Leaking chrome rims

[toyinca]

I have CHROME plated mag rims (toyota solara) on my camry. One rim started leaking at the bead.
Tire shop technician showed me blistering or corrosion on rim. He sanded it, put bead sealer on it.
Said it will likely happen again

Can any one give me some advice on this matter ??
Its a California car, no snow/no salt, garaged. What a bunch of junk !!!

[GT-R]

Leaking chrome? I've never heard of that.

Maybe you can have them re-chromed or painted instead.

[vikslav]

I had the same problem on my wheels on civic. They sealed it and it lasted almost a year and then i had to reseal. It wasn't expensive. They told me i could have paid to have it stripped and re chromed but i was to lazy. I sold the rims after couple of years later.

[BlackG5]

Originally Posted by toyinca

I have CHROME plated mag rims (toyota solara) on my camry. One rim started leaking at the bead.
Tire shop technician showed me blistering or corrosion on rim. He sanded it, put bead sealer on it.
Said it will likely happen again

Can any one give me some advice on this matter ??
Its a California car, no snow/no salt, garaged. What a bunch of junk !!!

Ok, now lets just think this through logically. CHROME is just a plating, similar to a powdercoating. It would NEVER cause a wheel to lose air. The corrosion he was referring to was simply the metal/chrome peeling and showing the bare metal behind it.

You hit a pothole, bent the wheel, and now it's leaking. End of story. Sorry for your luck.

[7SickZ0]

Any local rim repair shop will be able to tell you if its damaged beyong repair ... if it isn't they'll give u a repair quote on the spot

[11LE]

Originally Posted by BlackG5

Ok, now lets just think this through logically. CHROME is just a plating, similar to a powdercoating. It would NEVER cause a wheel to lose air. The corrosion he was referring to was simply the metal/chrome peeling and showing the bare metal behind it.

You hit a pothole, bent the wheel, and now it's leaking. End of story. Sorry for your luck.

I've heard of stories where the wheel was mounted without care and a nick or chip in the plating was enough to leak air.. also, the corrosion probably left the wheel somewhat rough and allowed air loss, too.

[Robert1820]

I work for a tire and auto service shop. Chrome plated aluminum wheels leaking is something I see almost every day. The problem is corrosion forming between the rim flange and the chrome plating. It is worsened by water based tire lubricants that can be trapped there for months after mounting tires. The fix is to scrape off the chrome from the corroded areas, then apply bead sealer. If the problem is only a few small areas, this fix can last a while. Once started, the corrosion will almost certainly return. Sometimes the aluminum can become so pitted that the wheel is ruined. Also, removing the bad chrome often leaves super sharp edges on the rims, a real hazard when you wash them or put tire dressing on. As for re-chroming a corroded old mag...forget about it. That is only an option for classic, special interest or irreplaceable wheels. New rims (not chromed this time) is a cheaper, better solution.