Refinish 03 Wheels... Anyone done this???

Silver04

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I'm going through the process with Cal-chrome right now (should have the wheels back in about 2 weeks) in case the OP or Silver 04 would like to know, Cal-Chrome does have an option where you ship the wheels with the tires still mounted, they will then take them off at the facility, repair curb rash, put the wheels through the chroming process, remount the tires, balance them and then send everything back. My are the 98 stock rims. Cost was:

$150 per wheel to chrome
$25 per wheel to take off the tires and then remount
$35 per centercap (might not apply with yours)
$250 to ship back to me

It cost me $250 to ship the wheels/tires out to them.

Thanks! $1.2K to clean-up the wheels...Hhmmm
 

mgeorge

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Really that's for the chroming and all the shipping, if the curb rash is minor they won't charge. Major curb rash they'll charge additional.
 

Flexx91

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I'm going through the process with Cal-chrome right now (should have the wheels back in about 2 weeks) in case the OP or Silver 04 would like to know, Cal-Chrome does have an option where you ship the wheels with the tires still mounted, they will then take them off at the facility, repair curb rash, put the wheels through the chroming process, remount the tires, balance them and then send everything back. My are the 98 stock rims. Cost was:

$150 per wheel to chrome
$25 per wheel to take off the tires and then remount
$35 per centercap (might not apply with yours)
$250 to ship back to me

It cost me $250 to ship the wheels/tires out to them.

The very reason I had the tires removed. It cost me only $150 to ship (tires add more size and weight thus increases the shipping cost). So in essence, I saved $120 by removing the tires first.
 

purplesnake

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Least desired?? Wouldn't least desired be those ugly ass H-block wheels?? Or do guys like those since they are rare?

First of all, opinions are like A**holes, everyone has one! There are one or two of us out there that love H-spoke wheels. Aside from that, while going chrome is a costly alternative, the "pop", from that bright finish is just amazing on WHATEVER is your wheel of choice.:headbang:
 
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georgethedog

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First of all, opinions are like A**holes, everyone has one! There are one or two of us out there that love H-spoke wheels. Aside from that, while going chrome is a costly alternative, the "pop", from that bright finish is just amazing on WHATEVER is your wheel of choice.:headbang:

I pretty much like all the OEM wheels and have never really had a desire to change to an aftermarket. However, I do wish that they would have been chrome instead of polished and coated.
 

Bad Asp 06

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I am right now in the middle of polishing my rims right now. It took forever to clean and polish the first rim, but the second one is going a ton faster. I'm am sanding out all the machining marks out of the inside as well. Had to get all creative and made a home made tire rotator so I could keep the rim true to roundness.
My plan is to polish the rims my self this year and next year send them out to get chromed.
Would have sent them to get chromed this winter, but ran short on funds after sending my intake and throttle body in to mirror finish right after x-mas.
 

AbsolutHank

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Very nice Justin! Had I not gotten aftermarket wheels for my car this year, doing the exact thing (well, at least to the faces!) was my project over the winter. While I loved the easy clean-up and durability of the clearcoated 5 spokes, their hazy/cloudy appearance in person was killing me.
 

Bad Asp 06

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My issue with mine were that there must have been road rash on them before I bought my car and were repaired so-so. They just sanded the road rash out and then hit the rims with some 2000 grit and a semi descent polish after. This left a uneven finish on the rims and was driving me crazy.
 

uvbnbit

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I was at the Sewell Infiniti dealership yesterday in Fort Worth and they are sending their factory wheels in for this process. They are doing them in a black chrome look and I have to say it looked really good. It was strange I saw this thread yesterday... and first time hearing of the process... and then saw it in person at the dealership. I was very impressed with the results and will be doing this to my Jeep SRT-8 wheels at some point.

PVD been around a while but starting to get popular. Getting better process too. Def. has advantages over chrome. Pretty good substitute. But if you like chrome, then Cal is the way to go.
 

Mambamike

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I just did my wheels. Take a look at them.
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Bad Asp 06

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So......you have one black valve cover and one yellow valve cover?
Could be cool.
The rims look sweet by the way, I am just a bigger fan of chrome rims myself.
 

Mambamike

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I was too, until I seen the black rims on the car !!! It looks so race... The finish on the wheels are Show Finish... Its above your normal powder coating... The yellow V/C were for another viper.. I went all black wheels and V/C...
 

Mambamike

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The wheels were powder coated but, the powder that was used was a high gloss show powder.. Its a mirror finish. It cost a little more but as you can see well worth it.
 
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