Is there a difference between chrome and chrome plated wheels or are they one and the same?

 

same. chrome is a coating. It's all plated.

 

Ok so then what is the difference between a Chrome wheel and one that says its polished. They both look chrome.

 

YEah chrome is dipped(whole wheel) and then the polished is a just that, polished. It is a liitle harder to take care of to keep it looking good but they seem to last a good bit longer than the chrome.

 

polished is exactly what is means. The aluminum is polished to a nice finish. Most polished wheels will not have as much of a mirror reflection as chrome, unless you spend top $$$ on a set of polished wheels. I've had polished in the past but got tired of trying to keep them clean and looking good. This time I went with chrome hoping that it will be less work. Time will tell if I made the right choice.

 

Ok, and the machined wheels are the ones that are a pain in the butt to keep up right.
Which I think I had a set of once and all you did was scrub them with a cloth and some polishing compound until they turned black and then it was buff, buff, buff to get them to look good.
Spent more time working on the wheels the I did cleaning the whole truck. I just dont want to go that route again.