Keith M
Viper Owner
I am considering Chrome Plating my rims on my 05 SRT10. Any input as to who would do the best job with the top reputation?
Chrome Plated SRT10 Rims
- Thread starter Keith M
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Hey Lynne,
I was meaning to ask you why you chose to chrome those Viper wheels and spend the dough on the Challenger? Also, how did you get those 6 piston calipers inside the 17 inch stockers?
Keith M
Viper Owner
Thanks for the input, I will inquire with California Chrome..
viperman4125
Enthusiast
I also used Caif.Chrome, 2 yrs ago, that did a great job, took 6-8 weeks
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Keith M
Viper Owner
Wow, those wheels look great, especially with the inside barrel polished as well. For the 6-8 weeks you had to wait, did you have spare wheels on your car, or a jack stand set up?
viperman4125
Enthusiast
In Fl. it's hot here, so jack stands, When you send in the center cap, make sure it's all there, they broke mine, and I made them get me another, they 1st had said it was like that, then I had a argument with them, called AX to hold there $$$, then they found me a new one at n/c.
But all in all, they do a great job! Really, You can get them down on the price.
But all in all, they do a great job! Really, You can get them down on the price.
You could also consider a chrome powder coat. Seen several and they are pretty nice looking. Debating going that route on my rims as they need some refurbishment. I just got a set of spares, so when the tires wear out on the current set I may start making some calls to see what I can come up with for a refinishing place.
Keith M
Viper Owner
Thanks for the input. I will look into the option of Chrome Powder Coating as well. Where did you end up finding a set of spare wheels? I have been considering a spare set..
A local club member had a second set for his car but traded the car in on a newer model. The old wheels were just a bit taller than the gen 5 ones, so he didn't think he wanted to try putting them on (not to mention the offset difference). Had my eye out for a while now in case a deal came up and couldn't pass this one up. Not having to pay shipping helps the pocketbook quite a bit.
DaJerseyViper
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I have seen Chrome powdercoated parts and they do not have the same shine and luster as a real chrome part. You will not be happy with the results on a large flat surface like a wheel..
It's certainly a different look, I tend to agree it's not a 100% match, but I've been debating going with a smoked chrome look to darken it up just a tad and haven't had much luck finding shops that will do real dark chrome like that. I think prep probably has a lot to do with it too, but I'd have to do more research on it before I pull the trigger. Refurbing them will probably be bad enough cost without any new coating...
DaJerseyViper
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Why not just put the $$$$ towards a nice set of CCW's????
I've actually grown rather accustomed to the factory rims and like the look. I don't think it will cost the price of custom rims to have them refinished, but I haven't priced out all the options either. The preference is to find somewhere local I could take them to save shipping, but the trick is finding a local place that's also good.
Originally I was pretty set on going with black ACR rims, but the more I had the car and saw the polished aluminum the more I liked it and thought black might not be my favorite. I also tend to prefer a chrome/polished lip on black, which is doable with ACR rims, but not something I've seen enough of to determine if it's the look I'd like. I like the shiny, but the factory clear powder coat is starting to peel or something in some of the corners where the spokes meet the barrel on my factory 10 spokes.
Well. I like the factory Viper wheels. Stock Challenger wheels are ugly. Car came with the Wilwood stage 2 brake uprgrade when I bought it. I will probably end up getting some different wheels for the Viper eventually but I couldn't make up my mind. I was ready to buy a few times and them someone would show up with the very same wheel and spoil my glory so I just had the stockers chromed ...
CCW's are great but the aluminum water stains easy and is a real mother to get out. If I took my Challenger out for a drive and a little water got on the lip it would take my man a long while to polish it out and he finally said he was not going to do it anymore so I had better get them chromed...or something lol
DaJerseyViper
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I recently had my 2002 front wheels fixed (curb rash) and re polished. Cost me about $360 for both. I would polish them not chrome. Chrome to me has more of a rap star feel to it..
DaJerseyViper
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A coat of wax on the wheels would have prevented that..
Roy
Enthusiast
Sounds great, you have any info on this method?
What is the classic route for refurbishment, sandblast-polish-clearcoat?
