Polishing Chrome Wheels

[chickenwire]

You wax the clearcoat on the paint, no reason to not wax the clearcoat on the wheels.

[jwvess00]

Hi there!

Originally Posted by omw41 A lot of OEM Wheels are painted. I'm sure the process is more involved than a rattle can, (baked or electrocuted on or something) but over the years I have had some suprizing results on wheels with just a rattle can. Do it. Post pictures. You have me interested.

I painted the back side of the factory chrome wheels black the other day. I had a can of DupliColor caliper paint in black that I picked up on clearance a while back, and figured this might be a good use for it.

I think if I were to do this "right" I'd powdercoat the insides but I'm not sure I could fit the wheels in my oven.

I'm not sure how long PlastiDip would live on the back side of the wheels but it seems to hold up on the front, so that may be another way.

The back sides are indeed painted gray (silver) over not-finished chrome. Lacquer thinner will make short work of that paint, though it is not necesary for repainting.

I like the way it turned out -- subtle but helps the chrome stand out.

[chickenwire]

Now THAT might have just occupied the rest of my 4 day weekend. (After all the other tasks of course.) I'm intrigued. Like the way it offsets and highlights the chrome. Also, our calipers are a "deep purple" that doesn't tend to stand out. Well, we didn't want them to "stand out" but this might make them a bit more noticeable. Nice touch, Jay! Thanks for sharing!

[omw41]

Brilliant. It reminds me of 1967-70s era Pontiacs. Was there a version of the Judge done something like that? I am going to do it over the winter break. Did you use gloss or flat?

[omw41]

It might just be me, but the Judge had that blacked out chrome wheel thing going.

[SolNut]

Here are mine that I painted in 2005 on our Envious roadster.

I used Rustolem Satin black and when I last saw the car in September '12, they still looked great.

I painted both sets on the Coupe, Chrome & Q9Y with the same paint.

YMMV

[omw41]

Originally Posted by SolNut Here are mine that I painted in 2005 on our Envious roadster. I used Rustolem Satin black and when I last saw the car in September '12, they still looked great. I painted both sets on the Coupe, Chrome & Q9Y with the same paint. YMMV

On the inside: Did you use heat paint? How many coats did it take?

On the outside: you painted the outside with chrome
paint?
What is Q9Y?

[SolNut]

Originally Posted by omw41 On the inside: Did you use heat paint? How many coats did it take? On the outside: you painted the outside with chrome paint? What is Q9Y?

The wheels are STOCK Painted rims. I used Rustolem Satin Black on the inside, just sprayed them and let them dry. Rustolem is pretty good paint and waxes up nicely.

Q9Y is the wheel that came on Street Edition roadsters and was an original option on the 2009 Coupes before Pontiac pulled them. They were on the SEMA Coupe and I bought a set for mine.



Attached: photo from NASSM 2012 in Asheville

[omw41]

Thanks for the education; those are sharp looking wheels.

[SolNut]

TY, TYVM

[jwvess00]

Hi there!

The paint I used was brake caliper paint I had laying around. It's a satin finish (not flat, but not glossy). That paint should handle heat well.

Originally Posted by omw41 Brilliant. It reminds me of 1967-70s era Pontiacs. Was there a version of the Judge done something like that? I am going to do it over the winter break. Did you use gloss or flat?

[omw41]

Originally Posted by jwvess00 Hi there! The paint I used was brake caliper paint I had laying around. It's a satin finish (not flat, but not glossy). That paint should handle heat well.

Roger that.