The Snowman

Hello.
I´m upgrading to C5 brakes on my car and have to scrap my 9,5" sawblades. I am in the market for some classic 90´s three piece wheels but they are hard to come by and in the meantime I have to find an alternative.
Last spring I bought a set of rough chromed wagon wheels dirt cheap in my hometown as I figured it´s always good to have spare parts.

Anyhow, I got them back from media blasting yesterday and they now look like this.



What I´ve been thinking about is to scrap those spider caps and use normal center caps but I do need some color on them aswell.

I have a quasar blue C4 and a color combo that works really well with blue is a bronze-ish color like this.



A plus with using a darker matte paint is that any imperfection is easier to hide, or so I tell my self.

What would you do to theese wheels if it were up to you. (No throwing them in the bin is not an option... )

//d

Joe C

google "c5 corvette wagon wheels" images, plenty of examples of owners doing minor paintwork to make things look a bit different.

https://www.google.com/search?q=c5+c...w=1694&bih=806

also, here's a thread from forum member cyteone with some paint graphics - https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...on-wheels.html

daverulz

I like your color choice. I've also seen vinyl applied to the face that makes them look less bulky like this picture

The Snowman

Yes, I have googled more than once but there´s still a lot of ideas and thoughts not on google.

I hadn't seen the thread with the custom painted WW though. Thanks for that.

mic575

Kudos for giving this some real thought. Your bronze color idea is a good one and your car will look good with that color. The question is how will the wheels look in that color. You could always do a quick and dirty plastidip to get an idea and take it off right away before you do something more permanent. I actually think the wagon wheels in a gloss silver do actually look pretty good on a C4, better than on a C5

L98Justin

the bronze would look nice like the C5 magnesium wheels

rocco16

I've seen wagon wheels done like this in person and they look surprisingly good.

PLRX

I consider the early C5 wagon wheel to be the ugliest Corvette wheel of all time. I remember many got rid of them when the 5-spoke came out.

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The Snowman

Yes, I tend to agree with you. Def not my first choice but as I said, while on the look out for what I really want they have to do. I'd rather have non attractive wheels and stop when I want than have nice wheels, sawblades, and shitty brakes.

Those wheels with vinyl on looks kinda like E55 AMG wheels from a distance...a far distance.

QCVette

I tried C5 wagon wheels on my '94. I didn't care for it because of the looks and the rears are 18' and about an inch taller (with stock C5 tire sizes). I didn't like the feel of the taller tires.

I have seen them in a gunmetal color that I though looked a little better.

For other choices, there are several 17" C4 wheels that clear C5 brakes. The '88-'89, '90, the A molds ('95 pace car, '96 CE, '96 GS, later years ZR1) I have put the '90 and the '96 CE wheels on my C5 and they cleared the brakes fine.

Good luck.

scrappy76

If I had a choice between the c5 wagon wheels on my c4 and the saw blades, it would the c5 wagon wheels. I cannot stand the look of the sawblades. Never have,never wheel. Paint the c5 wheels satin black, they look great.

rocco16

Paint them Quasar Blue with a bronze pinstripe on the rim.

WVZR-1

OP - Have you asked the company that did the "media blast" if they can improve the results? It appears in the snapshots that you don't actually have a wheel that's quite ready for any type of refinish operation.

Maybe that's an assumption I've made from previous media blasting results I've seen but I'd say a conversation with them or maybe another contractor is in order.

What media did they use? Did they hint that you could have expected better?

JrRifleCoach

Somewhere lives a GM designer still trying to find the worst design for a wheel pattern.

confab

Speaking for myself, I wouldn't consider anything but powder coat for a wheel refinish. It's so nice and so tough.

When I first pulled my car apart shortly after buying it, the TPI looked terrible. It's a visually interesting piece, but a pita to clean when it has been abused for 30 years, and I know I'm not going to toothbrush the thing to keep it nice. The places I called wanted up to 500 bucks to powdercoat it. I got the harbor freight kit and did it myself. It's not perfect, but it's really tough. As a test, I did the oil pan too. It still looks like brand new. I absolutely love that stuff.

There are a lot of colors available, including metalics and candy colors. Just about anything you could want. Here's an example:

https://www.prismaticpowders.com/powder-coating-colors/

Notice the "Illusion Gold" in the upper left corner.

confab

PS:

I used a candy metallic on the TPI.. And I think it was this one:

https://www.prismaticpowders.com/col...Y-RANCHER-RED/

I can attest that it really does look like that. (It's actually a red tint over a chrome base) They aren't pulling anyone's leg with picture tricks.

TD-Machines

I'm impressed.

The Snowman

The wheels were rough. Chromed wheels with lots of corrosion under the chrome. They are however looking far worse on the pic than in real life and are ready for refinishing.


Well, since I have two of swedens biggest powder coating plants in my home town I decided to have them powder coated. Going this afternoon to look at paint samples.



I really this colour.

WVZR-1

Has either of the shops seen the condition of the wheels? They can certainly "best advise" as to what they can and can't "hide".

The Snowman

I´m bringing all four wheels this afternoon. Of course it´s up to them to in the end decide whether or not they are ready and what the can/can´t hide.