Chrome is like glass. Its a hard surfaced COATING that scratches easily (a simple wipe with a rag even micro will leave scratches that can not be seen with the naked eye). And once scratched, its permanent (like glass) !
Then elements, and debris (such as brake dust etc) get into the scratches and then the trouble starts.
Alum. is a soft and porous MATERIAL not a coating. Alum wheels can be sanded and polished to a high luster time and time again.
They will NEVER be as lustful and elegant as chrome AND they are harder and dirtier to maintain, but you'll never have to replace a wheel due to lack of maintance.
Decisions... decisions
