Many car manufacturers offer electroplated wheels as an alternative, and most aftermarket wheels of 20 inches or larger are also electroplated. Electroplating is a kind of beautiful, but it is also fragile and expensive to repair.

Electroplated wheels are usually polished and acid etched first, and then plated with a layer of nickel, copper, and chromium in turn. The coatings are bonded to each other to increase strength, so that the electroplating is completed. Because there is no need to apply clear paint, it usually needs to be carefully cleaned with soap and water, and then touched up with cotton wool impregnated with metal polish.

The electroplating process seems to give the aluminum wheel a certain brittleness, making most electroplated wheels easy to break in a collision. This situation often occurs in 22-inch or 24-inch aftermarket wheels, because large-size wheels are more likely to be damaged in a collision. And it is difficult to be protected by flat tires.

However, the brittleness of the finished product is different from that of metal, and even if the hub is bent in a collision, the coating still acts like a candy layer of M & M. Where the metal is deformed, the coating will not deform with it, but will break directly. If the bent wheel hub is straightened, the process will only expand the fracture of the coating. Once the fracture occurs, the coating will begin to fall off and further fall off as air and moisture penetrate at the edges. In this case, the only repair method is to completely electroplate the hub again.

Liquid chromium is very harmful to both humans and the environment, and may be completely banned in Europe and the United States. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set a high threshold for the business license of newly established electroplating companies, thus effectively restricting the industry. Therefore, the re-plating of the wheel hub is usually expensive and time-consuming, and its working quality is constantly decreasing. In addition, the surface of most electroplated wheels has been acid etched, making painting or other finishing methods no longer suitable.

Electroplated wheels must not be used during the road salt season, so old drivers usually prepare an additional set of steel or aluminum wheels with snow tires. Road salt is the biggest enemy of chromium. Once chromium is exposed to wet salt, crystalline salt will attach to the surface of the coating and precipitate chromium, eventually causing the coating to fall off and leave dents on the metal surface. Salt corrosion takes only a few years to destroy the coating. If the coating has begun to fall off, it will be extremely sharp at the place where it falls off, so be very careful when moving.

Salt water will also slide between the rim and the tire through penetration, and regular cleaning of these parts is often not involved. Therefore, as the coating falls off and the metal surface is depressed, the tire will eventually start to leak. This situation can be temporarily improved by removing the parts of the coating that start to fall off and the corrosion of the bottom layer, and then applying an unvulcanized rubber viscous substance called bead sealant to prevent water. However, the sealing material will eventually fall off and the coating will start to corrode again. Some enthusiasts usually pre-coat the plating wheel with a new bead sealant for waterproofing when summer comes. I think this method is very good.

The combination of the above problems has brought great difficulties and troubles to the use of electroplating wheels. My advice is that unless you are willing to bear the risks and costs, you should not choose electroplating wheels.

For electroplated wheels, sports celebrities will exchange a set of 24-inch exquisite models for their Hummer H2 every other month, and enthusiasts will do everything possible to maintain and maintain them, but many daily drivers cannot afford the hidden cost of choosing electroplated wheels because they do not know the truth. Many cruiser owners bought 16-inch 5-spoke electroplated wheels at dealerships that were eventually destroyed by British road salt. No one has ever reminded them of the problems they should pay attention to, so I have spent a lot of time helping them in recent years.

Don't be confused by the exquisite appearance of the electroplated wheel and regret its bad experience.