Trinten
08-26-2019, 04:55 PM
Hi everyone,
I found this forum last week when doing research on how best to clean up and preserve my new-to-me wheels. They are chrome plated, and the previous owner took great care of them, no curb rash or any major pitting.
What started me on my research is the "treadside" of the barrel (basically the part hidden by the tire) has some spots of chrome starting to flake, and one spot on the "inside" of the barrel, behind the face.
I read a few different articles on how to address this. One of them I wasn't too sure about, because it said to take 180 grit sandpaper to the flaking area... and that seemed really coarse. Even though it was on a website full of articles on car care (not a forum), I figured that had to be a typo. So found this article:
How to Fix Peeling on Chrome-Plated Wheels | It Still Runs (https://itstillruns.com/fix-peeling-chromeplated-wheels-7885772.html)
This one seems marginally more sensible. However it says "spray the wheel with a silicone based wheel sealer". Well, all of the silicone based wheel sealers I found were either waxes/pastes, or many mentions of RTV (used when assembling multi-piece wheels). I found this site and started searching and reading up on products and articles, though many of the posts I read were around a decade old (for example, Mckee's 37 was not called that... and it was very confusing trying to find the product before I realized there was a name change).
A lot of the articles here also used other shorthand acronyms, only some of them I've been able to figure out (like PB is Poorboy).
Anyhow, here's my plan. I know this might seem over the top, but while the wheels are off the car and have no tires on them, I want to do as much as possible to make upkeep easier down the road. I also understand there is a difference between "minimum" "what professionals do" (or "over the top" for hobbists like me), "diminishing returns" and "pointless". I'm okay with diminishing returns. If something is pointless, please educate me in the post so I understand why.
Also, please offer recommendations on products. I've picked up on some common threads, but given how old some of the info I have been consuming is, there could be better stuff out there! Especially if I accidentally pick something that may damage chrome!
My plan:
1. Damp cloth to carefully clean around the peeling chrome areas
2. Clear epoxy to put the thinnest 'glaze' I can over the peeling/cracked areas. None of it is big enough to lift like a flap to put epoxy under it.
3. After epoxy cures, scrub wheel with nylon brush and Dawn.
4. Use Griot's wheel cleaner (I have this product, use it on my daily driver, love it. Open to other suggestions)
5. Apply a ceramic "nano coating" (like you use on paint) to them. I found options like Carpro CQuartz DLX, Gyeon Rim, and Cquk? All from a thread here on applying ceramic to chrome Harley parts. I don't know if these products are the type of ceramic I'm thinking of (like this stuff from AvalonKing - The Truth About Ceramic Coating | AvalonKing (https://avalonking.com/blog/the-truth-about-ceramic-coatings/) ) or if it's the stuff more similar to what JetHot and Keracoat put on.
6. Apply McKeey's 37 over the nano coat ceramic stuff.
Then once a quarter I can wash it with Griot's tire, and use McKee's 37, and figure twice a year use a slightly stronger cleaner to take off any McKee's, then reapply the ceramic nanocoat, and then a fresh layer of Mckees?
Thoughts?
Here is a pic of my wheels:
http://ncfiero.com/images/MMTS/August2019/newwheelset.jpg
I found this forum last week when doing research on how best to clean up and preserve my new-to-me wheels. They are chrome plated, and the previous owner took great care of them, no curb rash or any major pitting.
What started me on my research is the "treadside" of the barrel (basically the part hidden by the tire) has some spots of chrome starting to flake, and one spot on the "inside" of the barrel, behind the face.
I read a few different articles on how to address this. One of them I wasn't too sure about, because it said to take 180 grit sandpaper to the flaking area... and that seemed really coarse. Even though it was on a website full of articles on car care (not a forum), I figured that had to be a typo. So found this article:
How to Fix Peeling on Chrome-Plated Wheels | It Still Runs (https://itstillruns.com/fix-peeling-chromeplated-wheels-7885772.html)
This one seems marginally more sensible. However it says "spray the wheel with a silicone based wheel sealer". Well, all of the silicone based wheel sealers I found were either waxes/pastes, or many mentions of RTV (used when assembling multi-piece wheels). I found this site and started searching and reading up on products and articles, though many of the posts I read were around a decade old (for example, Mckee's 37 was not called that... and it was very confusing trying to find the product before I realized there was a name change).
A lot of the articles here also used other shorthand acronyms, only some of them I've been able to figure out (like PB is Poorboy).
Anyhow, here's my plan. I know this might seem over the top, but while the wheels are off the car and have no tires on them, I want to do as much as possible to make upkeep easier down the road. I also understand there is a difference between "minimum" "what professionals do" (or "over the top" for hobbists like me), "diminishing returns" and "pointless". I'm okay with diminishing returns. If something is pointless, please educate me in the post so I understand why.
Also, please offer recommendations on products. I've picked up on some common threads, but given how old some of the info I have been consuming is, there could be better stuff out there! Especially if I accidentally pick something that may damage chrome!
My plan:
1. Damp cloth to carefully clean around the peeling chrome areas
2. Clear epoxy to put the thinnest 'glaze' I can over the peeling/cracked areas. None of it is big enough to lift like a flap to put epoxy under it.
3. After epoxy cures, scrub wheel with nylon brush and Dawn.
4. Use Griot's wheel cleaner (I have this product, use it on my daily driver, love it. Open to other suggestions)
5. Apply a ceramic "nano coating" (like you use on paint) to them. I found options like Carpro CQuartz DLX, Gyeon Rim, and Cquk? All from a thread here on applying ceramic to chrome Harley parts. I don't know if these products are the type of ceramic I'm thinking of (like this stuff from AvalonKing - The Truth About Ceramic Coating | AvalonKing (https://avalonking.com/blog/the-truth-about-ceramic-coatings/) ) or if it's the stuff more similar to what JetHot and Keracoat put on.
6. Apply McKeey's 37 over the nano coat ceramic stuff.
Then once a quarter I can wash it with Griot's tire, and use McKee's 37, and figure twice a year use a slightly stronger cleaner to take off any McKee's, then reapply the ceramic nanocoat, and then a fresh layer of Mckees?
Thoughts?
Here is a pic of my wheels:
http://ncfiero.com/images/MMTS/August2019/newwheelset.jpg