Chrome Wheel Leak

[93 525 Paul]

I've got the original chrome 15" bottle cap wheels on the wife's 525 and one wheel has a leak on the bead where the chrome is flaking. This happened many years ago to the original chrome and we had them stripped and rechromed (yeah, I know, not a smart move.) So here we are again.
Wondering if anyone has solved this problem (maybe have the wheel turned in a lathe to clean ALL the chrome off the bead contact surface.)
Just hoping this is solvable without spending more money than the wheel is worth (not much obviously) and without replacing all 4.
Any successes out there???

[M20B25power]

Turning the wheel seems like the best alternative, as doing so would expose the original metal - obviously nothing to flake off. It might be a challenge to keep the rest of the chrome from flaking from the edge of the area where it was removed.

[bad_manners_god]

Clean the flaking and uneven area with 24 grit sandpaper till it's smooth and then apply bead sealer, should be ok after that.

[Ross]

Agreed, a wire cup brush is quicker. Rather than bead sealer I'd paint the inner edge of the wheel which is what my usual installer does to any corroded wheels

[bad_manners_god]

Agreed, a wire cup brush is quicker. Rather than bead sealer I'd paint the inner edge of the wheel which is what my usual installer does to any corroded wheels

A cup brush is quicker, but it's not at everyone's disposal...same thing with the paint, time to prep/dry/clear vs applying bead sealer and install.

Both are good solutions in any case.

[BMWCCA1]

For goodness sake; what is your time worth? You can trash those chrome wheels and replace them with non-chrome bottlecaps for usually no more than the cost of mounting and balancing. You can upgrade to OE cross-spokes for around $200. Do you or your wife actually LIKE the chrome wheels?

I'm going to assume you're in California (no other area chromes BMW wheels to the extent that Southern California does) so stock BMW wheels should be a dime-a-dozen for you. Have you learned nothing from your experience? Ditch the chrome wheels. ;)

[bubba966]

I'm of the ditch the chrome idea as they weren't chrome originally. I can't think of any BMW wheels in the last 30 years or so that were chromed from the factory.