Repairing and Re-chroming OEM Wheels

[Dreamcast18]

Based on 20" rears, I got a quote:

1. Re-chrome est $180
2. Repair the bent $85-$125, they have to look at whether its bent inside or outside and if there needs to be cosmetic touch-up

They are open today for sales only, so I'll have to go down during the weekdays to let them give actual quote.

So the question boils down to whether its worth spending the $$$ to repair or rechrome an existing wheel OR to get a used one for just abit more $$. I'm hesitate to get a used one now cuz you can't really tell whether its bent until u put it on the balancing machine.

Thoughts/Opinions?

From the Classified thread based on KrusinKat's suggestion(thought this it a better area for this discussion):

am doing it this week! I also found a 'local' place:
http://www.wheel-repairs.com/

Anyone knows of them? Might even use them to re-chrome one of the wheels that are peeling.

[halicat]

Its going to be hard to get an aftermarket wheel that looks any better than the stock design.

My questions would be:

How good is the quality of their finish product ?

Do they remove all the existing chrome and start from scratch or would this be a re-chroming of the inner barrel only ?

Will the rim stay straight after they repair it ?

do they stand behind their workmanship ?

keep in mind that if you purchase another used wheel, it will most likely peel.... 95% do.

If they will do a complete re-chrome on both my rear wheels for $360, I'd go for it.... i would then look for a straight peeling front wheel and get them to rechrome both the fronts and be done with it...

JMO

[Dreamcast18]

Jimbo:

Good questions. I'll use them when I visit the shop next week and post the answers. Based on my phone conversation with the guy, he did say its 100% lifetime warranty.

I have read about some other shops on the other site that didn't do good jobs. These guys are local, so if they mess up, at least I don't have to deal with shipping issues and could dispute them face to face.

And u're right, any used rim will have a high probably of flaking, even new ones. I'm seriously considering having the inside power-coated black or just painted black..but have no idea how it looks on the Prowler.

[halicat]

I was thinking of that as well, but didn't want to lose that deep look that you get with the 10"of chrome...

keep us posted....

[Krzy Kat]

Its going to be hard to get an aftermarket wheel that looks any better than the stock design.


That is my main thought - personally - I love the wheels (flaking is the only issue - I assume my time will come)

[Scott Drolet]

Rechrome DC. And, 100% both sides. Powder coating the inside will give the illusion of a narrower wheel. To get an idea of what it would look like just lay a black sweatshirt or something on the inside of the rim and look at it from the side of the car. You'll lose a ton of depth. And, you'll still have to pay for the powdercoat after the chrome (or before? not sure of the order) so it'll cost the same as all chrome.

Either way, if you find the right chrome house and get the wheels done right, they will be beautiful and no more peeling. Plus, if the distortion of the wheel is not obvious to the naked eye, the repair will be relatively easy to do.

Just my 2 cents.

Scott

[Scott Drolet]

Rechrome DC. And, 100% both sides. Powder coating the inside will give the illusion of a narrower wheel. To get an idea of what it would look like just lay a black sweatshirt or something on the inside of the rim and look at it from the side of the car. You'll lose a ton of depth. And, you'll still have to pay for the powdercoat after the chrome (or before? not sure of the order) so it'll cost the same as all chrome.

Either way, if you find the right chrome house and get the wheels done right, they will be beautiful and no more peeling. Plus, if the distortion of the wheel is not obvious to the naked eye, the repair will be relatively easy to do.

Just my 2 cents.

Scott