Damage control on wheels?

**Fishincricket** · 03-06-2013, 11:38 AM

My wheels on my Yukon, they are good from far:

But far from good:

I need a (preferably DIY inexpensive) plan of attack to:
Clean them as best as possible
Remove oxidation and rust
Remove peeling from barrels, refinish
Polish face of wheel

As mentioned, I am not opposed to tackling this myself, I'm thinking that refinishing the barrels in black (powder coat, maybe?) and salvaging the chrome faces (they look chrome anyway, advice there?) would be the best option..

So, suggestions?

**Evan.J** · 03-06-2013, 11:51 AM

Well I would say why not try cleaning them with either iron-X TRIX or a wheel cleaner like Megs wheel brightener or the chrome wheel cleaner. U can use any wheel brush that has frayed bristles that way you won't scratch the surface of the wheel.

I see you have American racing wheels I have used they're chrome tech cleaner and its great but any chrome cleaner should work for you to restore the shine to the best of your ability.

Not sure about the peeling thats going on in the inside of the wheel. Maybe you could have the inside powered coated if you wanted to go that route.

**VroomVroom** · 03-06-2013, 12:42 PM

Always hard to be 100% confident from pics, but I'm guessing you can dramatically improve the look of the chrome. IMO/IME you'll find best results from either a wadded metal polish, or an abrasive paint polish. FWIW, here's a before & after of the last set of chrome wheels (also on a Yukon) I worked on, using Megs 105 by hand, followed by Poorboys Wheel Sealant:

Beyond that, I'm not sure how well you'd be pleased with a DIY effort. Peeling....IME sandblasting and refinishing is the only way to go. At that point, it may not be worth the effort in working on the chrome. Bottom line - I'd recommend clearly defining your goals. Do you want to optimize what you've got, without spending any extra money, or do you want a new look that will last? Those are the extremes, and you can adjust your process accordingly for anything in between. Good luck.

**RhetoricMixes** · 03-06-2013, 01:19 PM

Follow what Jerry said if you want to go the DIY route. Be sure if you use a metal polish that you get black residue on your towel, if not done use it! Switch to a paint polish after that and you should be good. As far as the peeling goes you can always have the barrels powder coated for cheap or even do the whole wheel another color.

**Fishincricket** · 03-06-2013, 02:23 PM

"You can always have the barrels powder coated for cheap"

Any links to that process? Is it DIY or would I have to find a local shop?

**Fishincricket** · 03-06-2013, 02:24 PM

Originally Posted by VroomVroom

Always hard to be 100% confident from pics, but I'm guessing you can dramatically improve the look of the chrome. IMO/IME you'll find best results from either a wadded metal polish, or an abrasive paint polish. FWIW, here's a before & after of the last set of chrome wheels (also on a Yukon) I worked on, using Megs 105 by hand, followed by Poorboys Wheel Sealant:

Beyond that, I'm not sure how well you'd be pleased with a DIY effort. Peeling....IME sandblasting and refinishing is the only way to go. At that point, it may not be worth the effort in working on the chrome. Bottom line - I'd recommend clearly defining your goals. Do you want to optimize what you've got, without spending any extra money, or do you want a new look that will last? Those are the extremes, and you can adjust your process accordingly for anything in between. Good luck.

Thank you for the detailed reply! Sounds like I have a decision to make...

**RhetoricMixes** · 03-06-2013, 02:26 PM

Originally Posted by Fishincricket

"You can always have the barrels powder coated for cheap"

Any links to that process? Is it DIY or would I have to find a local shop?

You would have to find a place to get it done locally. Shop around though as the prices can range anywhere from $40-$100+ a wheel. Most shops include stripping the wheels of chrome and everything with that price too.

**swanicyouth** · 03-06-2013, 03:24 PM

I don't think the outer barrels can be fixed. I would have the whole set re-powder coated silver. Of course, for the price of that, you could just get a new set of wheels. Powder coating in not cheap, and there is no guarantee chrome will hold up through winter, especially salt.any chrome wheels get destroyed by salt.

Honestly, you may be able to improve it by hand, but if your looking for something that looks great under close inspection, I would just get new wheels.