Denali wheels from the factory in chrome peel Google it..... I would guess aftermarket to be a little worse on down the road than factory OEM. I would keep what you have now honestly.
If I was spending the money I would not get factory style wheels in 20. Every Soccer Mom already has them on her Suburban. At least get Escalade 22's.....
Also, have you considered PVD. Mine are PVD not chrome
Also.................Found this.
A. Let's go off-track and talk bumpers first: An OEM quality nickel-chrome plated bumper lasts about as long as the painted body parts of the car or truck, sometimes a little longer, sometimes a little less. So, nickel-chrome plating is a very permanent finish that can last decades. If you had steel 'chrome reverse wheels', that might be the end of the story.
But the majority of fancy wheels today are cast aluminum alloy. This is very difficult to plate, both because the casting alloy is low quality aluminum, and because aluminum is inherently difficult to plate reliably for electrochemical reasons. So the odds are good that the bonding of the plating to the casting is poor in at least a spot or two, which will become apparent in use over a few years, revealing itself as pitting or peeling. If I were a consumer, I would not buy chrome wheels without a true replacement guarantee, and if I were the seller I might not offer one :-(
Plus, is it really possible to keep from scraping a curb day after day, year after year? The aluminum is very soft and will gouge, breaking the plating, and even if the damage is slight, the aluminum will start to corrode.
Regarding your second question, the nickel is self leveling and highly reflective. The nickel plating imparts "specularity". The chrome reduces tarnishing of the nickel and is a bluer color, but it follows the smooth mirrored surface imparted by the nickel plating.
The problems with chrome plated aluminum wheels are many. Even high quality aluminum is very difficult to electroplate because aluminum is an extremely active metal that instantly forms an oxide skin, and you can't plate oxides. So the first step is always a zincate replacement process, which usually lacks the adhesion of electroplating. You'll frequently see the plating just peel off of aluminum wheels; you very rarely see plating peel off of steel. Although this peeling is a manufacturing defect, the manufacturer will often try to blame it on the customer. Also, the wheels are pressure cast, not machined; and because they are castings they have ***** ingredients in them like silicon, making the plating even more unreliable.
Look at the warranty. Few manufacturers will guarantee them more than a year, and even then they are not guaranteed against road salt. Would you buy a car that had only a 1-year guarantee and an exclusion if you drove in the snow? It's ludicrous. But I doubt you'll find a long term all inclusive guarantee on chrome plated aluminum wheels because it's just too difficult to plate them right.
Finally, corrosion forces are working against you. As noted, aluminum is a very active metal. Put noble metals like nickel and chrome on it and then allow the tiniest perforation in the coating, and you have a powerful corrosion battery where galvanic forces will cause the aluminum to corrode quickly.
Chrome plated aluminum wheels are beautiful like flowers ... and about as delicate.
pic of Ted Mooney Teds signature
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
finishing.com
Brick, New Jersey
