I was thinking about getting some alloys for my (EL!) Falcon...possibly the factory Sapphire alloys. I was just wondering if anyone has seen these electropated (chromed) and whether they look good or not (and whether it is possible to electroplate these alloys with its tight spokes). Yes, I could probably just get some aftermarket highly polished alloys, but I want individualism!!! I think these wheels would look pretty schmick electroplated!!
Also, if anyone has a set of Sapphire alloys for sale, please let me know
Electroplating supposedly comes off alloy when you heat the crap out of it... eg rocker covers and front wheels. The guy from Simmons wheels told me that the Jappo wheels you see that looke chrome are actually painted. He said it is some special paint and that the Japs wont let anybody know the technology. He says that is why the wheels have an orange peel effect on them if you look closely. I wanted to chrome my Motorsport rocker covers and everyone I spoke to said it would come off.
Thanks for the reply [V8]Ford Power...
Does this mean that the wheels I want cannot be electroplated??? Anyone else have any input on this
Has anyone chromed (electroplated) alloys themselves????
I thought that they had reently developed a new technology to do this and this was what was used on the current and recent Fairlane, LTd and Statesman wheels. I did recently see a NA Fairlane with old style (Bugatti Royale copy type) Fairlane mags chrome coated and it it looked really cool.
VACUUM SPUTTERING COATING (VSC) TECHNOLOGY
In addition to the normal wheel finishes of full silver and silver machine polish, we have also recently introduced into production the "Mirror" finished alloy wheels through the introduction of the latest Vacuum Sputtering Coating (VSC) technology. This technology enables wheels to have a chrome like finish while eliminating the issues of pollution and high costs associated with conventional chrome electro-plating methods thus making VSC technology environmentally friendly.
In order to impart a VSC finish to the wheels, the wheels would be loaded into a VSC painting chamber. The chamber would then be sealed and the air inside would be pumped out thus generating a vacuum in the chamber. Electrical voltage would then be passed onto the target (usually aluminium) and the charged paint particles would then sputter out and stick to the surface of the wheels which will have an opposing charge. Upon completion of this process, the wheels would then be sprayed with a top coat to protect the finish and baked.
Im sorry to say but 15in Chrome wheels look just wrong, especially on a Falcon, may as well save some money and get chrome hubcaps instead
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Gotta agree with Martin that 15's chrome won't look that good, especially since the saphire wheels are only 6inch's wide.
My tip, get a set of EL XR 16's and chrome or polish them if you want to.
Oh yeah chromed hub caps are Evil!!!!
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yeah, but every tom, dick and harry has the xr 16's...I like them but they are just too common nowadays...I want to use Ford wheels because I can get them for a reasonable price from a local Ford wrecker...(budget at the moment is $550-600 for a set- yes, that isn't much but I can get a set of brand new xr 15's with tyres for $750 changeover, so I should be able to get some ok secondhand Ford wheels)
...has anyone seen chromed sapphire wheels on a Falcon to say they ACTUALLY do look crap???
Originally posted by Martin Im sorry to say but 15in Chrome wheels look just wrong, especially on a Falcon, may as well save some money and get chrome hubcaps instead
Yeah, I agree 100%. Smaller chrome wheels don't look too good on any car let alone a large car like a Falcon.
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