daanan

Does anyone has an experience with geting stock rims polished and chromed?Is it something I can do or get a pro?How much wud it cost to do all 4?
Maybe Gunmetal!!

NSX-Tuner

Never really liked chrome rims. Gunmetal Grey rims on the other had, I like.

BEETROOT

www.goodrichtechnology.com

dfreder371

Re: Goodrich: See the post down the page about powder coating rims. There you will see mine. Real chrome costs a fortune and is good for only about two years or so with 365 days a year service. Powder coating is good for 10+ years.

"Chrome" trim that you see on cars these days is actually a plastic mylar film that has been vacuum metalized with aluminum.

Chrome, except for plating on military aircraft (landing gear struts) and the shafts of golf clubs is basically a dead technology.

daanan

Dunno much abt these terms:powder coating etc. How easy is it to do and what wud it cost?Anyone in Toronto has hookups..

dfreder371

Powder coating is a completely solventless paint system, so it is environmentally friendly. The part to be painted is grounded anf therefore carries a negative charge. The powder coating is then sent through a charging gun and the powder is charged to 100,000 volts such that it carries a positive charge. As opposites attract, the powder is drawn to the part. Then the powder is cured at usually around 375 f, and in the case of a wheel, because of its high mass, around 25 pounds, for about one hour.

Comparing liquid paint or platings to powder coatings are akin to comparing a Kia to my CLS6. If you have stock wheels on, I assume, your Acura CL, those wheels are already powder coated in satin silver if your car is an 03.

Powder coating technology is about fifty years old or so, but only really caught on about 1990, and today powder coating useage is skyrocketing.

You can not do this yourself (although I can) because special equipment is required. Usually, a complete powder coating line that can clean and pretreat the metal to be coated, spraying equipment and a proper curing oven costs about $1,000,000 in capital spending and now you still have to put in a conveyor to move the parts. Figure 1.3 million for a complete system.

Because the process used high amounts of energy, you would probably be charged $200 to $400 for all four wheels. I doubt you could get one wheel chromed for less than $300.

Properly done chrome is done thusly. First a layer of copper is deposited on the wheel. Then, to be properly done, up to eight individual layers of nickle must be applied in eight seperate steps, Then chrome is applied.

I test platings, liquid paints and powder coatings for a living so trust me. I know what I wrote here is true. Been doing it for 15 years.

daanan

Thanx for the details..now I gotta lokk for someone to do it..