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I have a set of what I believe are Mangel wide five chromed wheels in my car. I thought they were Brazilian but I heard that at the time my car was built in 2004, China had already entered into the picture and Mangels were being manufactured there instead of in Brazil. Anyway, for a 16 year old car they look amazing; except for a couple of very minor little spots they are almost rust free but I've been a slave to them, keeping them clean and waxed all this time. I love the look of silver wheels and was contemplating either getting new steel silver painted wheels and then sending them to powdercoating or sending the ones I have to powdercoating so as to forget or minimize wheel maintenance. Not sure if that is possible on chrome wheels; meaning can the chrome be removed altogether for powdercoating? I have heard of the new alloy wide five rims that a few people have but I prefer steel original looking ones. Would this be possible? Thanks in advance.

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Last edited by Impala
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I had the same issue with wanting to have my chrome Reutter luggage rack powder coated black to match my car. Powder coat process will not stick to chrome. Sandblasting may pit the surface of the wheel and powder coating will amplify the pitting (kinda looks like a paint job with 'orange-peel' finish). 

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I had to take my luggage rack to a shop that does chrome plating. They did the reverse (chemical bath) process to remove the chrome and expose the nickel plating underneath. Then I took it to the shop that does powder coating.

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Pricing for de-chroming and powder coating will vary between shops depending on how they operate. Some shops may need a certain number of pieces to do chroming or powder coating by batch. This keeps their process cost effective. @Impala

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Last edited by MusbJim

@MusbJim has the answer.  Chrome can be removed through a chemical process.  It can probably get pricey but powder coating won’t stick to a chrome surface.  Bead blasting or sand blasting or any other abrasive removal of the chrome will cause more trouble than it’s worth in the long run because of the damage that will happen to the metal underneath.

As far as applying chrome or power coating he is right again.  I highly recommend you gather up ALL the stuff you want coated and get it done in one batch.  You’ll get over the initial shock of the cost for everything being done at once as it will almost certainly be lower than a total if you made multiple jobs out of it.  

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Well, gents. I ended up buying these rims that have what looks to be a very good finish; seem to be powder coated from the factory. And the best thing; they were $41 and change each plus $94 shipping for all 4. They might be Chinese but they are identical to the Mangels. The local powdercoating place quoted $125 per rim. I guess I won't be powdercoating them after all but installing them outright.

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Impala posted:

Yes; the car looks more genuine and old school; for those who like that. And the price on link I gave you is the best $41 and change per wheel. Other considerations such as weight, etc might come into play depending on your preferences but not on my case. I just putt around in it; I am not racing in Le Mans or the Carrera Panamericana

Yeah, if the other stuff doesn't matter, you can't argue with $41(and change) per wheel! Did you check how straight they are? How much weight did it take to get them to balance?

Alan Merklin posted:

Any info as to what tire machine and or adapter they used on your wide five's ? Most shops don't have the right machine and unless you bring along a balance adapter ($70 on the SAMBA) they usually can't balance. 

Well, Alan, thankfully I still have my aluminum adapter from Mainely Custom by Design that I bought like 15 years ago. You might remember we discussed those at length here back in those days. I checked and they are no longer in business.

Last edited by Impala

I bought a 1980s hand-cranked Snap-on electronic balancer off of craigslist years ago. It's pretty cool, spin the tire up until it beeps, then it does it's thing, then brakes the wheel. It does simulated static(all weights on one side) and dynamic. It only had one wheel cone, but I got a set off ebay. Works great with my Mainely adapter.

I just don't have a lot of trust in tire installers. These days I get them mounted, then check the balance at home. Spyders have different front and rear tire sizes and wheel sizes. Imagine my surprise when the tire guy messed that up, especially after being TOLD they were different. 

Last edited by DannyP
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