imacmatt

has anyone chrome plated there wheels, or had any experience with chrome plating, good or bad?

thanks...

Buellwinkle

I researched chroming my wheels and it would have come out to about $100/wheel + mouting,balancing. etc. The problem is time, how long can you be without your wheels? I negogiated with the dealer and had them do the swap for $700. Yes I could have saved about $200 doing it myself but then I would have been without my car for over 2 weeks. Also the dealer stands behind it and guarantees the chroming for the life of the car. I had to use that guarantee when some of the bolts started rusting. They put chrome caps on them for free and they look good.

I think my Black Coupe stands out amoung the rest with the chrome wheels. It brightens up the car.

Don't forget to get decent brake pads or the chrome wheels will look almost as bad as the silver wheels.

Buellwinkle

I just realized you are in San Diego. Hoehn in Carlsbad would do it for $600 for the swap and about one hour labor to switch them on your car. Tell them you saw the ad in Autoweek for wholesale MB parts.

MARK CUMMINS

Its to BAD the MERCEDES DEALERS dont READ the SERVICE Bulletin That was sent to them RE CHROME PLATING WHEELS!!. I Still have a copy of it!!
AS It Will WEAKEN them in the PROCESS As its SENT BY Mercedes benz AG ....Also the plating is crap in Quality Does not last more than a couple of years...So I have My wheels Polished ..Yeah more work but It will not PEEL!

just my.02

Buellwinkle

Polishing is certainly an option but not as shiny as chrome and requires maintenance. If you go the polish route and you don't like routine maintenance to keep them from getting dull, get them powdercoated clear. That should cost less than half of what chroming cost. I've had chrome wheels on MBs for over 150K miles and very little pealing. The pealing comes from scraping the curb and breaking the plating and around the bolts where anxious tire installers bang their air guns against the wheel. Go to a dealer that gives you a lifetime guarantee like MB of Laguna Niguel.

Mark, did you polish the wheels while they were on the car with the tires on? Did you do it yourself or sent it out? After you got the paint off, did you have to sand any casting imperfections or were the wheels pretty good to work with?

Fuzzo

This rule will only apply if you chrome your wheels yourself.. if MB does it and charges you more.. then it's all ok

serenity now...serenity now...

MARK CUMMINS

No The MERCEDES FACTORY TECH BUL. SAID QUOTE DEALERS DO NOT CHROME PLATE WHEELS.... AS It came from Mercedes Benz ag RE the wheel plating process as CHROME PLATE PROCESS WILL WEAKEN THE WHEEL.....AND Thats why I dont plate wheels
BTW I still have the copy from my days at MERCEDES

Buellwinkle

So how did you polish them? What's the process?

MARK CUMMINS

MAG MASTERS In SANTA ANA Ca 714-541-9777
They do GREAT work ...Same day on most jobs
I waited for my benzs 4/5 hours

hokusbenz

hey buellwinkle do you have any pics of your chromed wheels? are they C7's?
thanks

Buellwinkle

I don't have any pics of my chrome wheel but I'll take some and post them. They are the 16" wheels. I got one of the first Coupes and there wasn't a C7 option at the time it was ordered.

Here's a C7 that was sitting on the floor. Unfortunately it's not black

DCX Engineer

I like it!

The standard C7 wheels look great too, but the car must be washed at least every week.

- Will

hokusbenz

i like them in chrome looks NICE

revstriker

Just my opinion here, but I've never been a big fan of chomed wheels. I guess I've just seen too many cars with those, and the "gold package". I think that the rims look better with a nice coat of polish on them. But... to each his own....

MB-BOB

Does anyone remember when brushed aluminum first came on the scene, and people tripped over each other to scrap their chromies to get the brushed look?

Does this mean wide ties are now back in style?

(I like either style, actually. Just commenting on the cycles of style popularity, and how things rotate into and out of style on a nearly predictable basis.)

revstriker

LOL!! True true....

I still have some cloths from the 80s that I refuse to thow away. I keep telling my wife that they will come back in style! Of course, she has this rule that says if you're old enough to see it come back in style, then you're too old to wear it....

Buellwinkle

Chrome wheels have been around for decades. I don't think they are trendy. It depends on the color of your car. Dark cars can use a little brightning up with chrome. MB-Bob, you car is silver, I would never put chrome on silver.

Bper

I wonder how they would look with whitewalls?

Buellwinkle

Whitewalls would be a bit much and not appropriate for a sports car, even when they were popular. I would prefer to see the red line tires of the '60s make a comeback.

hokusbenz

why not go for the tires with the colors in
the tread while youre at it

Buellwinkle

The tires with the color bands in the thread was a great idea but they always look dirty.

MB-BOB

Why do I have a sneaky suspicion that this rule doesn't apply to her (or other gals)? Mini skirts are creeping back into vogue for the fourth time that I can tell. Wish I had a C-note for every time low-rider/hip huggers were hip...

I think the color stripes on the tire treads look like a half-baked idea. Now, cast the entire carcass in a color to match the car and you might have something.

trench

how many hips could a hip hugger hug if a hip hugger could hug hips?



BT

MB-BOB

Two... Ms. Lefty and Ms. Righty