Heavy oxidation on chrome rims :o(

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05on20s

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Hey everyone. So I could really use some assistance on this one. I am finally about to put my chrome rims back on after about 2 years and lets just say they were pretty nasty looking. They had these green spots all over them which I am guessing it was from the winter. I meant to go over to my aunt's house where they were stored but never had time and had to clean them. I have no before pics but today I tried to clean the mess out of them with eagle 1 chrome cleaner, soap and water, and the put some chrome polish on them and this is what I am left with:
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Is there anything I could do to restore these rims back? Now these are GM aftermarket 20s which I am guessing isn't the best chrome in the world but would like to get them back to OEM if possible.
 
Looks like rust to me...I would try DG #831 and if that didn't get it, step up to Poorboy’s Spray and Rinse Wheel Cleaner.
 
DG#831? Can I pick that up from a store or will I have to order it.
 
If that is rust there is only best option: get them rechromed! Chome is only a thin layer over nickel. So if the chrome is oxidized, or even the nickel, then you can only try and cover it up, but much of the surface is already bonded to oxygen and perhaps other elements. So if you where to cover the rust up, someone looking at them from, say, five feet of so can tell. If you remove the rust, you also remove the chrome and nickel to boot. So, I can only recomend getting them rechromed.
 
Ted S. said:
If that is rust there is only best option: get them rechromed! Chome is only a thin layer over nickel. So if the chrome is oxidized, or even the nickel, then you can only try and cover it up, but much of the surface is already bonded to oxygen and perhaps other elements. So if you where to cover the rust up, someone looking at them from, say, five feet of so can tell. If you remove the rust, you also remove the chrome and nickel to boot. So, I can only recomend getting them rechromed.
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Oh Man. I wonder how much that would cost. Guess I will have to do some shopping around.
 
My wife's Jaguar rims looked like that, the Flitz cleaned 'em right up
 
jpegs13 said:
My wife's Jaguar rims looked like that, the Flitz cleaned 'em right up
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Ok cool. I guess I will have to put in an order then. I am trying to not to have to rechrome these rims. If that is the case I rather upgrade and get some 22's instead.
 
05on20s said:
DG#831? Can I pick that up from a store or will I have to order it.
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Some NAPA and Car Quest has it.

Ted S. said:
If that is rust there is only best option: get them rechromed! Chome is only a thin layer over nickel. So if the chrome is oxidized, or even the nickel, then you can only try and cover it up, but much of the surface is already bonded to oxygen and perhaps other elements. So if you where to cover the rust up, someone looking at them from, say, five feet of so can tell. If you remove the rust, you also remove the chrome and nickel to boot. So, I can only recomend getting them rechromed.
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Ted you are right..
I used Poorboy’s Spray and Rinse Wheel Cleaner on some chrome wheels that look about like them and it eat the rust right off of them. It will make them look good for a short time. So if that is rust it will come back.....
 
What ever you use, give us feed back....Pics would be cool too....
 
No problem guys. I guess I will wait to put the rims on till they are cleaned up.
 
05on20s said:
Oh Man. I wonder how much that would cost. Guess I will have to do some shopping around.
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Maybe some of the guys on here are smarter than me and can find affordable alternatives. Getting rims rechromed is not cheap because all the old coatings have to be removed and prepped first. You want to explore all options and ask for some quotes on rechroming. If you are anal like me, you would probably look at the cost of new rims vs. rechroming. And remember, odds are, places that rechrome will probably not remove the tires and you have to pay shipping or drop the rims off. Just some stuff to keep in mind!:xyxthumbs:
 
yea I just googled online about the rechrome process. I would try and get these as clean as possible and sell them and use that towards some more rims. FYI. Just bought the Flitz stuff. I will keep you all posted and thanks for the help and support :)
 
Any time Ive seen green stuff like that on chrome ,its just been surface and cleaned up great . Good luck!
 
You know what works great on chrome? Lime Away, believe it or not. Dilute a bit with regular water, wear gloves, and have at it. When I was re-doing my rims, I had the rivets re-finished and I was not satisfied with the results, so using a q-tip I went through all 140 rivets and was extremely happy with the outcome. Here are some pictures.

Before

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After

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The top rivet is an after and the one below it is a before.

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Update - Heavy oxidation on chrome rims (Passable)

Well After using some Zep chrome polisher and the Flitz cleaner here are the results of the rims. It is passable to I will ride them out for the summer.

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