Ok,

Thanks for the props... I have not weighed them yet (I will at my next drift event)

Here are some more pictures of the chromed lips and of the car... and a couple of night shots



















I think thats about all the decent shots I got right now...

I hope you like them

P.S. I love the Chrome on the lips, the reflection is SO clear and I can use chrome / stainless steel polish to polish them up with no worries at all (can't use that on anodized lips)

The cost was approx $200 per wheel to get done...

 

Sorry to revive such an old thread.

The lips on my volks are really starting to look bad and I would like to get this done. Does anyone know of a shop in Florida (preferably central but ill drive) that would be willing to do this type of thing for me?

Otherwise is there a certain type of shop that i should look for that does this kind of thing?

TIA

 

Looks like I may be doing this to my rims. The clear coat on Volks truely sucks.

Was their any special process to do this? or is it a simple plating job?

 

why no contact information on shops that can do this?

What gives?

 

I need to get this done as well, it may be the one thing that inspires me to start modding my Z again

 

How are your chrome lips doing??
Is their any chance of the chrome plating peeling away over time?

 

What was the weight difference?

 

If you curb one, you are screwed because it will start chipping away.

 

Any recommendations for a shop to chrome my barrels in the long island area of New York.

 

any shops at all? I don't mind shipping my rims to have this done since i live in a hick town

 

I looked more into this -


For one most people that have polished lips also have clearcoat over them. Well if you start polishing like crazy on that clearcoat its going to wear away.

I looked for chroming and there are a few tricks to it.

Like someone else said you cant polish a chipped/curbed rim. A polished wheel will cost you 15- to have refinished. That is for a full three piece wheel disassemble and all.

You also cant chrome over chrome. It has to be chemically removed then re-chromed. That brings us to our next issue. You have to watch what states EPA laws allow them to have the correct chems to make a quality chrome. In VA its all has a blue tint , in MD its yellowish this all has to do with the chems that are allowed or not allowed.

All in all this is a nice idea - totally not worth the hassle, continued cost, weight, and chance of chipping.

I decided against it. Just have your wheels professionally refinished.

 

The problem with Volks is that no one in the U.S. can refinish them to the same standard that they come. Polishing is alot duller than the OEM finish on Volks.

 

Could it be the quality of alum? I'm sure the japanese method of polishing is the same as American.

Wax on wax off - with pressure.


Oh well another reason not to buy Volks! (wow thats like blasphamey around this forum) ...like walking into a church and saying God is stupid.....worship something else.

 

That's the problem, Volks aren't polished when new. They have some kind of mirror like finish. It's shinier than clear coated polished aluminum. The guy where I bought mine warned me about them and he was absolutely right. He said for EPA reasons no one in the U.S. can use the same process. You need to take care of your Volks to keep them looking great.

 

That or find out the chemicals and start doing them in Mexico. Now there is an idea ... wheel chroming/polishing in Mexico. Who's in?

 

If we mount tires on the rims before shipping we'll have a perfect way of importing other substances as well.

 

You cant fit a Mexican in a tire ... oh you mean drugs ... duh..

No thanks I'll stick to anabolic steriods ... I mean "multi-vitamins"

I wonder why someone hasnt went down to Mexico and threw up a few CNC machines and starting knocking out some baller wheels...

I mean they do it in China.

 

I think your guy is full of BS. Volk lips are polished with an anodized coating. If you strip the anodizing, they will have the same shine. They are shinnier than clearcoated wheels, because clearcoat slightly dulls the lips, but they don't have some kind of specai mirror finish thats banned by the epa. You are getting it confused with the mercury silver coating, which IS banned by the EPA, and that is the finish on volks that can't be matched. The lips are just polished though with a anodized coating, pretty standard for most polished lips

 

I know the lip on some of the other lines of volks like the LE-37's are as you say, anodized and polished. The GT series is a different finish, just look at them next to each other.

 

LE wheels aren't anodized and polished, they have machined lip that appear somewhat brushed, and are clearcoated, not anodized because the wheels are 1 piece, you can't anodize only part of a 1 piece wheel. SF and GT series wheels are 2 piece, where the barrels are polished and anodized, that is why the lips can't be polished without stripping the thin anodized coating. That is why the lips have different appearances, not becuase of some special paint process which is the RMC coating. Go look at a wheel that as RMC centers, and you can distinguish between the two levels of shine because they are different finishes