Chroming Aluminum

[burbanite]

Need a contact for chroming aluminum wheels.
Probably a minimum of five sets for our show car program. There seems to be some reluctance from our chromers here to attempt this, we have one set already but can't for the life of me remember who did them...

[HOSS]

Why not just have them polished then cleared?

[Keithb87]

Why would you want to chrome Aluminum?
I'm still trying to get it off my Berkeley. It looks like Crap.
I'd go polished and clear.

[rrrr]

Ahhhhh, the pleasures of the rich. Hell burb, we only have five sets to race with LMAO.
Try Tyce Carlson. He prolly has a contact since they are building those bling bling specials.

[burbanite]

Show cars often sit for months in one spot, having polished wheels increases the need for upkeep exponentially, I know, our race wheels are polished.
We have done the clear anodize, the clear lacquer etc, etc ad infinitum. None of it is as successful as the chrome set we have.
Thanks Ron, I'll give Tyce a call. I thought there was someone in Santa Ana that did it but I can't find them.

[OGShocker]

You might want to try these folks. They are the best! They are doing all of the aluminum on our 59 cadillac and when done you will not be able to tell it from chrome.
Central Plating..... (http://www.centralplating.net/)

[HOSS]

Maintenance is the same on either described app. Polished with clear or chrome. The shines are totally different. The chrome is mirror while the aluminum is mirrored with a glow. I like the polished finish personnally.

[truksnboats]

Cam at Classic Wheel Works has aluminum wheels chromed all day long. Call him @ (626) 815-1577. Tell him Travis sent you. They also repair wheels as well.

[HOSS]

there`s no difference if the aluminum is clearcoated. There is a special clear for rims. It withstands heat without turning brown. Without it the wheelsa would be high maintenance.

[rrrr]

Originally posted by burbanite
Show cars often sit for months in one spot, having polished wheels increases the need for upkeep exponentially, I know, our race wheels are polished.
I think you could build a replacement Great Pyramid with the man hours spent on polishing Indycar wheels. :D

[burbanite]

Thanks for the info, I'll see what transpires.
Believe me, I know all about the upkeep on polished wheels, coated or uncoated...rrrr hit the nail on the head with his last statement. ;)
Chrome works much better in this application.

[CAHotRodBoy]

I've got magnesium Halibrands on my 32 Ford. They make aluminum polishing a piece of cake! They start to tarnish the next day after polishing! I've tried clear coating them but they look dull and yellowish. I just let them go gray now and hit them with fine steel wool. I'm running wide whites with cheater slicks so it actually looks okay.

[rrrr]

Originally posted by CAHotRodBoy
I've got magnesium Halibrands on my 32 Ford. They make aluminum polishing a piece of cake! They start to tarnish the next day after polishing! I've tried clear coating them but they look dull and yellowish. I just let them go gray now and hit them with fine steel wool. I'm running wide whites with cheater slicks so it actually looks okay.
The race wheels we use are magnesium. A few of the teams have them polished, and like you said it's a never ending battle from that point forward.
On a race weekend Friday after the teams set up their pits and get tires mounted on the wheels, it will take three or four guys about three hours to polish seven sets of wheels. On Saturday evening or Sunday morning they'll hit 'em again to look good for race day.
I've seen 'em use buffers, drills, orbitals, and good old elbow grease. All different kinds of polishing compounds too, but in the end it's just a lot of work.