Rust stained chrome rims.

Yesterday I looked at my factory optional 20 inch chrome rims on my Denali and the front rims have rust stains on them, the inside of the wheels are yellow in color and the chrome is starting to pit. The rotors are throwing off rust and staining the chrome. Chrome polish will remove the stain but the pits are permanent. The rear rims are not stained or pitted and the inside of the wheels are not yellow. The winter in Michigan was fairly mild compared to previous years. The truck is 6 months old with 5,000 miles on the clock. This is B.S.! I'm off to the dealer to bit@# later.

Anyone else have stained chrome 20 inch rims?

Let me know if you get anywhere or hear anything from the dealer. My friend that works at the local GMC dealership advised me last time I was there to clean the car often after it snows. He told me that the mag chloride eats away at the chrome. He did notice a little spot on the rims with some rust, but we weren't checking very hard. I guess I should check the inside of the wheel. I've never had chrome wheels before, is this a normal thing? He advised to clean all the chrome trim after it snows.

Do they use salt on the roads there? salt eats cars up.

Rust

I was wondering if that Mother's Polish Ball would work on that rust. Has anyone tried the Mother's Polish Ball ?

Thank's for reading....Michael....4/5/07.

slowmobile said:

Let me know if you get anywhere or hear anything from the dealer. My friend that works at the local GMC dealership advised me last time I was there to clean the car often after it snows. He told me that the mag chloride eats away at the chrome. He did notice a little spot on the rims with some rust, but we weren't checking very hard. I guess I should check the inside of the wheel. I've never had chrome wheels before, is this a normal thing? He advised to clean all the chrome trim after it snows.

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I'm leaving the truck next week. There are some service updates that need to be performed and they will look at the wheels at that time. Yes they use salt but the front rotors on my Vette have not stained my chrome rims and the same with my wife's Acura TL's aftermarket TSW chrome rims. She also never had any problems with her Pontiac Grand Prix with chrome factory wheels in three years of Michigan winters and she never once cleaned them by hand. To be fair, I don't drive the Vette in the winter. Some chrome polish will clean them up fairly easily and the pits were very small and only found a couple,..........but they would definately get worse without polishing and periodic hand cleaning.

The good news.........the truck is awesome. GM has put all other suv's in the rearview mirror with these 900 series trucks. 0 to 60 in the sixes! This is a muscle truck!

Sounds like your wheels got a POS chrome job. Good chrome shouldn't pit that quickly.

73shark said:

Sounds like your wheels got a POS chrome job. Good chrome shouldn't pit that quickly.

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My thinking exactly!

Did you ever get to the bottom of this? Did you get the rims replaced? I have been trying to get an appointment with the regional GM rep to get my rims looked at. The chrome plating is horrible, especially for $2,000 or however much the upgrade cost me.

Thanks.

Turtle wax chrome polish in the spring. Look ok since then with regular car washes. Pitting is another story. I don't really have a pitting problem. The rust color was probably thrown off from the brake rotors. I have similar staining on the inside of the wheels on my Vette. Since a quick polish greatly improved the appearance, I never went back to the dealer. If they were pitted, I'd be hollering like hell for replacements. Good luck!

I have used Flitz paste on polished Alum Rims in the past. It works great as long as ya dont mind the effort it takes to achieve the shine. I'm sure it'll remove any stains on your wheels. Its not caustic or too abraisive. The pitting should be a warranty issue.

I was finally able to meet with the local GM Rep. He came across as extremely knowledgeable and sincere.

Concerning the pitting, he acknowledge that it was there and commented that he did not expect it to cause the chrome plating to pop or crack. He insisted that should I have problems in the future, GM will stand behind the rims and take the necessary steps to correct the problem. Time will tell the true story.

As for the yellowing, it was attributed to the harsh snowmelt chemicals applied to the roads in the Midwest. He had the dealership order a bottle of GM polish that is supposed to both clean up the chrome and provide a layer of protection. I have yet to apply it to the wheels due to the cold, snowy weather. I am hopeful that the polish will at least address the yellowish appearance issue.

Realistically, I did not expect GM to replace the rims, but as long as I have my concerns on record, I am hopeful, perhaps naively, that GM will stand behind the quality of the chrome plating. I plan to keep a close eye on the plating, if it worsens or I am left cleaning the chrome too often, I will definitely pursue other options (e.g., new rims).

Does anyone else have any other perspectives on the seemingly poor chrome plating issues? Have there been any other resolutions?

Try Eagle One's Never Dull. I had a 2004 Dodge Ram with factory chrome 20s that survived the winters in Boston. I had rust and pit marks all over the rims (did not wash the truck for 6 months during the winter). I thought my rims were ruined. The Never Dull restored my rims, and they looked better than the day I drove it off of the lot. This stuff cost less than $5 bucks and will last a long time. It works great on all trim and any chrome.

i have the same rust stains on my 20" painted wheels and my truck doesn't even have 2000 miles on it, i tried scrubbing it off with soap and water but this stuff is pretty stubborn. maybe i'll try bleach white or something similar next time.