a 2009 Z06. I bought the car new about 6 months ago. I got back from a trip to the beach this week and went out this morning to wash the car. I am a soap only guy on wheels and have had good success with this. when I started this was what I found:
After I washed the wheel it hadn't come clean so I hit it with Tar Remover and then Goo Gone and still had this:
After inspecting all of the wheels the all have some of this on them but I started on the worst one (left front). It feels like I may have some etching here. I did not drive through any construction zone on the trip. What is my best alternative to fix this? Chrome Polish? A different chemical? Any suggestions are welcome.
Any Ideas what could have caused this?
After I washed the wheel it hadn't come clean so I hit it with Tar Remover and then Goo Gone and still had this:
After inspecting all of the wheels the all have some of this on them but I started on the worst one (left front). It feels like I may have some etching here. I did not drive through any construction zone on the trip. What is my best alternative to fix this? Chrome Polish? A different chemical? Any suggestions are welcome.
Any Ideas what could have caused this?
Former Vendor
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 14,104
Likes: 244
From: South Florida
Chrome is pretty strong stuff when plated properly, however a bad plating or bad surface can cause pitting which cannot be reversed. This will look and feel like little pin holes. If you see this make sure to see dealer quickly and likely best repaired under first 12 months under GM warranty.
As for etching, its hard to say just how easy or hard it is to do. Certain chemicals can stain and etch wheels quickly. Some suggest even using a harsh wheel cleaner on hot wheels can lead to it. Certain minerals in water, rain, and environment can also burn into wheels rather quickly.
I personally would:
1. Wash cool wheels with Griots Chrome Specific Wheel Cleaner
2. I would polish by hand or Mothers Powerball with Chrome Specific Polish
3. Seal/Protect with DP or Poorboys Wheel Sealant
you should see easy cleanup with soap/water for many weeks and then can do the steps again as needed.
As for etching, its hard to say just how easy or hard it is to do. Certain chemicals can stain and etch wheels quickly. Some suggest even using a harsh wheel cleaner on hot wheels can lead to it. Certain minerals in water, rain, and environment can also burn into wheels rather quickly.
I personally would:
1. Wash cool wheels with Griots Chrome Specific Wheel Cleaner
2. I would polish by hand or Mothers Powerball with Chrome Specific Polish
3. Seal/Protect with DP or Poorboys Wheel Sealant
you should see easy cleanup with soap/water for many weeks and then can do the steps again as needed.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 353
Likes: 22
St. Jude Donor '17
Vinegar did nothing. So I moved to the Turtle Wax Chrome polish. Instantly I saw an improvement. I did the whole wheel. Here is the result:
However, on closer inspection I found this:
If you look closely, you can see the pinholes. I waxed the wheel and will get to the dealer later this week.
Crap.
However, on closer inspection I found this:
If you look closely, you can see the pinholes. I waxed the wheel and will get to the dealer later this week.
Crap.
Former Vendor
Joined: Dec 2006
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St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10
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Get to the dealer ASAP.
Thats the start of a costly repair
Thats the start of a costly repair
Former Vendor
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,943
Likes: 2
From: Orlando/Oviedo FL
Is the etching consistent through out each wheel? I know you said some wheels are worse then others, but what about comparing one area of a wheel to another area on the same wheel.
It looks like a very poor quality casting, and will likely continue to get worse no matter what you do.
It looks like a very poor quality casting, and will likely continue to get worse no matter what you do.
Former Vendor
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 687
Likes: 3
From: Stuart Florida
The topic of "How to remove scratches in chrome" came up recently on the AutogeekOnline.net forum and from experience I posted some information on this topic that applies here. While this is related to scratches it would in principal apply to any defect that is in the actual layer of chrome plating.
Begin copy and paste...
How to remove scratches in chrome?
I've never seen scratches removed 100% from chrome rubbing all kinds of stuff on it.
I've read about some chrome shops being able to polish scratches out of chrome but never seen it. Did some Googling on the topic and found some info.
Here's the problem, first the actual chrome layer is very thin, so you don't have a lot of material to work with. Next, in order to actually remove a scratch, you don't remove the scratch, or scratches, you remove the material surrounding the scratches in an effort to level or flatten out the surface. This circles back to the problem of the actual layer of chrome being thin.
Then next problem is chrome is hard, this means it doesn't lend itself to be workable or abradable easily by hand or machine.
I've had a lot of people over the years bring cars to classes I've taught and shown me scratches in every conceivable "material" or "coating" ever created and when it comes to chrome, real chrome, not plastic chrome, to this date I've never seen anyone live in front of me apply something and remove 100% of all scratches. I've also never done this myself.
