Chrome a wheel?

[Pacman]

It is it better to chrome the whole wheel or just the outside part of the wheel that shows.

I noticed that some chroming companies will just do the outside of the rim and some will do the whole thing.

Is it because the tire might move on the rim because chrome is so slick? Or do companies just do it because it's cheaper...?

 

[KingCobra03SVT]

Probably has to do with cost. I would imagine if they chromed the whole thing that is more chrome that has to be used so it would have to cost more.

 

[mblgjr]

Cost is the main factor.

Chroming can also weaken certain alloys; so *some* companies are a little cautious but they should be able to tell you the specifics.

Also note that 'slickness' isn't an issue with the tire biting/seating properly on the rim lip; nor is thickness or buildup.

 

[canibus]

don't they dip the entire wheel into the liquid chrome pool?

 

[mblgjr]

Generally yes; but I'm fairly certain it is also possible to do "selective chroming" of an item.

 

['95yellowGT]

Generally yes; but I'm fairly certain it is also possible to do "selective chroming" of an item.

+1

 

[Ry_Trapp0]

how do they do that? the chrome powdercoat that they have now?

 

[Common]

Dipped or *plated* is different. I have heard that second one is much better quality.

 

[Ry_Trapp0]

here is what i could find:

What's the difference between "Chrome Plating", "Chrome Electroplating", "Chrome Dipping", "Chroming", etc.?

Nothing. Chrome is always applied by electroplating, it is never melted onto parts in the fashion of chocolate on strawberries, or applied in any other way than by electroplating. Note the previous paragraph, though, that everything that is somewhat bright is not necessarily electroplated chrome.



Is all chrome plating about the same, then?

Not quite. There are two different general applications for chrome plating: "hard chrome plating" (sometimes called 'engineering chrome plating') and "decorative chrome plating" (sometimes called 'nickel-chrome plating').



Hard Chrome Plating

Most people would not be very familiar with hard chrome plating. Hard chromium plating is chrome plating that has been applied as a fairly heavy coating (usually measured in thousandths of an inch) for wear resistance, lubricity, oil retention, and other 'wear' purposes. Some examples would be hydraulic cylinder rods, rollers, piston rings, mold surfaces, thread guides, gun bores, etc. 'Hard chrome' is not really harder than other chrome plating, it is called hard chromium because it is thick enough that a hardness measurement can be performed on it and the chrome hardness can be measured, whereas thinner plating will break like an eggshell if a hardness test is conducted, so its hardness can't really be measured directly.

Hard chrome plating is almost always applied to items that are made of steel, usually hardened steel. It is metallic in appearance but is not particularly reflective or decorative. Hard chrome plating is not a finish that you would want on a wheel or bumper.

There are variations even within hard chrome plating, with some of the coatings optimized to be especially porous for oil retention, etc.

Many shops who do hard chromium plating do no other kind of plating at all, because their business is designed to serve only engineered, wear-type, needs. If a shop says they do 'hard chrome only', they have no service that most consumers would be interested in.



Decorative Chrome Plating

Decorative chrome plating is sometimes called nickel-chrome plating because it always involves electroplating nickel onto the object before plating the chrome (it sometimes also involves electroplating copper onto the object before the nickel, too). The nickel plating provides the smoothness, much of the corrosion resistance, and most of the reflectivity. The chrome plating is exceptionally thin, measured in millionths of an inch rather than in thousandths.

When you look at a decorative chromium plated surface, such as a chrome plated wheel or truck bumper, most of what you are seeing is actually the effects of the nickel plating. The chrome adds a bluish cast (compared to the somewhat yellowish cast of nickel), protects the nickel against tarnish, minimizes scratching, and symbiotically contributes to corrosion resistance. But the point is, without the brilliant leveled nickel undercoating, you would not have a reflective, decorative surface.

By the way, there is no such thing as "decrotif chrome plating". That is just a misspelling of 'decorative' that took on a life of its own.

i dunno how a "selective chrome plating" could work, unless its the chrome finish powdercoat(which looks good, but you can tell its not true chrome).