If these were your wheels, what would you do?

[the_tool_man]

I picked up a used set of these 22" Escalade Platinum wheels for cheap to go on my Yukon.

Two of them are good, but two have minor curb rash. After taking the damaged ones to the wheel repair place, I found out the OEM three-stage finish can peel and fade pretty easily (he repairs them for most of the GM dealers in SC). He recommended a single-stage powder coat that is similar to the OEM finish, but far more durable (and less expensive). The problem is, they won't match. Now I could keep them on opposite sides of the truck, and no one would notice. But the other two still have the "fragile" OEM finish, which may need repairing someday. It makes more sense to fix them all before I mount tires on them and need them all on the Yukon. He's pretty much got me talked into refinishing all four.

Since I'm having all four done...I can pick any color I want! I do want to keep the chrome inserts and center cap.

The problem is, I don't know what else to pick. There aren't a bunch of these wheels out there in other colors. My internet searches haven't turned up much to render an opinion on, aside from black ones on Ebay. I saw a black Esky with these wheels painted black (with chrome inserts), and didn't like that look as much as I thought I would. I'm okay with the hyper-silver, if it comes to that. But I'm wondering if a brighter silver might look even better with the chrome. Or maybe a dark grey? Any opinions out there? I'm dropping off the other two wheels in the morning. So chime in soon! Bonus points for pics (even photoshopped) to match your suggestions.

Thanks in advance

 

[Rocket Man]

So many choices. I’m no help other than to say black wheels don’t look good to me on a black vehicle. They tend to disappear imo.

 

[wjburken]

What if you went with a dark red or black cherry color? Then paint your calipers the same color? That might look nice with your black rig.

 

[the_tool_man]

So many choices. I’m no help other than to say black wheels don’t look good to me on a black vehicle. They tend to disappear imo.

Agreed. I thought they'd look better with the chrome strips. But they looked kinda weird. I think it's because there was no silver lip to define the boundary between the wheel and tire. Just seven chrome strips that end in blackness.

 

[Rocket Man]

Agreed. I thought they'd look better with the chrome strips. But they looked kinda weird. I think it's because there was no silver lip to define the boundary between the wheel and tire. Just seven chrome strips that end in blackness.

Yes, and there’s a few aftermarket companies that make wheels like that and they look weird to me.

 

[PG01]

Yes, and there’s a few aftermarket companies that make wheels like that and they look weird to me.

X2

 

[08grey]

A gun metal grey

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[Rocket Man]

A gun metal grey

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Agreed.

 

[iamdub]

It's tough with your truck being black with chrome trim. Since the wheels already have the chrome which ties in with the body trim, you're limited to what the paint color could be that wouldn't clash with the black and make the wheels look like they're meant for another vehicle. IMO, almost any other color wears contrasting accent colors better. I'm torn between a dark or gunmetal gray or whatever the most chrome-like the powder coater can do.

 

[PG01]

A gun metal grey

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Agreed.

X3

 

[the_tool_man]

It's tough with your truck being black with chrome trim. Since the wheels already have the chrome which ties in with the body trim, you're limited to what the paint color could be that wouldn't clash with the black and make the wheels look like they're meant for another vehicle. IMO, almost any other color wears contrasting accent colors better. I'm torn between a dark or gunmetal gray or whatever the most chrome-like the powder coater can do.

iamdub, I think you nailed it. I'm thinking the same thing.

I'm actually torn about the chrome on the truck, too. One reason I picked these wheels is that the chrome strips match the chrome on the truck now. But if I ever change the trim, I can remove the strips and change them to something else with paint or vinyl. So far, I've experimented with selectively covering the chrome trim in black vinyl. But I haven't liked the results. It may be that I either have to leave it all chrome, or go "all in" on a color change.

We discussed a chrome PC on the wheels. But he admitted that "chrome" doesn't hold up under UV as well. I don't want to have to refinish these again. In the end, I decided to go back with his closest single-stage PC to OEM "hyper silver". They'll look great like that, and maintain their value should I ever sell them. And I can always experiment with plasti-dip.

I'm not good at making decisions, lol.

 

[iamdub]

iamdub, I think you nailed it. I'm thinking the same thing.

I'm actually torn about the chrome on the truck, too. One reason I picked these wheels is that the chrome strips match the chrome on the truck now. But if I ever change the trim, I can remove the strips and change them to something else with paint or vinyl. So far, I've experimented with selectively covering the chrome trim in black vinyl. But I haven't liked the results. It may be that I either have to leave it all chrome, or go "all in" on a color change.

We discussed a chrome PC on the wheels. But he admitted that "chrome" doesn't hold up under UV as well. I don't want to have to refinish these again. In the end, I decided to go back with his closest single-stage PC to OEM "hyper silver". They'll look great like that, and maintain their value should I ever sell them. And I can always experiment with plasti-dip.

I'm not good at making decisions, lol.

De-chroming is pretty much an all-or-nothing move. When I swapped the OEM polished wheels for the de-cladded ("bare" aluminum- not-so-shiny) GMC wheels, they clashed with the chrome door handles and mirror caps. I summed it up as "wearing tennis shoes with a tux". I promptly swapped the handles for body color and painted the mirror caps. But I'm taking my LTZ from a classy/luxury appeal to a sporty/**** appeal. With yours being a Denali and still having all the chrome, I think the wheels should be equally as flashy. Hyper silver would be a safe compromise and, as you said, they'd easily sell to anyone should you decide to go full chrome or the opposite later.

 

[VDV18]

Don't do hyper silver, go with gunmetal. You won't regret it.

 

[usnret]

+2 on gunmetal.

 

[SRQYukon]

Gunmetal gets my vote, too.

 

[fozzi58]

I would stick with the chrome personally, but I vote for hyper silver

 

[wjburken]

We discussed a chrome PC on the wheels. But he admitted that "chrome" doesn't hold up under UV as well. I don't want to have to refinish these again.

I would avoid PC Chrome. A co-worker of mine had PC Chrome put on the rims on his 1994 NSX a few years ago and has been very disappointed. They looked nice for about 6 months and then you could start to see it begin to discolor.

Edit: BTW - His car never sees snow or salt.

 

[the_tool_man]

I would avoid PC Chrome. A co-worker of mine had PC Chrome put on the rims on his 1994 NSX a few years ago and has been very disappointed. They looked nice for about 6 months and then you could start to see it begin to discolor.

Edit: BTW - His car never sees snow or salt.

I went with hyper silver. I chose that because I knew what it would look like, and like how it looks. It also will help resale if I change my mind about the wheels some day. I had to move quickly, because the tires on my 20's are bald! Once I have the new wheels and tires mounted, I may experiment with gunmetal and other colors using plasti-dip. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[Rocket Man]

I went with hyper silver. I chose that because I knew what it would look like, and like how it looks. It also will help resale if I change my mind about the wheels some day. I had to move quickly, because the tires on my 20's are bald! Once I have the new wheels and tires mounted, I may experiment with gunmetal and other colors using plasti-dip. Thanks for all the advice.

Pics...,

 

[the_tool_man]

Pics...,

Okay. I just picked them up about an hour ago. Honestly, they look noticeably darker than hyper silver. I'd say they're halfway between silver and gunmetal. I actually like it a lot. I haven't reinstalled the chrome strips yet. Had to go back to work. But here are the pics I took in the sun to show how the color flips.

Before anyone criticizes the wheel refinisher, he told me the single-stage PC finish wouldn't be an exact match. That's why I took all four wheels to him. I'll post more pics once I reassemble the strips.