Question on re-doing rims

[tylork92 10+ year member]

Well as some of you kno i got a set of 18s pretty cheap on Craisglist a couple months back. Well there not in the best of shape. 2 of the especially have the chrome fading away.

Question is would it be better/ cheaper to do which of the following:

1) re-chrome plating

2) Poweder coating black

3) painting them 2-tone to match my truck when it gets painted this spring. ( i kno it will be 2-tone top black but unsure on bottom color, If i painted rims the lip would be whatever color i decide to paint the bottom half of my truck.)

If i got them powdercoated black is there any way to just re plate the lip chrome?,

Also if painting them is a option what are the necessary steps in prepping and painting them?

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[SAZCLASSD 10+ year member]

kinda hard to give you my opinion when i dont c a pic of your truck.....

 

[[DT] 10+ year member]

You can go any of the ways you mentioned. Just depends on the style you want.

Are they cast or forged aluminum wheels? Polishing is also an option (though maintenance can be a ***** with a raw finish).

You can "rough up" chrome to paint, though stripping is a more complete solution, however, chrome can be laid down over a nickel finish, which is also tough to paint. Any local chrome shop can help with this (either blast, or acid strip, etc.)

I haven't seen any one-piece wheels with a mix PC and chrome, though I've seen a few with PC'ed centers and polished lips (depending on the wheel construction).

If they're 2/3 piece, then different finishes is much easier since the wheels can be separated. In fact, my last set of wheels on my Z06 where a medium gloss black center with chromed lips (3-piece IForged).

There's a guy in Tampa I've used for some work who has pretty awesome results. About 60-80 per wheel, per finish and he can totally clean up curb rash. If you're interested I can get his contact info for you.

 

[tylork92 10+ year member]

There solid one piece... I thnk I'm just gonna get them sandblasted and painted with

same paint I use when I paint my truck. Thanks for the input

 

[davidfre21 5,000+ posts]

i think they have a chrome PC finish now

 

[[DT] 10+ year member]

There solid one piece... I thnk I'm just gonna get them sandblasted and painted withsame paint I use when I paint my truck. Thanks for the input

Cool. Shoot some before and after pics!

I had a set of Volks, pretty slick, GR-As that were never imported to the US. Beat to hell. Sold them to a guy who did the refinish himself (progressive stage wet sanding, buffer wheels, multi-stage compounds) and they look amazing. I think he said he had about $50 or so in products, plus a ton of time.