froggy
Well-known member
Have seen a set of standard wheels advertised locally for cheap money and was windering if its possible to get them chromed / plated. I know you can powder coat wheels but has anyone ever heard of getting any chromed?
Can you chrome wheels?
- Thread starter froggy
- Start date
Help Support Early Bay Forum:
noddy
Well-known member
Yes but I would guess it will cost over a 100 notes for each wheel, if the price I got for hubcaps being £45 each to rechrome.
froggy
Well-known member
:shock:
Not worth it then, might just look into getting them powder coated and then add some chrome hub caps
Not worth it then, might just look into getting them powder coated and then add some chrome hub caps
TheBusDriver
Well-known member
We deal with several different powder coating company's at work, Most of them offer a coating that looks almost just like chrome.
It requires a lot of buffing to keep up the shine though.
It requires a lot of buffing to keep up the shine though.
froggy
Well-known member
Well i bought the spare wheels (T25 wheels) for the price of £5 ALL IN 8)
Means that i can stand my van on these while i have mine powder coated / painted.
Cant drive it on the T25's as the tyre side walls are shot but should be ok to stand on.
Also got a set of hub caps, 3 are good 1 is dented (again for a £5) should be able to make a good set out of the 8 i now have and then decide whether to chrome or paint these to suit the wheels
Means that i can stand my van on these while i have mine powder coated / painted.
Cant drive it on the T25's as the tyre side walls are shot but should be ok to stand on.
Also got a set of hub caps, 3 are good 1 is dented (again for a £5) should be able to make a good set out of the 8 i now have and then decide whether to chrome or paint these to suit the wheels
Took some wheels to be powder coated today, my uncle does it.
While I was there I asked about chrome powder, I was told that although it looks good on small pieces like wire (fences etc) it doesn't have that good effect on large flat areas, the finish isn't very good. I suppose it will depend on what you need doing, if they have some examples it may sway your decision.
I've had loads of stuff powder coated, it helps that its my uncle so I get good rates but I've had no complaints so far, even the wheels I've curbed have put up a good fight.
While I was there I asked about chrome powder, I was told that although it looks good on small pieces like wire (fences etc) it doesn't have that good effect on large flat areas, the finish isn't very good. I suppose it will depend on what you need doing, if they have some examples it may sway your decision.
I've had loads of stuff powder coated, it helps that its my uncle so I get good rates but I've had no complaints so far, even the wheels I've curbed have put up a good fight.
froggy
Well-known member
What sort of price does your uncle normally charge,i know you get discount but i haven't got a clue to prices
Its £40 a wheel which gets you a blast clean, zinc rich primer, which is baked, coloured, which is also baked and then lacquered (clear gloss coat) and baked again.
Quite time consuming in my opinion so worth the money!!
Quite time consuming in my opinion so worth the money!!
froggy
Well-known member
Found a few local company's in the yellow pages and rung them up :shock: , the 1 company wants a minimum order of £60 BUT this does not include getting them shot blasted this is just the coating, so guessing at £25 a wheel for the blasting + coating (£60) + removing tyres and refit (£10 per wheel) i'm guessing at £200.
Have seen brand new wheels & tyres combo's for this much (think Danbury sell off there brazilian imports) so its back to square 1.
Might just clean and spray them myself for the time being.
Have seen brand new wheels & tyres combo's for this much (think Danbury sell off there brazilian imports) so its back to square 1.
Might just clean and spray them myself for the time being.
Do you have a compressor? A cheap sandblast gun and a couple of bags of sand won't cost you much. Make up a box with some pallets and some plastic and an old bath and you can reuse the sand. A place near me that quarries the sand and dries it sells it for £2.50 a bag!!
Borrow a compressor or rent one for a weekend and spray them as well.
Borrow a compressor or rent one for a weekend and spray them as well.
froggy
Well-known member
I've got a compressor, never thought about getting a cheap sand blasting kit, IIRC Aldi's sold 1 a few weeks back. Will have to have a ride out
ProfessorWheeto
Well-known member
You could fit beauty rings as well? With them and the hubcaps fitted there isn't much wheel showing at all really.
froggy
Well-known member
How do beauty rings fit?
uber cool
Well-known member
just push on over the rim, used to have them on my 72 van, never fell off and looked quite good.
I think I have a new set in the garage somewhere.
I think I have a new set in the garage somewhere.
ProfessorWheeto
Well-known member
Yeah they've got metal clips on the back that push against the rim.
froggy
Well-known member
I'm now thinking either beauty rings or baby (chrome) domes.
Will clean and repaint the wheels either way and live with them for this year and then when the tyres need changing will look for something else as part of a package.
Will start a new thread in general about beauty rings or domes and the best place to get them from.
Will clean and repaint the wheels either way and live with them for this year and then when the tyres need changing will look for something else as part of a package.
Will start a new thread in general about beauty rings or domes and the best place to get them from.
uber cool
Well-known member
froggy pic of my old bus with baby moons and beauty rings
and my new bus with chrome 356 rims
and my new bus with chrome 356 rims
froggy
Well-known member
Liking the baby moons but i have balance weights so dont think beauty rings will fit
Love your new wheels 8) , shame mine are narrow 5's (think thats half the problem / issue :x )
Love your new wheels 8) , shame mine are narrow 5's (think thats half the problem / issue :x )
uber cool
Well-known member
they will fit over the weights, if I can find them I bring them along to stanford hall.
As twist you could fit the larger early hub caps?
As twist you could fit the larger early hub caps?
froggy
Well-known member
Not going to Stanford, gotto work.uber cool said:
Think i will deffo go for baby domes and think about beauty rings. Just need to get the wheels cleaned off and re-sprayed 1st
