posted 01-16-2006 09:04 PM                  

Anyway, below are some photos of my front wheels after the re-chroming process was complete. I sent these photos to the wheel chroming company in California questioning some of the spots. They looked at the photos and said they were as good as they could make them.

Specifically, they said the spots on the wheels were from pitting and that the re-chroming process could not cover up. I asked why they couldn't sandblast or grind the wheel to eliminate the pits before re-chroming and they said if they sandblasted the wheel the wheel would not look good even after re-chroming.

Then I asked about what looks like pieces of the old chrome in some photos, that apparently were not removed before re-chroming the wheel. The technician assured me those were not left over pieces of the old chrome, but rather imperfections in the original wheel.

The faces of the wheels look very good, the problem areas in the photos are in the drum or barrel area.

Since this is my first experience with this sort of project I'm curious if some of you more knowledgeable than me can confirm what I'm being told is true or if the appearance could have been improved.

posted 01-16-2006 09:42 PM                  

I REQUESTED that the barrel be polished and plated to match the face. IF you did not request this they will not do it.

One of the problems with the factory chrome wheels is the barrels were not prepped before plating.

I do not know who you had do them, but I made sure before mine went out what I expected.

I hope they gave you a warranty

I have a set of painted wheels for when I want to replace what is on the car. The guy that did mine did not want to do a wheel that was already chromed.

I know other POA members that say Wheel Concepts are not the best at doing Prowler wheels, but I guess I got lucky

------------------
Larry & Sue Mayes

posted 01-16-2006 09:59 PM                  

Wow what a bad job.

My first job out of high school was working on a chrome plating machine at an auto parts company in Southern California.

One of the things I learned was as part of the chrome'ing process they plate nickel. First Copper then Nickel then the Chrome. The way it works is the more time in the nickel tank the smoother the chrome job. When nickel is being plated it tends to fill in or smooth out the surface. At one point the machine to buff lug nuts wasn't working so we left them in the nickel tank over lunch and they came out smoother than if they were buffed and then plated.

I would say this company didn't prep the wheels properly in addition to not leaving them in the nickel tank long enough.

Glenn

posted 01-17-2006 12:20 AM                  

I had my wheels rechromed because of pitting. They were done by wheels n Motion in Pomona CA. (909) 622-1232. They said when American Racing did the wheels they were done in the cheapest possible way they could be done. They reddid my wheels and said before they were chromed they needed to be nickel plated to give the chrome something to adhere to. They said it is a more costly process but well worth it, and they were right. Mine came out absolutely beatiful.They cleaned all the old chrome off by dipping them in acid. I seen them and they were just bare metal. They cleaned all the foreign matter off them before they started the chroming process. I would say the person who chromed yours has no idea what he is doing. I can tell you for a fact mine don't look like yours and yours don't have to and shouldn'tlook like that if done correctly. That is just substandard work. I hope you used your credit card as payment. If you did I would put that transaction in contest immediately. I have had several sets of wheels as well as other parts for different cars chromed and I have never seen anything that looks like that. Hope you can straighten this out!

posted 01-17-2006 09:13 AM                  

Good luck buddy!

posted 01-17-2006 02:33 PM                  

Chrome is the only way to go but not with that company.
Impressions Plating in Orange CA is who I've used for the last few sets I've had plated for people.

Ask for Don 714-639-1371 and tell him Larry Lord sent you.
Be sure to specify show chrome inside and out.

posted 01-17-2006 03:07 PM                  

I just told Wheel Concepts that at the very least I should have been advised that they could not make the barrel of the wheels show quality so that I could make a decision on what to do. Hell, if it were my company those wheels would never have been shipped out!

The saga continues...

posted 01-17-2006 05:07 PM                  

I'll put the wheels in the front office until I hear from you.

No rush at all.

posted 01-17-2006 08:29 PM                  

Plate Corp is now Impressions Plating and Don is the guy to talk to.