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Camaro and Firebird: Customizing Your Rims

There are many reasons to update the rims on your Camaro or Firebird — there are also many choices to go between. The following are three of the more popular ones.

By Jeffrey Bausch - March 8, 2016

This article applies to the Camaro and Firebird (1990-2002).

Updating the rims on your Camaro or Firebird is a terrific way to give your prized vehicle a fresh new look. There are several projects out there, all worthwhile in their own right. Fortunately, not all of them involve spending thousands of dollars on four new rims. For instance, did you know that you could widen them to give the car a racecar look/feel? The rims can also be chromeplated, so they never have to be polished again. You can also powdercoat your rims to give them a look unlike anything else on the road today. To learn more, read on.

Rim Customization Options

Chrome-plating Rims

DIY Cost: Varies depending on availability of tools/materials

Pro Cost: $150 per rim

Skill Level: Moderate; This task involves a good hand at sanding, painting, and polishing.

A set of chrome wheels will really set your Camaro or Firebird apart on the roadways. Buying a custom set will cost thousands of dollars, but if you have a good hand when it comes to sanding/painting/polishing, you can chrome-plate the rims yourself to give them a fresh look.

The chrome-plating process is typically a four-step process: First, you strip the rims of paint/clear coating to the bare aluminum. Next, they’re polished to the point of a smooth, sort of shiny finish. After that, the rims receive a first coating of zinc and nickel, followed by a coating of copper which, when dried, is polished before an additional coating of nickel is applied. Lastly, the wheel is chrome-plated to a mirror high-gloss finish. That’s it—no more polishing the rims!

This is, of course, the official way to go about chrome-plating your rims — the other solution is to pick up a chroming kit from your local auto parts store, clean the rims, and apply the spray paint. The quality of the paint is much less than that which was described in the paragraph above, so you’ll need to re-apply over time, but it’s a quick solution to meet one’s need for chrome rims.

Featured Video: Chrome-plating Process

Powder-coating Rims

DIY Cost: Varies depending on availability of tools/materials

Pro cost: $65 per rim

Skill Level: Moderate; This task involves a good hand at sanding/painting.

While powder-coating a rim might look like a relatively simple DIY project, it should be noted that it cannot be performed at home unless you have the proper equipment—this includes a sandblasting cabinet, power-coating gun, and a power-coating oven. That said, if you are willing to pony up about $65 per rim, you’ll discover that powder-coating your wheels is a terrific alternative to painting them, and will really make your Camaro or Firebird stand out.

The step-by-step is this: first, clean the rims thoroughly. Next, put them in a sandblasting cabinet and sandblast them to remove all surface paint. When complete, apply a clear coat. Hang the rim in the air and, using the powder-coating gun, apply powder as appropriate, taking care to not powder the area of the rim that will be covered by the rim (this is a waste of material as it’ll never be seen). Once the powder’s been adequately applied, place it in a 400-degree Fahrenheit oven to cure. After twenty minutes, remove, allow to cool, and enjoy the beautiful new finish.

Featured Video: Power-coating Camaro Wheels

Widening Rims

DIY Cost: Varies depending on availability of tools/materials

Pro Cost: $250 per rim

Skill Level: Difficult; This task involves a thorough understanding of the wheel widening process.

Widening the rims on a vehicle can be done to just about any make/model car. This is most often done on sports cars like a Camaro or Firebird as a means for accommodating a specific size and type of race line wheel. The reason behind doing this could be practical, or it could just be for fun—either way, unless you are experienced doing this, it’s best to not attempt this on your own. An improperly widened rim could cause it to separate from the wheel which, in turn, could cause serious damage to yourself and your vehicle.

While it does not necessarily pertain to the Camaro or Firebird specifically, check out this how-to clip below to understand the amount of labor involved in this sort of project.

Featured Video: Widening Wheels

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