| Author |
Message |
Rick (12.250.237.189)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 05, 2003 - 7:46 pm: | |
Other than price is there anything wrong with having your steel wheels chromed
Thanks Rick 74 mc-8 |
Henry R. Bergman, Jr. (Henryofcj) (65.194.145.44)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 05, 2003 - 8:15 pm: | |
None that I know off. Some individuals believe chroming weakens the steel. Believe the price is about twice that of simulators and half as much as ultimate Alcoa's'
My dream which is probably economically undoable is to have my outside wheels chromed. Will paint inside wheels aluminuminumum. Will probably have to settle for nothin'. $$$
Best deal I have found soossss far is a chrome shop located in Fresno Ca. Wanted about $199.00 per wheel exchange, plus dismounting, remounting and balancing. Good luck. Henry of CJ |
Jojo Colina (Du1jec) (209.75.20.72)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 05, 2003 - 8:25 pm: | |
Go to http://www.chromewheel.com. They have refurbished aluminum wheels for about $250 each.
Jojo |
Jayjay (152.163.188.227)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 05, 2003 - 9:34 pm: | |
Rick, I have chrome wheels on my 4905, and like them very much. Easy to clean, they don't scratch easily like most stainless sims, but as with all chrome, water-spots are annoying. I know of no reason someone would say that chroming will weaken them. Perhaps some thin, exotic alloy might be affected, but good god son this is a truck wheel we'e discussing! It's getting harder to find a shop nowadays, since the 'gummint (read EPA) doesn't like the chemicals and by-products from the process. FWIW...JJ |
Henry R. Bergman, Jr. (Henryofcj) (65.194.145.32)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 05, 2003 - 9:36 pm: | |
Hello Jojo;
Thanks for the info. Would REALLY like to have Alcoa wheels. Wonder how $much$ they would charge for dismounting, mounting, balancing and the perhaps necessary longer drum studs?
Would their price also perhaps maybe include the nut caps along with the hub center covers? Lets see.....if I delete this and that, maybe I can afford the best. Thanks. Henry of CJ |
Geoff (Geoff) (66.238.123.107)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 05, 2003 - 9:58 pm: | |
The problem with chrome rims is that they rust! Simulators are stainless steel and don't rust, and if you keep them polished they look just like new chrome wheels.
--Geoff
'82 RTS CA |
dougthebonifiedbusnut (136.215.251.187)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 06, 2003 - 5:31 am: | |
hey henry
have you considerd hub caps on the rear axles thats what im going to do and put alums on the front i think the hub caps are going to lend themselves very nicely to the looks of our crowns |
Phil (204.89.170.126)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 06, 2003 - 7:56 am: | |
The issue of weakening steel when it is chromed is from "hydrogen embritttlement" It definatly weaken the steel. The real question is how much?? As JayJay stated they are truck wheels!! |
john rigby (65.112.227.94)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 06, 2003 - 10:49 am: | |
Geoff
What do you use to polish the SS simulators?
Thanks
John |
Geoff (Geoff) (66.238.120.82)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 06, 2003 - 8:39 pm: | |
"What do you use to polish the SS simulators? "
Simichrome cream, not sure on the spelling, but it is available at auto parts stores.
--Geoff |
Jayjay (205.188.209.11)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 07, 2003 - 1:05 am: | |
Yes, if not waxed occasionally, and cared for, chromed wheels will rust, but I don't care what you do, you can rub 'til your elbows squeak, you can't get the soft grade of stainless that sims are made of to glisten quite like the chrome does. I spoke with Carl D. a metallurgist(retired) with Buckeye Electric Steel in Cols. Oh, and he said the embrittlement was only a factor on harder alloys, such as 4130, 4460, etc. Always present in the process, but not a factor on softer grades of steel. Most wheels are fairly hard (40?? grade), but he said it would be almost indetectable. I believe he recommended a book by a gent named Parsons as a difinitive reference. ...JJ |
Richard Bowyer (Drivingmisslazy) (66.190.119.82)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 07, 2003 - 7:39 am: | |
Chrome shops have the ability to treat the metal, after chroming, to eliminate the embrittlement, but I do not know what it is.
If you ever have springs chrome plated, it is mandatory that they get this treatment or they will break the first time they are stretched. I had this happen to the hood springs on my 46 Ford.
Richard |
Stephen Fessenden (Sffess) (65.130.10.189)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 07, 2003 - 11:46 pm: | |
There is more than one way too chrome plate. Raliegh Bicycle wheels used to have a three step plating process with some base metal plating, then copper, then chrome. You could take a completely rusted wheel and restore it with 4/0 steel wool. Apparently the rust comes through pores in the chrome. Schwinn used very heavy chrome plating and you could do the same thing but it did not work as well on really junky looking wheels. Good luck getting that kind of plating done. |
Skorpio (Skorpio) (24.92.193.195)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, February 08, 2003 - 1:00 am: | |
When I lived in Los Angeles, the custom shops chromed everything, steel was heavy triple chromed and they sent aluminum wheels and such to somewhere out of state (maybe Mexico) because the process to do a respectible chrome job on aluminum was a violation of California EPA laws. Chromed cast aluminum is very nice, no rust, no oxidation, they don't pit or get nicks so easy and have that heavy thick cast look to them. |
Richard Bowyer (Drivingmisslazy) (66.190.119.82)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 09, 2003 - 7:51 am: | |
I would be concerned that steel wool, regardless of the grade would leave microscopic scratches in the chrome which would lead to more rust.
I have successfully used Naval Jelly to clean chromed rims and it does an excellent job. It was particularly good on cleaning up some chromed wire spoke wheels on a little sports car I had many years ago. It would have been an impossible job without the Naval Jelly. I think it is important to wax the chrome, after cleaning, to prevent the re-occurance of the rust.
Richard |
Dale MC8 (64.66.197.107)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 09, 2003 - 6:51 pm: | |
"I would be concerned that steel wool, regardless of the grade would leave microscopic scratches in the chrome which would lead to more rust."
Might not be so, but I was told the reason that steel wool causes rust is that little pieces of it break off in the material it is cleaning and IT starts to rust. More rust follows along after.
FYI
Dale MC8 |
Henry R. Bergman, Jr. (Henryofcj) (65.194.145.47)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 09, 2003 - 8:46 pm: | |
Hello Rick;
To possibly answer your first question, it looks like go ahead and go for it. I too may be going to chrome on the outboard wheels. Can not afford Alcoa's and I am not sure about the simulators. Good luck. Henry of CJ |