Chrome Rim Touch Up
 

My stock rims have had an aftermarket chrome job done on them. Over the years, the rims have had some unfriendly encounters with curbs and brake dust, and have been somewhat neglected when it comes to having them cleaned. While I was able to remove virtually all of the brake dust with the very effective Eagle 1 Chrome cleaner, I noticed that the brake dust has corroded the chrome, such that it has appeared to flake off in those areas. I was wondering if any kind of touch up paint can be purchased and if it's a good idea. I don't want to make them look like crap with unmatched coloring. I did a quick search on yahoo and found this, but wasn't sure if it's use will be an improvement. Additionally, I went to the auto parts store, did a quick look, but didn't find anything. Thanks for any help!

I hate to break it to you, but you're screwed. You could paint the 'spots', but it'd only look alright from 20 ft away. You could also repaint the whole wheel, and that might look okay.... or you could get them rechromed. This is why it pisses me off when I see a newer BMW with some soccer mom driving it with a TON of brake dust on her front wheels: BRAKE DUST IS CORRISIVE. Cleaning your wheels on a regular basis isn't just for looks, it'll actually eat through the finish on your wheels!

- Rob

PS: You could just try polishing the aluminum to a chrome like finish, I think it might look better htan painting the spots.

I think most of the neglect was done by the previous owner, but they were really dirty this time. I guess I need to keep tabs on them more often.

I might get them re-chromed when I have the money, but seen as how the patches are in the inner portion of the rim, I might try, taking your word of caution into mind, touching up a very small area and seeing what it looks like.

Something tells me that if I use that paint, posted above, to paint the whole thing, it'll look like crap. Just a gut feeling.

Thanks for the advice.

out of curiousity, where would i go to get a set of rims chromed?

-adam

As long as it is JUST out curiosity :p

http://www.chromeyourwheels.com/