Well-written, Scorp. Tell us what they say. Hope it's good news.

 

I have set of these same rims, purchased about the same time as Scorp's but about 12,000 mile on them now, also with clearcoat falling off. I got them as blemished set from AFS off of ebay.The finish was orange peeled on the front rims, but hardly noticeable. The rim with worst orange peel is the one the clearcoat is coming off. On the back rims the finish was and still is flawless.
Since they are out of warranty I had been looking at have them refinished but have not done anything yet.
Now I will watch to see the response Scrop gets from AFS.

 

This isnt Gospel,but it has to be clear paint.If it was clear powder coat,thats baked on,and more than likely would pull the finish off underneath with it.I dont think you can get the glossy black powder coat finish without spraying clear paint on it...yet I could be mistaken.If it is powder clear coat,Im very suprised it didnt bond during the baking process!(Ive never heard of powder coat clear either)

However,that being said,if the clear coat flakes off but not the black,you can have a paint shop spray catalyzed clear or clear with hardener on there and have it come out a very tough finish.Spray cans are worth dicky and will chip,peel or fall off later.

EDIT: I was very wrong,there is a clear process for powder coating...heres what I found on the net!

What is Clear Powder Coating?
Clear powder coating serves the same purpose as clear coat wet paint. It protects the underlying finish and adds depth and luster to the surface. Clear powder coat is applied as a second coat and shot while the piece is still hot. Then the piece is returned to the oven for a second curing process. Use clear powder coating on any piece that exposure to elements could cause it to fade or be subject to damage.

 

Hi Scorp,

In Nov. 2004 I went to AFS in Los Angles and purchased a complete set of ZR-1 replica rims/tires (275/315 Dunlop), except I chose the polished aluminum wheels. They were kind and helpful and gave me a wonderful 'deal' on the total cost.

During my waiting time there (snooping around at their operation) THREE different employees advised me to WAX the rims regularily. They said that the chrome finish will tarnish very quickly if I don't 'stay on top' of regular waxing.

I have since learned that these rims are a Chinese re-production of the original GM wheels. I'm totally ok with that (because of price)...but I now KNOW that these rims are destined to ultimately fail (regarding the finish quality). Because I truly understand the concept of "you get what you pay for" I'm resolved to knowing that within a few years I'll need to turn these wheels into the 'stock' ZR-1 look. (gloss grey paint finish) by refinishing.....because regardless of the amount of wax I use, the chrome finish is so thin that it is showing tons of scratches and brake dust discoloration.

While I was 'snooping around' their business I was surprised to learn the following:
- They had no factory. They do NOT produce anything. They purchase their rims from Asia (container loads....containers sitting on property).
-They were, essentially a "tire shop". Their shop consisted of a bunch (maybe 4?) Mexicans busy mounting and ballancing tires to rims.
-Low tech: My vette rims required the vette 'centers' on these rims, right?......so here was some guy, sitting crosslegged in the middle of the "yard" with a caulking gun siliconing vette (and mustang) 'centers' onto new rims. It was truly wierd!
-Marketing: They had 6 women in the office, doing business. In other words, they had More people in the marketing 'dept' than they had in the 'production' dept. Just goes to show the importance of marketing over product, I concluded.

It's ok though. I'm a pragmatic Canadian. The price I paid was about one FIFTH the price I would have paid locally.

So I'm still happy.

 

 

Interesting and not too surprising.

 

You said you should wax the chrome rims regularily to avoid tarnish. You also said you have the highly polished set. Does the same apply to them, or by chrome did you mean polished? Or did I just miss somthing when reading?

 

you mention the polished aluminum... that is not chrome.

big difference. And polished aluminum WILL tarnish after a while. That's why there are clearcoats and things like "Zoop Seal" to protect the polished finish.

However, as far as AFS wheels are concerned, you confirmed all my suspiscions.

Not for me... I drive my Vette WAY too much to buy some cheap knockoff... do they even meet DOT/TUV standards? Has anyone had a rim come apart or shown to be out of round? Curious...

 

I'm confused Carpenter... ???

 

You guys are totally right to call me on this. Truthfully, I think I blocked the difference of polished vs. chromed out of my mind.

My problem is that they were so highly polished they looked like chrome......I've never seen polished aluminum that gets THAT brilliant (truly mirror finish) so I always assumed they were chromed......and couldn't have been clear-coated, because there is absolutely no peeling. Now a year later, they have dulled a bit and look 100% like polished.

When I was buying them, they had no 'showroom' as they are an Ebay Only shop. (no signage, cheap industrial, back lane type location, old grubby building) So when I went in, I discribed the wheel/tire combo from memory (and ebay#)......and they said "ok......just wait here and we'll mount them for you". They said they do NOT offer 'off the street' sales.....but they would 'do me this favor'. There was no "inspection" offered. No sample wheels to look at and ask questions about. While I was snooping around, I asked a few workers if my wheels were polished or chromed.....and I got three different answers, one of which was "don't know".

Here in Canada, I priced the set at $8,000 (and probably off shore production....perhaps the same china manufacturer?) Down there I paid under $1,500. Really, a no brainer for me and cheap enough not to be too 'picky'.

 

Yeah, obviously a no brainer. I just picked up some polished AFS wheels and wanted to know to see if it applied. Thanks for the response!

 

Ok good now I understand what your talking about.

 

This "zoop seal" that you speak of, is it like a wax?

 

AFS has been in China since 2003. At one point in time their quality was good. Then they moved their supplier from the US to China and when they did this, they were backordered for almost a year. The other thing that happened with the change in facilities is the design of the rim. The spokes got a little blockier and you lost the deep lug on the 17x11 rims.

The sole purpose of the move to China was cheaper production costs so they could sell at 500 bucks like all the other aftermarket companies. At one point the Ebay blems truly were blems. Not so anymore. Anybody who buys from them direct is getting the same quality rim you buy off of Ebay at a huge discount

 

I think 4 of my rims are USA and then the two other 17x11s I have that I use for drag radials are china.