Recently picked up some Chrome Slot rims that need to be rechromed/replated. I live in Iowa and looking for a company here in the midwest. (No companies in Iowa that will do the replating) Any suggestions on companies? Looking for something fairly close to where I live. (St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis etc......)

I'm in the St.Louis Mo area.

I couldn't find anyone in the Midwest that would plate wheels last year.

It required shipping them to California.

Maybe you'll have better luck.

Tri Cities did a nice job on a bumper for me a few years ago. Tennessee.




http://www.tricityplating.com/

I always thought chroming a wheel required special attention/equipment, in that the way the current flows to the nearest surface, a problem with a deeper? dish wheels, to get even plating requires special fixtures?, this is obviously not my speciality, and you would want to make sure the plater has wheel experience/equipment/something similar to show their quality of work.

I tried to get some redone a couple three decades ago. Hydrogen embrittlement was the concern. There were some quality issues that weren't show stoppers, but embrittlement was. You might look into the chrome paint as an alternative?

No idea what this might cost?

I tried several years, more like decades, ago.
Anyway I lived in Milwaukee at the time.
You know the place known as the "Machine Shop of the world", back in its hey day.
Lots of chrome shops. No one would touch it.
I resorted to sand blasting and black paint, so I could use the rims.
Hopefully you will have better luck these days.

So the question that comes to mind then is who chromes all of today's chrome mag wheels, such as Cragar, Rockets and American Racing? Is it all done in China?

Not necessarily, just done by shops that specialize in wheels.
Most likely owned by the manufacturer.
Come to think of it though, yeah, most like done off shore.
No EPA to worry about.
Why do folks always bash China. It's not like things weren't made in China in the 40's and 50's let alone beyond that.
I'm not saying China made is great, but it isn't new either.
I remember quality control being an issue back when our cars were new.
Just think of the kind of folks that were doing that kind of work back then. Lots of druggies and alcoholics. Not a really a fun job to have. Couldn't get fired. Why do it right?

try trans wheel http://www.transwheel.com/ one of the largest rim repairers in the us.


maybe try weldcraft wheels http://www.weldcraftwheels.com/ they have widened a few sets of wheels for me. they also advertise alloy wheel repair.

Another option is powder coating...
There are many, many colors, also there is a chrome color just not as shiney as the real chrome..

Just my $0.02...

Not bashing China. Just don't want to send wheels halfway around the world to have them chromed. May never see them again.

Tried to get some old Cragars rechromed recently. The guy that runs the local chrome shop said that he won't touch wheels. Said something about not wanting to deal with a liability issue.

elmor. What if they were just plan jane stock steel wheels? Would they chrome those?

Anyone know of a chroming place in the USA that will chrome steel wheels?

Last I checked Tricity did wheels. Just a little spendy. The Hydrogen embrittlement concern is or should be addressed by baking the wheels after plating... from memory, this needs hot home oven type temps (?? 400-500 deg) for an hour or two.

I know that is the process for bolts? with other platings, but chrome is three? platings, and not sure if hydrogen is easily/properly? baked out of chrome. Regardless, embrittlement issues are usually with the harder steel alloys, and most wheels we are talking about are not, I suspect.

There is a chrome shop in Western Iowa, South Sioux City Nebraska. Sioux Plating Company. Not sure if they do wheels or not. I had them do some bumpers for me and they did pretty good work.

Did you try any of these places?

https://www.siouxplating.com/

http://www.paulschrome.com/

http://aihchrome.com/home/1753387

http://www.thechromeshop.com/

There is an SAE standard for baking chrome plated steel, AMS2759-9E. Your vendors are probably too stupid to understand what this does. If they follow the directions if your wheel rips apart they have a defense, we did it according to the standard.

There was a chroming place in Minnesota that had a good reputation. I can't remember their name.

There is a real problem with chromium, namely hexavalent chromium, which has high health risks. We have guys welding stainless steel pipe in our shop and we have to have special hoods for the work or a combination of air line respirators and building ventilation to keep them safe. That's what the Julia Roberts movie Erin Brockovich was all about. Well, that and Julia Roberts' front end.

What this means to me is that we are going to see less and less chroming here in the States.

R.

This does not cover most steel wheels, IMO.

SAE AMS 2759/9

"This specification covers the requirements for embrittlement relief (baking) of heat treated steel parts to remove hydrogen infused during plating and certain other chemical processing such as stripping, chemical milling, pickling, and etching. This specification is applicable to parts made from carbon, low-alloy, and martensitic stainless steel heat treated to a minimum strength of 180 ksi (1241 MPa) or heat treated to a minimum hardness of 40 HRC or equivalent. It is also applicable to threaded fasteners made from carbon, low-alloy, or martensitic stainless steels heat treated to a minimum strength of 150 ksi (1034 MPa) or 34 HRC or equivalent, parts made from high strength precipitation hardening stainless steels other than A-286, and steel parts which have been case hardened (carburized, nitrided, nitrocarburized, or carbonitrided). See 8.2.