First, I have just realized that stock wheels are painted. Is that right? Now, for custom wheels, which of the three finishes do you prefer and what are the pros and cons? What are polished wheels made of?

 

i like chrome myself. but polished is nice too. polished wheels are made of a raw aluminum and then are buffed to a nice shine. and then sometimes clear coated. the easiest finish to clean is going to be chrome, as long as you clean them regularly they will stay nice. if u go polished, overtime the finish will dull. there's also painted wheels (like mine) that you can just wipe off or pressure wash every now and then.

 

CHROME all the way!

 

 

Which gets pitted by road salt etc.? BTW, if stock wheels are painted they sure aren't easy to clean. I have yet to find a wheel cleaner that is truly spray and wash.

 

Road salt is definitely a wheel killer. The OEM chrome clads definitely survive the winters better than aftermarket chrome rims. I don't run the chromies in the winter, so it's not an issue with me.
Aluminum wheels are probably the lowest maintenance if that's what you're looking for.

 

I have the sport appearance package on my truck, so I don't have any chrome except for the side spears. I have the painted 18" stock wheels that are currently plasti-dipped. I'll eventually have them powder-coated matte black.

I would go with a powder-coat over paint.

BUT my favorite wheel finish is black chrome... *drools*

 

The stock chrome wheels are actually plastic chrome "cladding" over aluminum. Mine are 6 years old and look fantastic except where wheen weights have been removed. A couple of spots the chrome is worn away. They are plastic afterall...I figure when they get to the point of looking like ****,. I can take the chrome off and see whats underneath....(I'm drying to know if they are just like the regular aluminum wheels...

 

The wheels underneath don't look good at all. Here are some Ram wheel pics and the rim looks like **** underneath.
Plus it's a real bitch to get the cladding off of the wheel.

06-08 Clads, before & after
clad.jpg
clad1.jpg

02-05 Flower Petals
clad3.jpg
clad2.jpg

 

Honestly, I don't know who would go for fake chrome on their wheels. I can see "chrome" pieces here and there, but wheels?