Chrome mod???

[ArkansasMystic]

Just curious if any of you guys have heard of this, or possibly done it. The one thing I don't like about my 04 Cobra wheels it that it's only the outside that is chrome. Inside the wheel is just a flat gray. I think it'd make the wheels look much better, but it seems to me that Ford should know what they're doing so I'm tempted to leave it alone. The process is simple: you take aircraft coating remover, spray the inside of the wheels (small sections at a time), wait a few minutes, wipe off, then coat with chrome polish. Any downsides to this? Since my car is my dd, I'm thinking it will be very hard to keep clean, but probably worth it. Here are a couple pics of some 03 Cobras done this way:
http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/5599/wheel.jpg (http://img103.imageshack.us/i/wheel.jpg/) http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/wheel.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img103/wheel.jpg/1/)
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/7489/wheel2q.jpg (http://img139.imageshack.us/i/wheel2q.jpg/) http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/wheel2q.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img139/wheel2q.jpg/1/)

[stumbaugh]

Sounds like a good idea. I say go for it. It will look awsome

[oxman]

+1!

[adam2kgt]

Great idea, but be prepared to remove the wheels to repolish them. Unless they are truly chromed on the inside, which a lot of wheels aren't, then they will get ugly pretty quick on a D/D. My black chrome Cobra's aren't chromed on the inside, for instance.

[ArkansasMystic]

Great idea, but be prepared to remove the wheels to repolish them. Unless they are truly chromed on the inside, which a lot of wheels aren't, then they will get ugly pretty quick on a D/D. My black chrome Cobra's aren't chromed on the inside, for instance.

That is what I am afraid of. Also, won't chrome rust? I'm thinking it may have been coated on the inside to help prevent rust. Do you guys think this will be an issue?

[adam2kgt]

Technically, no, chrome won't rust. If any moisture finds it's way behind the chrome, though, the underlying metal will corrode. Most chromed aluminum wheels will start flaking and chipping after a while. The aluminum under the chrome starts to build up corrosion, and soon the chrome loses it's grip. I don't think taking off the paint over the chrome would have any effect on that, as long as the entire wheel is chromed.

[ArkansasMystic]

After taking a look at the inside of my wheels, I really don't know that they'd clean up like the ones in the pic. It may just be years of dust and such on them, but with some wheel cleaner and elbow grease I wasn't able to get it off. I'm afraid I'd just have patches of chrome and it would stick out like a sore thumb.

[1low03gt]

It would look sweet,but since you dd your Cobra,i would leave them alone to save yourself a headache.Rims are a pain in the ars to keep clean on the back side cause of the break dust,and what not.

[Sketch]

As a D/D and like many have said it will be hard to keep clean and looking good. But if your going to try it, you might consider clear coating it after you get it all polished. I have a friend that polishes allot of metal stuff and does this on occasion. According to him it works. Up to you.

[ArkansasMystic]

I think I may hold off. I'd really like this, but I'm with you guys I think it'd be a pain to keep clean (and I'm sick and tired of swapping wheels).

[horspwr]

Mine are chrome on the inside but they don't stay clean. Granted, for shows I clean them up and they look great but that's a few choice times a year. Unless you stayed after them and rubbed the brake dust and road grime off everyday you'd never know they were chrome anyway.