The authoritative public forum
  for Metal Finishing since 1989
  

  -----

Chrome Plating Aluminum Wheels

I have a friend that is looking to chrome his 2003 BMW 745 aluminum wheels and I was wondering would this be good to do or would it be better to purchase chrome wheels? I noticed that on one of your comments on your site you said it was not.

Gregory H [surname deleted for privacy by Editor]
Manufacturing - Arlington, Texas
2004

---

There is probably nothing wrong with chroming these wheels. However, it's possible that your friend's wheels are made of a different, harder-to-plate alloy than wheels might be which were designed to be plated from the beginning. Further, because chromed wheels are expensive, people often think that they can have their own wheels chromed for less, and usually that's not true:

In an OEM shop one operator may be handling a dozen or more wheels simultaneously, whereas if that same labor cost must be absorbed by just two wheels, it's costlier. In an OEM shop, specialty conforming anodes and other specialty tooling will already exist, whereas such tooling may have to be built just for your friend's two wheels.

An alternative would be to high polish the existing aluminum wheels.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2004