Chrome rims meet salt HELP!!!

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imported_gators241987

New member
I havent been on here in forever. The other day we got a few inches of snow. Following morning it was all melted. I asked my buddy who had been out that morning if they had salted the roads, he said no. So we hopped in my truck and drove to the store, 5 min into the drive I can clearly see salt on the road. We get back and I throw water on my rims and clean them off.



Fast forward two days, I go out to my truck and decide since its 70 I will wash my truck. Get out all my supplies and notice my rims have patches of hard salt fixed onto the rim. (kinda hard to describe). I do my p21 wash on them and it does little.



So, is there any product out there that will help restore chrome rims once it has meet salt?
 
i have used NeverDull by eagle one in the past and it works awesome on chrome. Its comes in a silver tin can and you should find it at any autozone or local auto supply place.
 
pics please



so 5 min on a road with salt did the damage?



sure my chrome rims on not in the best shape

but they see salt 10-20 times a year for 12 year now

so i am having a hard time understanding what happened





so were the rim hot when you "threw water on them"
 
Are you sure there wasn't prior damage to the rims?



It's true that road salt will damage chrome, but it takes SEVERAL WINTERS of abuse for that to occur.



I would try Mother's Chrome Polish to start.



Any pics?
 
I am 100% positive that these rims were fine before the salted roads. The week prior I did a tire rotation and the wheels were flawless. No pics right now, but looks similar to this, not as many and not as close together. http://www.kxwheels.com/images/Chrome_Pitting_2.jpg



I can deal with it like it is presently, I guess my biggest question is will it get any worse. I dont have the funds available to me now to replace the wheels, so if I can get 5 more years out of the truck without the wheels getting any worse, I would be super happy. BTW, moving to Tampa in 3 months and truck will never see salt ever again. Im just hoping that they wont get worse, and I know it would be helpful with pics, but cant find camera now.
 
gators241987 said:
, I guess my biggest question is will it get any worse. .
Click to expand...



If they are truly "pitted", then they will eventually start to flake and peel. Not pretty. Problem is, once they start to flake, there's nothing you can do about it.



Do you have a cell phone camera?



I have always taken off my chromies in December and put on my "winter wheels" until April 1, just to be safe.



Road salt is definitely the enemy of chrome.



P.S. Every custom wheel shop I've ever bought from has always told me "You have to take them off in the winter... road salt will RUIN them!"
 
My buddys bringing over a camera as I type this. I dont exactly know the 100% definition of pitting. The best way to describe the wheels would be like a "salt deposit". Not able to be wiped off. The dots appear raised to the touch. Pics are forth coming.



If the wheel does peel away, how long do I have until this process begins?



And normally west TN doesnt experience a cold snowy winter. We had snow twice earlier this year, no salt put down. A few wrecks happened. Now the dumbases here decided to be extra safe and put down a ton of salt. So much that 5 days later, the roads are still white.
 
gators241987 said:
Now the dumbases here decided to be extra safe and put down a ton of salt. So much that 5 days later, the roads are still white.
Click to expand...



Haha... yeah, they were SCARED-TO-DEATH!!!! :nervous2::nervous2::nervous2:



That white stuff is probably what's called "Salt-Brine". It goes down in liquid form, then dries and stays on the roads until the next snow. Only heavy rains or thunderstorms will wash it down.



Miserable stuff. You can actually see the salt dust from it ROLLING out of the wheel-wells of the cars as they roll down the road!!!:grrr
 
alright heres some pics. I tried to get as clear as possible. Its everyone I took. If you need any more to tell, sunlight is premium now and will have to wait until tomm.



FYI, the brownish stuff is the deep chrome polish that i missed.

110_0648.jpg


110_0650.jpg


110_0651.jpg


The next picture, the dirt to the far right of the picture, is the inside of the rim, didnt have time to get that today since theres no chrome on it, i didnt view it as a necessity. The pics are a combination of the two worst rims, the driver side is relatively clean, only a few dots.

110_0655.jpg
 
In the last picture, are those "raised bumps" on the inside of the of the rims?



If so, that is damage from salt.



But my point is that it couldn't have happened from ONE drive in salt, and suddenly those bumps appear a few hours later.



Probably at this point, the best thing you can do is to keep them clean.
 
One more point about the bumps under the chrome plating... The chrome plating on the "back" side of the rims is not the same quality as the plating on the front.



Therefore, it's possible that there were tiny holes or pores in the plating where moisture (or dirt, salt, debris) could get in.



I've had chrome rims that never saw salt, and had those same raised areas after a few years.



It looks like you keep the backside clean, and that usually happens when you neglect the back.
 
I have never taken off my rims for winter snow and salt. I live in Ohio too. Don't get me wrong,I would, but I have never had an extra set. My truck came with factory polished aluminum wheels. I purchased some factory chrome wheels with trade in. I use a mild wheel cleaner, that I'm sure is acidic. I rinse very good. I always wax and remove dirt. I don't always use the wheel cleaner on customers cars. I'm very cautious about rims. Try some acid diluted with water. rinse well,and apply wax or sealant. Try a small area first!
 
im 99.9% sure those arent chrome, theyre polished aluminum. Chrome would not have done that so easily. I've ran chrome wheels every day through nasty maine winters and just kept the truck washed, no problems at all.



The majority of aftermarket wheels are polished and not clearcoated....that would make the wheels more vulnerable to calcium, better known as "road salt"



I friend of mine bought a set of rims similar to that mid summer and by december they were gray and crappy. In the spring we acid washed them and polished them back.



Dont get to crazy with the acid, actually....those wheels look pretty nice, so if you're not going to be driving in that kinda crap again, dont use it at all. I find that mother's power metal or better yet meguiars all metal polish works great on unprotected polished aluminum. try it on those spots.



Acid on a non clearcoated, polished aluminum wheel = death to shine....but they look nice if you're into the machined look.
 
The area that I have marked with a yellow arrow is typical Chrome-bubbling... it usually occurs when a foreign substance (dirt, salt, water, debris) finds its way into any imperfections in the chrome plating... almost always on the back side of the wheel, because of the poorer quality of plating on the back.



chromebubble.jpg
 
Did you use P21S total auto wash or wheel cleaner? Have you tried #0000 steel wool and a chrome polish?



Hopefully they aren't ruined, especially since you're moving to a salt free environment in a few months.
 
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