Plastic peel on the OEM wheels

[ekirilov]

Hi all, today during my car's wash I've noticed some strange marks on my rims. One of them was particularly impacted. I've noticed that for some reason, water is building up underneath the surface of the spokes and realized, that there is some plastic "cover" or foil, on the top of the silver finish of the rim. It turned out, that I can peel of some, as I did. 
When I took a closer look I saw, that 3 out 4 rims are having this plastic, alredy showing up. 
 

My question is, if someone has noticed this already, and what is the purpose of this plastic thingy? Is there going to be any consequence, if I peel it off completely too? Otherwise it will stay half peeled and  scratched in some places.
 

[NemesisUK]

The face of the spokes is diamond cut and then sealed with clear coat (similar to that on the car's body paintwork). This peeling is a relatively common situation with this type of finish on the wheels

Removing it from the wheels will result in corrosion setting in as the metal is unprotected. Your best bet is to get them refurbished and the refrain from using hash chemicals on them when washing. Many car wash stations use very aggressive solutions, which may be why yours have started to peel away.

[Spock66]

If getting the wheels refurbished, I think powder coating is a better option than the diamond cut finish, which inevitably corrodes leaving unsightly white marks.

[rayaans]

Lacquer peel which needs a refurb

[Mr_Groundhog]

"Nothing without a bit of plastic" seems to be the industry motto everywhere