I guess what I was thinking is maybe a mix between powder coat and chrome. I was thinking of a chrome PVD finish (http://americanpvdcoatings.com/pvd-chrome/ and https://detroitwheelandtire.com/pvd-what/ for instance). It sounds more or less like a powder coat process (spray metallic finish on wheel and seal with a clear). Searching "chrome powder coat" gives mixed results, a lot of which are fairly similar to the "chrome rattle can" look that's just a shiny metallic silver as opposed to the mirror-like chrome. The nice part with this is you can get a mirrored color as well. I imagine the prep work helps determine the quality of the mirror finish, ie. a smooth surface for a smooth look, but that's where the reputation of the company doing the work comes in.
Sounds like the permastar finish on Edelbrock intakes is a PVD coating as well (http://www.goodrichtechnology.com/index.html). I like the idea of the "powder chrome" mainly because I like how easy powder coat cleans up, though both it and real chrome plating have their pros and cons.
Sounds like the permastar finish on Edelbrock intakes is a PVD coating as well (http://www.goodrichtechnology.com/index.html). I like the idea of the "powder chrome" mainly because I like how easy powder coat cleans up, though both it and real chrome plating have their pros and cons.
Yes but with these big 20's you can see inside the barrel of the rim which means pulling off the wheels to re-wax after a wash. Man-slave won't do that lol...
If you daily drove a set of polished CCW's...you're gonna have maintenance issues. I wipe mine down after every drive with a micro-fiber cloth and then toss the cloth. About every three months since I've had them I'll take them off and clean the insides real good. That's all a part of having nice $hit. Those Powerballs you hook up to a drill are decent for quick polishing, and then blow off the red debris fragments with compressed air.
Mine are chrome now, they look like jewels. No more polishing. I spent the extra $50 per wheel for the polished barrel. Brake dust rinses right off with plain water. The Viper wheels were an extra $100 per wheel because the barrels were pretty mucked up which cost more.
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Well I'm sorry to say that one of my wheels is peeling on the inside barrel pretty bad after a year and a half and only 300 miles on the chrome. Can't see in there so i didn't notice until we pulled to wheel off to do some work. My suggestion now is to get a professional polish for about a $100 /wheel depending on where you are located and skip the chrome. Not worth the aggravation...
DaJerseyViper
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Exactly why i dont do chrome.
Yes, but 300 miles in a year and a half....?
DaJerseyViper
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Most likely poor prep work or a chemical reaction to a cleaner.
My thoughts too since the Challenger wheels are big 20's , fairly new and no problems. Older wheels I think are where the problems could be from contamination. These things happen but pain in the butt tho taking it to get tires dis-mounted, shipping, waiting etc..
No cleaners are used other than car wash soap which is mild.
Polished Aluminum HRE's here.
I drive 5,000/year
My regimen is:
- Wipe the brake dust off of them every other drive(or so) with a microfiber.
- Then I go back around & spritz them with QuickDetailer or QuickWax and do a final quick wipe to leave a shiny coating to protect them from potential future waterspots.
- I do this all with One MF towel which has 8 cleaning surfaces if you know how to use properly. I have a separate dirty bin for these towels and wash them all together and reuse once every few months. Do the same with my QD/Waterless wash & Final detail towels...(wash separately)
- Once a year I will fully polish them with the mothers Powerball. Love that thing!!!
Polishing the inside of you barrels or chroming them is silly IMO for 3 reasons:
1. PITA to maintain
2. Looks too show car blingy
3. Takes away from the face of the wheel
I spraypainted my HRE's inside barrels with hi-temp dark grey. This is the way to go IMO as:
A. You don't notice the brake dust since it matches the color.
B. The barrels "disappear" making the face & detail of the wheel "Pop". I think this looks a lot better.
I drive 5,000/year
My regimen is:
- Wipe the brake dust off of them every other drive(or so) with a microfiber.
- Then I go back around & spritz them with QuickDetailer or QuickWax and do a final quick wipe to leave a shiny coating to protect them from potential future waterspots.
- I do this all with One MF towel which has 8 cleaning surfaces if you know how to use properly. I have a separate dirty bin for these towels and wash them all together and reuse once every few months. Do the same with my QD/Waterless wash & Final detail towels...(wash separately)
- Once a year I will fully polish them with the mothers Powerball. Love that thing!!!
Polishing the inside of you barrels or chroming them is silly IMO for 3 reasons:
1. PITA to maintain
2. Looks too show car blingy
3. Takes away from the face of the wheel
I spraypainted my HRE's inside barrels with hi-temp dark grey. This is the way to go IMO as:
A. You don't notice the brake dust since it matches the color.
B. The barrels "disappear" making the face & detail of the wheel "Pop". I think this looks a lot better.
