Winter is coming soon and I bought new Chrome rims about a month ago. Does anybody know how to keep them clean through the winter? I heard to wax them or spray them off with high pressure water frequently. Do these actually work?

 

i would just replace with factory rims if your able to do so...salt eats up concrete...you would have to clean them constantly, like every time you got out of the truck to be safe. just too much risk to mess up a nice set of pricey wheels

 

You meant "salt eats up chrome" right? . I would like to see a truck with concrete rims. Thanks for the advice though.

 

Put them back in the box until spring....I change my back to stock for winter....actually this year i bought a set of 17 eagle alloys off craigslist with 35 inch MT's for 500 bucks... half tread, so you could look for something like that also.

 

As others have already said. If you really want to protect them. Take them off !

 

Or get black XDs, wax them, and let it role.

 

Three simple words for aftermarket chrome rims in snow; stop, no and don't.

 

No i meant concrete... So imagine what it would do to chrome

 

i run my uncoated aluminum wheels in the winter. i keep them clean with wax. still as shiny as when i bought them. just takes some maintenance. picture is from over the summer after running them all last winter

 

I try to wash my truck once a week in the winter to keep the crap off the rims

but its not helping.. they are pitting a little bit. if you have the money id recommend getting a set of stock rims for the winter.

 

The original question was in reference to Chrome wheels, not aluminum.
It is no secret that aluminum wheels with common sense maintenance hold up quite well dealing with winter road conditions and salt treatments.
Chrome on the other hand. Not so well !!

If your running chrome wheels that you value, and you live in the north east. Take them off for the winter !
You can wash and wax them All you want. 10' down the road their going to just as covered with salt/ sand/ slush etc. as they were before you washed them. You can even use the best and most expensive wax there is. The salt will still eat through it in no time !
How many people are really going to wash their truck and wax their wheels at temps. 20 degrees or less. Not Me ! I'd rather have a dirty truck then one thats frozen up. When the temp. occasionaly gets up into the mid 30's, I will run mine through the self wash bay in order to power wash off the accumilated frozen slush and ice from the under carriage and wheels and wheel wells etc. But that only lasts for an hour or 2, if your lucky.
Winter sucks !!!

 

I think you're going to find that "chrome" is a plated finish. It's not what the wheel is made out of. That could be steel, aluminum alloy, magnesium, etc. And yes, chrome plating doesn't hold up very well in a winter / road salt environment. So when you see "chrome" wheels rusting, it could be just the plating itself, or it could be the base metal underneath it. Either way, aftermarket chrome wheels have very little corrosion resistance compared to factory chrome wheels. Factory chrome wheels have thicker plating plus a clear coat in many cases.

As for "aluminum" wheels, again, that's what the wheel is made out of - not always the finish. Some aluminum wheels are simply machined, polished and sent out the door. They look great for a while, but salt absolutely kills them - even faster than chrome plating. Many aluminum wheels are clear coated - and this tends to make them hold up reasonably well. (Most factory aluminum wheels are clear coated.)

Yea, I know. Picky, picky, picky.

 

Yeah i'm gonna take them off, polish them, and wrap them up until mid February. My other rims are polished aluminum. The right front has some stuff on it that won't come off and the others have small chips in them. Looks like i'm buying new winter tires.

 

I put my chrome rims through salt on several occasions last year.....ZERO problems. I kept them sealed with Opti-Seal and washed them right after being exposed; that was my strategy....and it worked.

HOWEVER, I will say that I live on the southeast coast of VA, so we "might" get snow once or twice per year. Or better yet, the only chance I'll see at salt on my rims is when I go to the mountains for snowboarding. With that said, it wouldn't surprise me to have problems if you live in an area where there is salt on the roads all winter long, but for me personally, I'm not switching wheels for once or twice. All depends on you, where you live, and how much you love your wheels.

 

This is what I use to do...

Wash & wax the rim
Apply a very thin coating of vasoline to the rim...it will look just like a coat of clear...it is now sealed from the elements. It will attarct road dirt but cleaning is very easy...use hot water and soap...it will wash right off with no damage to the wheel.