Car Wheel Issues

larkin42

New Member
I have a question for some of you car buffs on the board. I have a Lincoln Navigator that has the "Chrome" looking wheels and they are a mess. The tin/ chrome covering is peeling off. Is there any way to have these re-finished, or am I just going to have to replace the wheels? It looks like crap and is driving me nuts.
 

Sircrashalot

New Member
I have a question for some of you car buffs on the board. I have a Lincoln Navigator that has the "Chrome" looking wheels and they are a mess. The tin/ chrome covering is peeling off. Is there any way to have these re-finished, or am I just going to have to replace the wheels? It looks like crap and is driving me nuts.

You can get them dipped if there is a place near you to do it, but you will pay. Dig around on the interweb using your town & 'chroming' or 'chrome plating' to see if there is a local shop.

Might wanna look to replace them with refurbs from someplace like transwheel www.transwheel.com. which will probably cost less than gettin your current ones prepped & dipped.

Whatever you do, DO NOT buy brandy new from the dealer.
 

MEAN IRISH GUY

Horse-faced space dog
I have a question for some of you car buffs on the board. I have a Lincoln Navigator that has the "Chrome" looking wheels and they are a mess. The tin/ chrome covering is peeling off. Is there any way to have these re-finished, or am I just going to have to replace the wheels? It looks like crap and is driving me nuts.


american made cars equal poorly done powercoating. you can have them repowdercoated, but getting that done is not cheap. if you do i would go for a different color and something thats not going to get detroyed should you hit a curb with them. black always looking awesome:D
 
U

UK IN NY

Guest
I absolutely agree. Chrome is a bit out of fashion nowadays.

I would get someone to strip the wheels for you with Media blasting of some type and then get them painted by a local shop.

Silver will work but black would look mean.

Dependant on how crazy you are limits how many other paint colors are in the mix.

Good luck!!!
 

UtahJoe

Team Workhorse
Team MTBNJ Halter's
american made cars equal poorly done powercoating. you can have them repowdercoated, but getting that done is not cheap. if you do i would go for a different color and something thats not going to get detroyed should you hit a curb with them. black always looking awesome:D

Chrome plating is not powdercoating.

It would be super expensive to get them replated, I wouldnt bother. As was mentioned, media blasting them would probably be the cheapest solution. However, as with most wheels (im not sure which ones you have) there is a plastic center cap which cannot be media blasted. So you might have wheels with unmatched center caps. I would look to see which wheels you have. Size, bolt pattern, width, etc. I am pretty sure that you will find wheels that there will be interchangeable wheels between your truck, Ford Expiditions, and even F-150's. You could always look for an used set factory set, or a used aftermarket set. Do a craigslist search. Im sure that there have been plenty of navigators upgraded to 24" dubs whose owners would part with the stock wheels.
 

Ian F

Well-Known Member
The question is how much are you willing to pay?

Getting them properly chromed is possible. Firgure on at least $200 each (coincidentally, I'm going with my Spitfire club to tour a chroming shop down in Richmond VA tomorrow).

Powdercoating is also possble, and more convienent since there's more of them so they're easier to find (less EPA isses for them to deal with). Dismount the tires and take them to the shop. They'll strip them and coat them the color of your choice. We did this to a set of wheels last Spring. Ran about $500 for all 4 IIRC, but the price varies by size (these were 14" rims).

Cheap way out: Take the wheel off the truck, get a wire wheel for a drill and remove all of the loose finish. Sandpaper to feather the edges of the existing finish to the raw metal. Primer the wheel. Spray paint with color of choice. Some of POR-15's hardnose colors would be good (very durable), but color choices are limited.

I agree that simply finding another set of wheels would be the easist way to fix the issue. be warned that if the truck has 8 lug wheels, they are Ford-specific. 8x165mm (might be 170MM) vs. 8x6.5" for Dodge and Chebby.

In any case, a yearly waxing with RejeX will help keep the finish nice and make them easier to clean.
 
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larkin42

New Member
Thanks for the suggestions. The problem I have is that the truck is silver and I really want to avoid anything that is going to make it look like some pimped out hoodlum. I just want a classic look. It sounds like I might be better off going with aftermarket wheels. Anyone know of a good place for wheels?
 

MEAN IRISH GUY

Horse-faced space dog
Thanks for the suggestions. The problem I have is that the truck is silver and I really want to avoid anything that is going to make it look like some pimped out hoodlum. I just want a classic look. It sounds like I might be better off going with aftermarket wheels. Anyone know of a good place for wheels?

paint them a nice gunmetal color. you wont be dissapointed for sure.
 
U

UK IN NY

Guest
Absolutely. Gunmetal on Grey will look nice. and not pimped out in any way.
 

gtluke

The Moped
you can buy a brand new set of wheels for a fraction of the cost of refinishing.
http://www.newtakeoff.com/navigator-4.aspx
http://www.newtakeoff.com/wheelnavigator200518x8chromealuminum7spokesetof4.aspx (set of 4, $599)
Probably cheaper than 1 wheel for MIG's foreign car from the dealer :p

next time take care of your wheels. the salt around here will destory the metal under the coating and cause the chrome to peel off.
hose off the underneath of your car any time you drive in the wet salt. it RUINS cars.
 

MEAN IRISH GUY

Horse-faced space dog
you can buy a brand new set of wheels for a fraction of the cost of refinishing.
http://www.newtakeoff.com/navigator-4.aspx
http://www.newtakeoff.com/wheelnavigator200518x8chromealuminum7spokesetof4.aspx (set of 4, $599)
probably cheaper than 1 wheel for mig's foreign car from the dealer :p

next time take care of your wheels. The salt around here will destory the metal under the coating and cause the chrome to peel off.
Hose off the underneath of your car any time you drive in the wet salt. It ruins cars.

hey man dont hate on my wheels!!
 

Sircrashalot

New Member
Absolutely. Gunmetal on Grey will look nice. and not pimped out in any way.

This is another good option. I have done this on a set for a 91 Mustang, and for an 88 Vette. Prep work is everything. Last step is degreaser/ tack rag so the new paint doesn't fisheye on you. Use wheel specific paint- Duplicolor makes it for example & it is formulated to take the heat generated by braking & coming off your rotors at the wheel, be more resistant to road salt, chipping, etc. I put a number of coats of wheel specific clearcoat over the color.

Great results- looked like a factory finish & held up well.
 

don

Well-Known Member
Tire Rack has these on sale for $89 each (I plugged in '06 Navigator):

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Whee...alse&filterBrand=All&filterNew=All&sort=Brand

I think they would look good on a silver vehicle and the black would be easy to touch up. Just make sure to see what your stock bolt pattern is and offset. You want to make sure the offset isn't too low and the wheels stick out of the fenderwells.

If you want to keep the stock look - those rims that Luke linked to look like a hell of a deal.
 
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larkin42

New Member
you can buy a brand new set of wheels for a fraction of the cost of refinishing.
http://www.newtakeoff.com/navigator-4.aspx
http://www.newtakeoff.com/wheelnavigator200518x8chromealuminum7spokesetof4.aspx (set of 4, $599)
Probably cheaper than 1 wheel for MIG's foreign car from the dealer :p

next time take care of your wheels. the salt around here will destory the metal under the coating and cause the chrome to peel off.
hose off the underneath of your car any time you drive in the wet salt. it RUINS cars.


Those websites look like a pretty good deal. I think I'll go that route.

In regards to the salt, it totally caught me off guard. I grew up in Albany and spent my life dealing with Snow and Salt and never had it eat through a set of wheels. Whatever they put on the road down here is like turbo salt. I've learned this lesson the hard way.
 
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