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Clear chrome finish, brown spots showing up after three weeks

Hello,

We did a clear chrome (almost chrome) finish on a set of amr wheels, Now after about 3 weeks of driving on them, he has had little brown water spots starting to show up and there not just washing off? Does anyone have and idea of why this would be happening and if so how do I fix it for this gentleman, thanks.

Marvel Harrison
- JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, USA
2002

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I don't know what "clear chrome" and "almost chrome" are, so I suspect that some other readers don't either. Consequently, it's hard for us to be helpful.

But may we conjecture that this is some kind of organic coating having nothing to do with actual nickel-chrome plating? From what little I understand, it sounds like the wheels are rusting because they were not fully dried before painting; you need to use a salt-free final rinse, and accelerate the drying with something--whether it be by baking, or dipping in isopropyl alcohol ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] , acetone ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] Warning! highly Flammable! , or a vapor degreasing chemical compatible with the paint. In general, an organic finish applied on steel without a phosphate pretreatment or an electrocoating isn't going to be worth much.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2002