I identically bought the 18" unpolished aluminum rim and it doesnt match my stock chrome 19". Eventually I would like to make them match better....any tips on getting the chrome to look more like the unpolished aluminum? If this is a hassle...I will probably end up painting both black.

straps on the floor...
rope on the seat...
where's the whip and chains?


mmmm... likes those tires.  

scratched chrome finish looks like satin nickle plate, closer but not the same.

If the aluminum rear wheel is not clear coated or anodized.....you can polish it.  You can use a small buff and polishing compound on a drill or air tool.......or by hand if you are energetic and durable.  You may want to set sand the rear rim with some very fine sandpaper first if the aluminum is just an exruded finish and is rough.

One other thing is a possibility.  In the banjo world new and shiny is not always desirable.  Older instruments has nickel plating that is not nearly as bright at the new nicke.....the new nickel has "brighteners" in them and they are much shinier than the old nickel plating.  You can find some plating shops that don't include the brighteners - but almost all replacement parts you buy are brighter than the vintage pieces.

One method to fix this is to "acid fume" the parts.....that won't work on your chrome rim.

The other method is they use a very fine sand and sandblast the parts just enough to break the shine.  These parts are smaller than a wheel rim and they use small blasters - but you could use a larger blaster with very fine media at low pressure settings.  You don't want to take the chrome off - just put a small roughness to the surface.