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Can these wheels be restored DIY? There’s some pitting. They are zr1 replicas. Recommendations on the process and what to use without getting too crazy. I own a DA.
The chrome finish on the barrel area (what you have pictured above) was never a perfect mirror finish in the first place - they are chrome, but it's not smooth and mirror-like the way that the face is (originally).
But you would need to have the wheel stripped and re-chromed to restore an original production finish to that area. Hand or machine polishing is not going to produce original/restored condition results in the case of what's shown above.
As they are just replica wheels, it would probably be cheaper to buy new ones than to have these stripped and refinished.
I just got a quote from CalChrome (https://calchrome.com/) for 17 inch wheels their re-chroming starts at $350 per wheel (freight extra if you are outside California).
They were very descriptive of the process and provided examples of previous repairs which included the same firehawk wheels.
It's a significant amount of money to get these wheels restored but they look so good.
Send them to get stripped and PVD coated instead of dipped. I had my Canyon Denali wheels done and they are perfect.
PVD is a bit different than chrome. Many folks won't notice, but if you're picky (and especially if you are used to the wheel having been actual chrome in the past) you can see the difference.
PVD is a bit different than chrome. Many folks won't notice, but if you're picky (and especially if you are used to the wheel having been actual chrome in the past) you can see the difference.
Agreed. I’m extremely picky and was always used to having them dipped so I was skeptical about them as well. My Camaro wheels are dipped, the car has never been driven in the winter but the barrels have always been dull and started to flake. Eventually I’ll have them PVD coated.
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Wheel polish 
