Chrome Wheels Blistering

[hogosmith]

I came across these wheels and noticed they had some areas that look blistered or bubbled on the inside of the rim.
Anyone run acrossed this before? The blister feels solid to touch. I don't know the manufacturer of the rim. I was
told they are chrome plated steel.

 

[wjburken]

I came across these wheels and noticed they had some areas that look blistered or bubbled on the inside of the rim.
Anyone run acrossed this before? The blister feels solid to touch. I don't know the manufacturer of the rim. I was
told they are chrome plated steel.

That’s likely due to base metal corrosion and swelling under the chrome. That’s why it feels solid now. Would not be surprised if the chrome starts peeling in the near future.

 

[tRidiot]

Yup, that's exactly what it is. Don't buy them. Mine started that after about 5-6 years, they got pretty bad, so I replaced 'em with a new set.

 

[hogosmith]

Ok... Appreciate the input.

 

[Scottydoggs]

hard pass, its feels solid because its got air pressure behind it, once it bubbles and then peels off the wheels leak air.

 

[hogosmith]

Ah... that finishes the explanation. Thanks again.

 

[SnowDrifter]

Yep, leave those.

That's from someone loading it on the tire machine wrong.

There are 2 ways of clamping a wheel:

From the outside - jaws w/ plastic liners grab the outside of the wheel near the tire bead. This is what you use for alloy wheels / powder coat / clear coat / chrome / etc etc. Anything that has a coating that you don't want to damage.

From the inside - jaws with sharp teeth expand on the inside of the wheel and secure it that way. Usually used for steel wheels as the steel is hard enough to not be damaged. Takes less time, fewer things to 'go wrong' with setting up the machine.

Those marks are from someone doing an inside clamp. oops.

 

[MassHoe04]

All it takes is a small ding with any tool in the process of mounting, balancing or other servicing of the truck. One careless nick can expose an area of the cast alloy. A nick that is barely even visible and leave the metal open to corrosion. Especially, road salt. Then the cancer festers under the layer of chrome.

If you only plan on keeping them a short while and the price is right, maybe. You could grind it down and Plasti-Dip or hope that the corrosion and blistering do not worsen while you have them on your truck. Those are only short-term options.

The only correct way to deal with that, would be to have a plating shop strip it in an acid bath, media blast, prep the wheel for re-plating. Re-plating would be worth it if they were the only wheels available to complete a 100 point restoration. Otherwise, it would be more than what you are probably willing to pay for those wheels right now.

If they were $100 (or less) for set of 4, that might be something I would take a chance living with until they look nasty. More than that? I would pass. That is just me...

 

[hogosmith]

SnowDrifter and MassHoe04, thanks for your input on how this might've happened. The damage so far, seems to be only on the inside part, behind the spokes. Like where you said an improper mounting must have happened. I'm going to get them dismounted tomorrow and see what the interior part of the rims look like.