I would also point out that most people that have had the problem of scratches in chrome, when looking for an outside company, person or product to solve their problem, their standards have been perfection, as in, if you attempt to work on their chrome doodad, whatever it is, they expect to see 100% perfection. If you don't hit this mark, not only are they disappointed, they often have the attitude that if you rubbed something on their doodad and it's not better, now you're responsible for fixing or replacing the doodad.
Not sure where this type of thinking comes from but it's taught me not to rub polishes on already scratched chrome surface for other people or even give them something to try to rub out scratches on chrome surfaces because if it doesn't work, and especially in a worse case scenario, it instills scratches into the chrome, then you're back to being liable.
If you own something that's chrome and it's very important to you, do some research first, maybe contact a "real" chroming company and see if there's any real solution to the problem. And, as a safety measure, always test products in an inconspicuous area and then inspect the results.
There's more information in the thread and on page 2 one of our forum members lists some products he used on chrome to clean it up, I'm not sure that distinctly means it removed 100% of the defects though.
And for what it's worth, here's some advice to protect yourself and your chrome anytime you want to "experiment" with some product or someone's advice, also taken from the above thread.
Here's a tip...
Here's a tip that's worked for me when I want to test something in which it won't matter if damage is done.
Go to a wrecking yard or salvage yard with some steel wool and some M105 in your pocket and do some experimenting on chrome surfaces on cars that no one cares about.
If it's expensive or rare, then better safe than sorry...
Also contact some chrome shops, if there's a way to fix defects "in" chrome then the people that work in this industry should have solid information on the topic.
End copy and paste...
Only topical staining, that is a substance bonded to the surface of the layer of chrome plating can be removed. If the staining you're seeing is etched into the layer of chrome, then in most cases, because this layer is very thin, abrading it in an effort
Begin copy and paste...
How to remove scratches in chrome?
Originally Posted by Mike Phillips
I've never seen scratches removed 100% from chrome rubbing all kinds of stuff on it.
I've read about some chrome shops being able to polish scratches out of chrome but never seen it. Did some Googling on the topic and found some info.
Here's the problem, first the actual chrome layer is very thin, so you don't have a lot of material to work with. Next, in order to actually remove a scratch, you don't remove the scratch, or scratches, you remove the material surrounding the scratches in an effort to level or flatten out the surface. This circles back to the problem of the actual layer of chrome being thin.
Then next problem is chrome is hard, this means it doesn't lend itself to be workable or abradable easily by hand or machine.
I've had a lot of people over the years bring cars to classes I've taught and shown me scratches in every conceivable "material" or "coating" ever created and when it comes to chrome, real chrome, not plastic chrome, to this date I've never seen anyone live in front of me apply something and remove 100% of all scratches. I've also never done this myself.
I would also point out that most people that have had the problem of scratches in chrome, when looking for an outside company, person or product to solve their problem, their standards have been perfection, as in, if you attempt to work on their chrome doodad, whatever it is, they expect to see 100% perfection. If you don't hit this mark, not only are they disappointed, they often have the attitude that if you rubbed something on their doodad and it's not better, now you're responsible for fixing or replacing the doodad.
Not sure where this type of thinking comes from but it's taught me not to rub polishes on already scratched chrome surface for other people or even give them something to try to rub out scratches on chrome surfaces because if it doesn't work, and especially in a worse case scenario, it instills scratches into the chrome, then you're back to being liable.
If you own something that's chrome and it's very important to you, do some research first, maybe contact a "real" chroming company and see if there's any real solution to the problem. And, as a safety measure, always test products in an inconspicuous area and then inspect the results.
There's more information in the thread and on page 2 one of our forum members lists some products he used on chrome to clean it up, I'm not sure that distinctly means it removed 100% of the defects though.
And for what it's worth, here's some advice to protect yourself and your chrome anytime you want to "experiment" with some product or someone's advice, also taken from the above thread.
Originally Posted by Mike Phillips
Here's a tip...
Here's a tip that's worked for me when I want to test something in which it won't matter if damage is done.
Go to a wrecking yard or salvage yard with some steel wool and some M105 in your pocket and do some experimenting on chrome surfaces on cars that no one cares about.
If it's expensive or rare, then better safe than sorry...
Also contact some chrome shops, if there's a way to fix defects "in" chrome then the people that work in this industry should have solid information on the topic.
End copy and paste...
Only topical staining, that is a substance bonded to the surface of the layer of chrome plating can be removed. If the staining you're seeing is etched into the layer of chrome, then in most cases, because this layer is very thin, abrading it in an effort
