Picture request: OEM Chrome Wheels

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bbb18c1

bbb18c1

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Jan 13, 2009
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Vancouver BC
I was wondering if anyone has pictures of the OEM chrome wheels.

I have searched and I have seen them mentioned, but have not turned up a picture.

The reason I ask is because the finish on my wheels look horrible (looks like peeling), but from reading posts, chromed wheels well be harder to deal with.

I'm not sure if mine are the chrome ones or not.....I can't really tell. I suspect mine are the chrome ones since they are peeling.
I can post a picture tomorrow, but its dark now and I will have to wait till it gets light outside.

This is the best pic I can find right now.



zoomed up



any thought?
 
Chrome cancer

Yes, I have the dreaded chrome wheels too..:crybaby: It's a shame cuz they are really very strong wheels..forged, not just cast, but oh, so ugly when the chrome starts to peel. I've done some research, and calling around, and removing the chrome by beadblasting, then powdercoating turns out to be more expensive (unless I DIY) than getting "refinished" oem wheels with the clear coat, like the other 99% of the cruisers came with. This is what I will do eventually. Right now, I tell myself how tough and macho looking:rolleyes::rolleyes: my wheels are, with their chrome cancer:lol::lol: until I purchase refinished ones. Meanwhile, as they're alloy, they are perfectly functional so, get out there and wheel'em! Good luck with yours!!
20080827_0325.webp
 
yup mines pretty much like that too. I guess this means I am one of the "lucky" ones with the peeling chrome.

This puts an end to my plans to repaint them :crybaby:.

I guess theres nothing I can do but BLING on!:smokin:
 
Mine are the chromies, and definitely have cancer...would love a standard set.

Will be checking with some local Plating shops, which should be able to remove the chrome plating, and any copper or nickel below. As noted, then they would need to be powder coated, but that beats the cancer look. Then could choose black or gunmetal-grey, which could look interesting.

Will come back with any answers I hear from the Platers.
 
So.............I decided I can't stand the ****py chrome on my wheels after all.

I started to paint them on sunday. I wasn't expecting a spectacular finish. Just better than the peeling chrome.

To stop the new paint from peeling, I tried to scuff up the chrome with sandapaper. That got nowhere fast as the chrome was crazy hard.

So I whip out the grinder with a flap disk attachment
And a rotary tool with a sanding attachment


and end up with this after hand sanding to remove the larger scratches (its actually pretty easy to hand sand once you get to the aluminum and copper layer under the chrome)





After wiping down with wax and grease remove, I paint it with a self etching primer





After the primer is dried, I hit it with 3 coats of duplicolor satin black wheel paint.



I am pleased with the final outcome. So far I have only completed one wheel to test out if it will work, The paint seems to be pretty hard, but I have not put the wheel back on yet. The entire process or prepping the wheel for paint is about 2 hours.

As of right now, I will have to wait until next weekend to complete the other 3 wheels ( I dropped the spare to use today because my DD decided to "lose" all of the hydraulic clutch fluid while I was driving to work. Luckly for me, I discovered my spare wasn't chrome! Its the standard aluminum one. It will save me 2 hours of prep on that wheel!)

I will update on how well the paint holds up after I get the other three done.

-Jason
 
My problems with the Chromies were that I kept throwing weights since the chrome layer made them a little thicker and the weights would not hold. So I finally scored some beat-up no chromed and the damn shop installed the glued weights instead of the clamp on lip weights. :mad:
 
OK, found a local plating shop which will properly remove the chrome for $35 per wheel & one week turn-around. Not a bad price, and worth it IMO. Now to find a set of temporary wheels to run on the Cruiser or put her on the blocks! Then to choose what color of powder-coat. Considering plain black, or perhaps gunmetal. Should hold up to the elements better than stock, and look a helluva lot better.
 
See if your powder coater uses Britebond materials. If they do, 23-9430 Stardust Silver is a great color to go with for 80 wheels, IMO. The formula is a Polyester/Urethane that yields a metalic finish. It is very close to the OE color, so you can use your center caps if you still have them. One major bonus of this formula is that it has a pretty high impact resistance.

I used it on my wheels, and on my #1 oil pan. You can see it in the picture below: (the water pipes are a different color)

DSCF2443.jpg
 
CycloSteve said:
OK, found a local plating shop which will properly remove the chrome for $35 per wheel & one week turn-around. Not a bad price, and worth it IMO. Now to find a set of temporary wheels to run on the Cruiser or put her on the blocks! Then to choose what color of powder-coat. Considering plain black, or perhaps gunmetal. Should hold up to the elements better than stock, and look a helluva lot better.
Click to expand...

Wow thats great!
I wish I could have found a local shop that would do that. It would have saved me a heck of a lot of time.

Today I was able to get off work early and get two more wheels painted and the fourth one rough sanded. I could have finished, but to many #6 made me tired and I called it a day :beer:.

Quick question: Do you have to unmount the wheels for the shop to remove the chrome?

I vote for black because it looks rugged :flipoff2:.
 
bbb18c1 said:
Wow thats great!

Quick question: Do you have to unmount the wheels for the shop to remove the chrome?
Click to expand...

Yes, the wheels must be bare.

Actually trying to schedule the wheels when the truck is in the shop to have the OME 2.5 heavy lift, and ARB Lockers installed.

The shop has some rolling-stock that they will put the truck on while it is in there, and the tires will be removed. Since the rims will be dipped in some sort of acid bath and reverse-electro-plated, not an option to leave anything on them. In anycase need to get new tires, as mine are age-cracked, and moving on to 35's. :D

Color-wise, the painter is bringing their palette next week, so will choose something which looks like the TRD Trails color for the FJ's...a bit of a dark-grey-black matte color. Will also have them powder-coat a set of new center caps in the same color...now if I could find a set of red TRD emblems to go on the caps, that would be great. Trolling eBay, etc.

Will post pics in early-June when it all comes together.
 
Just got the wheels back from the Plate shop...clean as the day they came out of the forging machine in Japan. If you really want them done right, go that route and find a local plating shop which can reverse-plate the rims. They come out so clean it is incredible. Sorry no pics, as I had to race over to the shop to get them in the hands of the powder-coat company so they are back next week. Bring on the satin-black OEM rims!
 
So replating them not an option? All 4 of mine are peeling bad. I love the chrome look.
 
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Still looking good!

Just not as shiny and clean as when i painted it. A good wash would probably fix that.

bbb18c1-albums-tires-picture19419-imag0005.jpg


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Did you fully remove/grind through the chrome plating? I spoke to a sandblaster/powdercoater and he was saying just ruff up the chrome. From you original post it sounds like you ground all the way through?
 
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