>Go for it, just remember the chrome takes a lot more upkeep.
I've got to comment on this statement that keeps poping up in the
continuous chrome-versus-painted wire wheel debate. It is very contrary to
my experience with my '63 B. I struggled with painted wire wheels for over
20 years before converting to chrome 8 years ago. The chrome has been much
less trouble to maintain.
The differences in opinions may relate to the fact that chrome *can* look
so much more dazzeling than paint and an attempt to keep it in this
pristine condition would indeed require considerable effort. One might
well not bother to make that effort with painted wheels because the benefit
is minimal.
However, I have think that if the *same* maintenance effort is given to
both types of wheels (blasting with a strong stream of water and washing
with the car) a chrome wheel will look much nicer than a painted one
because of chrome's intrinsic luster. Once a year I do polish the chrome
wheels for the local British Car Day show. The result is a near-new
appearance. It does take many hours but I could not achieve anything close
to this result with painted wheels, short of repainting them, an effort I
remember all too well - and it was definitely more work than the polishing.
My only regret was that I did not get stainless steel spokes. That would
make the annual cleaning much easier.
Russ Wilson
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