I just bought my second set of chrome wheels and I was wondering how to keep them shining for years to come. The inside of the rims are the first to start pitting so is there anyway to prevent that?
If it is a high quality chrome, it should be really simple. Keep them clean, using soap and water. (Windex is good for streak free quick cleanup. I had some Cragar SS's that I even used steel wool to clean, when the rust finally did come through in spots.) Keep them out of the road salt, at all cost.
If you are talking about the back side of the wheel or the part that you can see that is in by the brake rotor, you can use a good primer/pain to paint that black. It should keep the pitting to a minimum, there. (It IS very difficult to get paint to stick to chrome, as there is nothing for the paint to hold onto.)
After washing them, make sure to dry them. The water sitting in the little crevasses and low spots with bits of sand and dirt still in it is what kills them. It creates the little pits that are often seen with mistreated chrome wheels…which eventually leads to rust and ruins the finish.