ok it may be a dumb question but no one can really seem to give me a good answer to what exactly makes cragars rust? is it the lack of not keeping them clean? not keeping them dry after a rain/washing? is it not keeping polish on them? i know everyone says that they want to rust in the middle like where the lug nuts are...anyone suggest a good kind of polish to use on them,maybe from someone who has or knows someone that has had cragars?....right now im using "mothers mag & aluminum polish"....im not downing "mothers" cuz i know they are good but after all the money i put into the rims i wouldnt want them rusting....any suggestions or ideas? thanks~cristy

 

Yes. Yes. And yes.

Thats why I hate chrome. You always gotta have it clean and keep polishing it, otherwise it will eventually flake and rust.

 

Water.

 

well, they are steel rims so, i would say that it is do to that fact right there. if they were aluminum then they wouldn't rust.

 

I always thought polished looked better than chrome. When you don't regualarly take care of chrome it can really look like crap.

 

Buddy of mine was just showing me the same problem with his S/S wheels he has had on both of his Firebirds for several years.
The outer rim (steel) rusting, and the inner spoke area (aluminium) is flaking.
He feels it's more the problem of a poor/cheap chrome application than anything else, as he has bought new, different sets, and has this problem within a years time, even with the proper care.
His biggest problem though, is that they are his favorite wheels!

This has always been one of the main reasons I have always had aluminium wheels on all of my cars.
When they start looking a little bad, all I have to do is break out the buffing wheel, and return the shine to as good as new

 

well that is most likely due to the fact that u have chrome wheels. Thats why i dont like chrome b/c it can rust, plus polished aluminum looks much better to me. Sure maybe polished aluminum wheels are more work to keep clean but i feel its well worth it over chrome. IMO

 

it's not the chrome that rusts, it's the steel under it. if you have a chrome set of aluminum wheels, then they won't rust, they will corode (sp) in a different way.

 

water + exposed steel = RUST