I tried a search on this and didn't turn up what I was looking for. Does anyone know who replates the GSX wheels? I sent these wheels to Nu-Chrome because they said they could do them and do a nice job. I just got them back today. Eleven months and $350 apiece later, they are garbage! I'd be ashamed to put them on a driver but this is a show car. I am going to speak with them tomorrow about it, but if they couldn't do it right the first time how can I expect them to do them over and get it right, if they even offer. I'd love to be able to buy new ones but these are the original date coded WG wheels. At this point I am hoping to get my money back and send them somewhere else. Any help on this will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Bill
Bill there is aplace in California that will cut the center out of the wheel rechome it and weld it back up..and they are like NOS or bette when done... I wanna say the place is Vintage wheels restoration or something like that..I thin i have ther card... Jimmy
Sorry about the bad experiance but lots of negative posts around here on NU chrome. I have seen their booth at car shows and thought the stuff looked like crap.
Two companies do that type of work: Wheel Vintiques and Specialty Wheel I believe both are located in CA/WA/OR
Nu Chrome ruined my riviera tailight surrounds. There is also a plastic plater in FL that also got me. Good luck on the wheels.
Nu-Chrome has a district guy down here. I met him at Daytona last year, which is how I found out about Nu-Chrome who told me they could do them in one piece. I called him on Thurdsay. He was on his way to the Moultire, GA show so I took the wheels with me and met with him there yesterday. He agreed that they did a bad job and he called them on the spot and discussed it with them. This guy worked at the Nu-Chrome place up north for 20 plus years so it appears he has some pull. I am going to send them back and they are going to redo them. I have serious doubts whether they will come back much better, but for what I paid for them it looks like I have no other choice at this time. Prior to sending them there the first time, everyone I talked with who did wheels told me they had to cut them apart, rechrome the center, then put them back together with a new rim. Trouble is, the rim is the part with the WG and date stamped on it. I believe that Vintage Wheel was one of them but it's been almost a year now so maybe my memory has faded. This is a tough spot to be in right now. Any other suggestions may still help. Names or phone numbers of the businesses would be even better. If these wheels come back bad a second time, I'll be looking for someone to do them right, if it isn't too late for that. Thanks again. Bill
When they cut the wheels apart one section will be ruined. They could destroy the center section instead thus saving your outer rim. You would now need a second set of wheels now to harvest centers from. New center sections are not available, only outer rims. Henry
Wheels Wheel Vintiques is having new centers made and should be available after the first of the year / spring, so they told me. Of course their an overseas part like most things these days. I just had them build me a custom sized set of 15" Buick ralley's, and I must say they did a BEAUTIFUL job! (And I am VERY hard to please). I ordered them on 8-17-06 and received them about 10-06-06. Very good turn around! He stated 3-6 months for delivery. It even states this on the invoice. Either we hit it off well, or I ordered them at a very slow time in their schedule. I could have waited for the new centers to be used in my wheels, but I didn't want to be dissapointed by quality or design. I opted to have them put in used centers. But, based on their quality that I've seen so far, I would guess that they wouldn't allow a poor quality center to be used. I know this doesn't help with your problem of keeping your WG wheels all original, but I thought that I would pass on this info anyway. You might want to call them and discuss what could be done. My rep was "JB". At least that's what it says on my invoice. Wheel Vintiques, Inc Fresno, CA 559-251-6957 From my experience, I really doubt that anyone can re-plate the entire wheel as one unit, and still make it look like something to be proud of. I believe they'll have to come apart. Thanks, Steve
Thanks for a great info, Steve. I'll give them a call on Monday before I send these back to Nu-Chrome. I might have to take in the backside for the money I've already spent with Nu-Chrome, but if the end result will be some really nice WG wheels, it's worth it. Bill
Also had a bad experience with Nu-Chrome, we're not alone Bill- Wow, sorry to hear about your wheels. I also waited for months after sending parts to Nu-Chrome & they ruined them. I wish I had read up on them before using them. If you gave Nu-Chrome a credit card number, watch your statements. I am not alone in getting charged by them for work they didn't do. A good chrome place is hard to find. I recently sent my stuff to Northern California to see if they can fix what Nu-Chrome ruined. I hope others read these posts and stay away from Nu-Chrome. Roger
I was told by Nu-Chrome that I had to pay 1/2 down and the other half when the job was completed. This was in December of 2005. I paid the 1/2 up front and then they charged my card for the other 1/2 back in April. I just got the wheels last week. Here's an update on my research. Nu-Chrome won't refund any of my money so I can send them somewhere else but they said they would do them over for me and pay the shipping both ways. I called Wheel Vintiques and all they do is build new wheels. They can also do custom sizes and backspacing but they are simply too busy to deal with what I want done. They referred me to Stockton Wheel, also in CA, so I called them. They can cut them apart, rechrome both pieces, then weld them back together. They will do this for $205 each plus return shipping. Nu-Chrome is sending a call tag for UPS to pick mine up but I am still debating on whether to actually do that. If I don't, I'll send them to Stockton and end up with another $1025 plus shipping both ways in them. If I do send them back, I may end up having them done over later after Nu-Chrome screws them up a second time, if it isn't too late by then. Decisions, decisions. I hope everyone can learn from our bad experiences and avoid Nu-Chrome like the plague. Stockton Wheel can but contacted at 209-464-7771. I talked with Bobby. Bill
After having Nu-Chrome make a total mess out of my wheels, they are now on their way to Stockton Wheel. They will call me with a quote when they receive them. They told me that they put them on a lathe and cut them apart, rechrome both original pieces, then weld them back together. Nu-Chrome has agreed to send me 1/2 of my money back I paid them. That was 2 months ago and I haven't received it yet. No big surprise there, everything they have told me over the past 14 months has been a lie. :blast: I'll keep this updated with the results in hopes that it will benefit others who need GS wheels done. Bill
I'm only 20 minutes away from Nu-Chrome. I would never send anything to them. They did a set of 69 bumpers for my friend's GS. He sent them back 3 times and the 3rd time he gave up and just put them on the car. The work was terrible and it cost him almost twice what they quoted. My other friend sent parts to a 39 Buick and some of the rare pieces were lost. They said they would replace them but never did. My friend went there to scream at them and he said the place is a dump. I see their fancy ads in Hemmings and displays at car shows like Carlisle. It makes me sick. They probably pull in a lot of unsuspecting victims. Dennis
Thanks for the updates and keep us in the loop. I am very interested in the results you get from Stockton.
Bill---you should probably call Stockton and verify the lathe process with them. It was my understanding that they cut to old RIM off by cutting through the outside circumference of the RIM so all that is left is the relatively untouched CENTER. Thus, the original OUTER RIM is essentially cut in two pieces and useless. Check with them and clarify....what I stated above is the impression I was left with after sending them an aftermarket wheel to get re-rimmed a while back. Maybe they have another way of cutting them apart that preserves the rim(I had a wider rim installed anyway so maybe that's the process they use when the old outer rim is of no use to the customer)...but the welds penetrate both the rim and the center so I would think one would be ruined in the process. Maybe I misunderstood them.
I have heard good things about Dave Kleiner and his ability to replate original wheels and save the rims and centers. He is slow, but very good.
I explained to them when I called that it was very important to me to have the original rim (outer) retained because it had the WG codes and dates on them. He said that he could do it. Thanks for the info. I'll double check before I let them do the wheels. Bill
