Corvette SSX

I was at a car show a while back and was really hammered because of the condition of the inside of the chrome wheels. As those of you who have the GM chrome wheels know, the inside of the wheel is painted while the wheel face is chromed. At least that's what I thought until I started cleaning them.

The wheels were stained badly with rust and brake dust. No amount of scrubbing with my normal cleaners/sponges would remove these stains. As a last resort I decided to use the wife's scrubbing pads which are no more than steel wool with ajax embedded in them. I knew this was risky but figured the wheels couldn't look much worse even if I removed the paint in the cleaning process. And, if I ruined them I'd just buy another set that was chromed all the way through. These scrubbing pads did an excellent job removing the stains. However, it also did remove some of the paint on the back side of the wheel.

To my surprise I found that under the paint was chrome. I did just a bit more paint removal inside the wheel and verified that it is chromed all the way through. GM actually chromes the whole wheel and then paints over the inside and on the back of the wheel. I have no idea why except maybe to match the painted brake rotor hats as the wheel paint appears to be the same color.

You can see the chrome peeking out from the paint in the following picture. I guess I have a winter project in stripping the paint and exposing the chrome.

spinalator

That's good to know, but who is looking at the back side of my rims anyway?

jrpedraza

That could be interesting, I wouldn't mind exposing the chrome in my wheels.

mirage2991

I would think they painted the wheels to have some protection for the chrome. Chrome will pit and rust will pop thru over time, especially on the inside of the rims, and exhaust parts (like chrome side pipes and such) unless you are "on them" and miticulously polish them. My thoughts would be that GM painted the inside as to avoid such issue...(look at it this way, extra paint over chrome is more money for them to spend, so there must be some reasoning behind it as opposed to leave it chromed)

Neil Baker

Are you sure it's chrome? Not just Aluminum?

vdavenp802

Right, I don't need more chrome to polish. Besides its difficult to get to , mine are staying painted, thanks.

C-INRED

If you don't mind keeping them clean they look much nicer with the chrome barrels IMO.

I have small hands and am able to just reach through the spokes and wash them when I wash the car (mine are GM wheels with aftermarket chrome from WCC).

I didn't plan on washing the insides, but after trying it once I now keep then clean all the time. I pulled the wheels and Rejexed the barrels which makes it much easier...and makes them look even better.

vettnut69

Odds are your not going to like whats underneath the paint that you spent time getting off but will be interesting..... Good luck!

cclive

I would use a chemical stripper rather than an abrasive to remove the paint...abrasive will damage the chrome....if it really is chrome and not just the metal that the wheel is made of...

Also it would be more expensive for the wheel manufacturer to chrome only part of the wheel rather than just do the whole thing. It may be chrome under the tire also.

danl72

I think another reason GM does that so the inside of the wheels won't look dirty.

PaulB

Please keep the rest of us advised. I got my 09 a couple of months ago. It just has the painted OEM wheel for now. I have been looking for wheels with a chromed or polished barrell. I never thought about the barrell of the wheel til some people at get togethers had wheels that looked as nice on the barrell as on the front. If you are right next to this person with the nice barrells, believe me, it makes a difference. Very Interesting and Thanks and keep us posted...

Cal Vert Man

For those who have larger hands, use a yard stick wrapped with a towel to get the barrels clean. Removing the wheels and tires for cleaning doesn't have to be done as often.

Oddvector

I had an '04 Grand Prix with chrome wheels. The insides were not painted and after a couple of Iowa winters the chrome was peeling off the inside of the wheels.

I'm guessing the paint is there to protect the chrome in an area that is difficult to clean.

mikevstr

That painting to help protecting the chrome in the area that people cannot clean them properly. W/o cleaing them up properly, the chrome in that area will peel off and spread out to the front of the wheels
You don't think why GM spends more money to do that w/o any purpose.

C6NRED

If you've ever been to a points-based judging show, you would know the answer to that question!! Kind of fun to do those once --- every couple of years. Judged shows are a LOT of work to get your car ready. If you score in the low 90's (out of a 100) you've done VERY well.