Are chrome wheels ever clear coated?

[Marcus]

Probably a stupid question, but I don`t know.



I just got a set of used wheels for my Mark VIII, and while the outsides look nearly flawless, the backsides are filthy with brake dust.



I intend to take them to the car wash tomorrow and use some wheel cleaner and high pressure water to clean them up, but just for kicks, I decided to get out the Blue Magic and try it out on a few areas.



There`s definitely some nice shiny chrome under the brake dust, but there`s also a dull film, which you can see in the photo. Is that a clear coat or just road grime?



If it`s clear coat, what are my options at this point? Can I have them re-coated? If so, what kind of prep work is required?



It never even occurred to me that the wheels might be coated.



Other than that question, what kind of off-the-shelf wheel cleaner would you guys recommend, and what should I do to reduce the chances of them getting this bad again? I haven`t really searched here yet, but I intend to. I just figured I`d throw it out there anyway. I`m really only concerned with what the film is.

[forrest@mothers]

I keep hearing of coated chrome wheels, but have never seen one.



Showroom Lincoln has a set on his Lincoln - if he says they are, I believe him. I believe he said it was a high line package, and only 1 year.



Other than that, I don`t think there are. What wheels do you have?

[Marcus]

Originally posted by forrest

I keep hearing of coated chrome wheels, but have never seen one.



Showroom Lincoln has a set on his Lincoln - if he says they are, I believe him. I believe he said it was a high line package, and only 1 year.



Other than that, I don`t think there are. What wheels do you have?



They`re the ten-spoke directionals. I`ve already got a set on my car now, but they`re shot to hell. It`s the usual bubbling and cracking around the center that`s so typical of these wheels. I could have gone aftermarket, but I got a good deal on these, so what the heck. And like I said, they`re just about flawless on the outside. Here`s what they look like:

[Marcus]

And a closeup of the film:

[Marcus]

Well, I guess I should have checked more carefully before wasting time taking pictures and posting. I just ran my fingernail over the "film" and it comes off fairly easily. So I guess it`s just road grime. Sorry to waste everyone`s time.

[fusionnv]

Originally posted by Marcus

Well, I guess I should have checked more carefully before wasting time taking pictures and posting. I just ran my fingernail over the "film" and it comes off fairly easily. So I guess it`s just road grime. Sorry to waste everyone`s time.



Holy close up. What kind of camera you used to get that close up? Is it a digital?

[BlackSVT]

I`ll venture a guess that the bubbleing and cracking is clearcoat

damaged by the heating and cooling of the hub from Braking.

[jimmybuffit]

Eagle One`s Never Dull, or

Wenol in the Blue tube.

By hand.

Worth the trouble!



Jim

[Marcus]

Well, I put off dealing with these things too long, and now I`m in a bind. Turns out the coating is silver paint. There`s a very nice chrome finish under the paint, but it is taking me forever to remove it using a buffing wheel in a cordless drill and white rouge.



AND... I was planning on putting these wheels on for a show this weekend and I only have TODAY to do something with them! I`ve already polished the paint off in random spots on one wheel, and I can`t go back at this point.



So any suggestions for removing the paint quickly?



Bear in mind that it`s only the backsides that are painted. I could probably just clean them down to the paint, but I`d sure like that pretty chrome to show through.



Also, I should mention that I live in an apartment, and I`ve got nowhere to use any kind of strong solvents, unless I do them at the car wash down the street, which I`m not too keen on.

[togwt]

Unless your showing in a concourse event they don`t usually do anything other than look and perhaps touch the rear of the wheels(rare)



A solvent cleaner or MPP should remove road grime etc.

[Marcus]

Well, you`re all gonna cringe, but I ended up using 0000 steel wool and a LOT of elbow grease. The steel wool didn`t mar the finish, since I was careful to only remove the paint and not go farther. I started on these things at about 11:00 AM today, and I`ve still got one wheel to finish up.



Started out at the car wash. The wheel cleaner I bought didn`t do anything at all (Castrol I think), but the high pressure wash actually did remove quite a bit. Anyway, I got them wet, and went at them with the steel wool.



After I got most of it removed, I brought them home and did some touchup in the kitchen sink. :eek:



Then I gave them a coat of Mother`s Carnuba wax. I don`t know how it`ll hold up to the heat, but it`s better than nothing.



You can`t eat off them or anything, but they do look MUCH better. Before I cleaned them, they were pitch black, and NOTHING else would clean them up. SOme of the nooks and crannies still are dark, but for Pete`s sake, I`ll never see them once they`re installed.

[LouisanaJeeper]

most factory chrome wheels are clearcoated

most aftermarket chrome wheels are not, just chromed



easy way to tell is to take your favorite paint polish and to a small test area, if it comes up grey or black, you have chrome, if it come up clean you have clearcoat

[Marcus]

Originally posted by fusionnv

Holy close up. What kind of camera you used to get that close up? Is it a digital?



Sorry, I missed your post. If you`re still interested, it`s a FujiFilm Finepix S-7000. It`s got a macro capability down to about an inch or so. The "super-closeup" is actually a just a crop of the first pic I posted, which was shot at the camera`s highest resolution from about six inches away. I shrunk down the first pic, but the second one is at the original resolution.



Great camera for the most part, but I`m not very happy with the way it captures reds. They tend to look orange and oversaturated. I need to play around the settings and see if it can be corrected.