AFS Wheels.... clearcoat gone to hell?
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 83,383
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From: Boston, MA
AFS Wheels.... clearcoat gone to hell?
Has anyone else had horrible luck with their AFS Wheels? Mine aren't that old (less than 3 years I think) and the clearcoat is shot on them. I don't even think there are 5,000 miles on them. I haven't driven them in salt/sand, and I take pretty good care of them. I really don't feel like having to pay to get them refinished if I can.
I will take pictures when I can, but the clearcoat is flaking off badly. I bought them off ebay as a blemish set, but I can't imagine this has something to do with it as the blemish was advertised as being hte powdercoat part of it (I have the black GS replicas).
The fronts seem to be the worst of it. I wonder if the brake dust is reacting with the coating?
I plan on cleaning them up as best I can and sending pictures to AFS to get their opinion.
I will take pictures when I can, but the clearcoat is flaking off badly. I bought them off ebay as a blemish set, but I can't imagine this has something to do with it as the blemish was advertised as being hte powdercoat part of it (I have the black GS replicas).
The fronts seem to be the worst of it. I wonder if the brake dust is reacting with the coating?
I plan on cleaning them up as best I can and sending pictures to AFS to get their opinion.
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2005
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From: Northern, VA
St. Jude Donor '15
"In honor of jpee"
I'd give a call to AFS right away. Seems like they'd stand behind their wheels, altho how far behind may be the question. Then again, you did buy them as blems and this is 3 years later. I guess if you'd put 5K miles on in six months you may have noticed the same thing. Hope it turns all right for you.
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Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 83,383
Likes: 87
From: Boston, MA
Originally Posted by Slalom4me
What pads do you have and what cleaner do you use?
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Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 62,160
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From: Athens AL
C7 of the Year - Unmodified Finalist 2021
C4 of Year Finalist (performance mods) 2019
Yep, had the exact same problem. Within 2 years the coating on my GS rims was completely shot, and the only thing I ever used on them was soap & water.
It was worst on the rears, but the fronts had it too.
I sent AFS the picture of the rims, and they replaced all 4 for free. They are now the newer style GS rims, not the ones that look like the original GS rim (wider chrome lip).
It was worst on the rears, but the fronts had it too.
I sent AFS the picture of the rims, and they replaced all 4 for free. They are now the newer style GS rims, not the ones that look like the original GS rim (wider chrome lip).
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 83,383
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From: Boston, MA
Originally Posted by vader86
I sent AFS the picture of the rims, and they replaced all 4 for free. They are now the newer style GS rims, not the ones that look like the original GS rim (wider chrome lip).
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 62,160
Likes: 1,733
From: Athens AL
C7 of the Year - Unmodified Finalist 2021
C4 of Year Finalist (performance mods) 2019
All I can say is that the warranty was expired for mine too, its only 1 year, and they replaced them with no fuss. Just send them the pictures and see what happens.
I didnt like the new style much either until I got them on the car, it kind of makes them look like they stick out of the wheel well a bit more.
I didnt like the new style much either until I got them on the car, it kind of makes them look like they stick out of the wheel well a bit more.
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 4,212
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From: Sun City West Az
I have 2 of their silver 11 x 17 on the rear for the past 3 years. Knock on wood here. So far no problems. However, I just use water only to wash them, no soap.... and I keep a good coat of wax on them.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,753
Likes: 15
From: backwoods upstate ny
powdercoat comes in colors and clear...sounds like you got what was advertised...poor prep, bad powder, bake too low temp or not long enuf, or about 533-1/2 other things could go wrong with powcoat, just like solvent based coatings, actually more than wet paint.
get a couple cans of spray-on paint stripper from the auto dept of walfart, mask the tires with duct tape (really-the paint stripper doesn't bother most brands of duct tape-test first)...usually takes 2-3 heavy coats of stripper on DRY wheels to get all old paint off...wear rubber gloves, work outdoors but not in direct sunlight...let em stand for a couple days , mask and repaint...water that you wash the stripper/old paint off seems to neutralize the stripper--grass area out back where i occasionaly do this looks fine
get a couple cans of spray-on paint stripper from the auto dept of walfart, mask the tires with duct tape (really-the paint stripper doesn't bother most brands of duct tape-test first)...usually takes 2-3 heavy coats of stripper on DRY wheels to get all old paint off...wear rubber gloves, work outdoors but not in direct sunlight...let em stand for a couple days , mask and repaint...water that you wash the stripper/old paint off seems to neutralize the stripper--grass area out back where i occasionaly do this looks fine
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 83,383
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From: Boston, MA
Originally Posted by redrose
powdercoat comes in colors and clear...sounds like you got what was advertised...poor prep, bad powder, bake too low temp or not long enuf, or about 533-1/2 other things could go wrong with powcoat, just like solvent based coatings, actually more than wet paint.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 6,564
Likes: 6
From: Woodstock Georgia
Originally Posted by redrose
powdercoat comes in colors and clear...sounds like you got what was advertised...poor prep, bad powder, bake too low temp or not long enuf, or about 533-1/2 other things could go wrong with powcoat, just like solvent based coatings, actually more than wet paint.
get a couple cans of spray-on paint stripper from the auto dept of walfart, mask the tires with duct tape (really-the paint stripper doesn't bother most brands of duct tape-test first)...usually takes 2-3 heavy coats of stripper on DRY wheels to get all old paint off...wear rubber gloves, work outdoors but not in direct sunlight...let em stand for a couple days , mask and repaint...water that you wash the stripper/old paint off seems to neutralize the stripper--grass area out back where i occasionaly do this looks fine
get a couple cans of spray-on paint stripper from the auto dept of walfart, mask the tires with duct tape (really-the paint stripper doesn't bother most brands of duct tape-test first)...usually takes 2-3 heavy coats of stripper on DRY wheels to get all old paint off...wear rubber gloves, work outdoors but not in direct sunlight...let em stand for a couple days , mask and repaint...water that you wash the stripper/old paint off seems to neutralize the stripper--grass area out back where i occasionaly do this looks fine
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 83,383
Likes: 87
From: Boston, MA
I just sent them this email, we'll see what they say.
Good afternoon,
I purchased a set of your black Corvette ZR-1 style replica wheels from Ebay somewhere I think early 2003 or very late 2002. I did not have them mounted until somewhere around 7/2003. I will have to dig through my receipts and photos to find the exact dates. I'm at work at the moment so please forgive me for not having the exact ones available at this time. The set was advertised as a blemish set and appeared to be the result of very minor defects in the powder coating process. To the untrained eye they looked flawless.
Since mounting the wheels the car has been driven probably less than 5,000 miles total. The car is not driven during the winter through any snow/salt or other fun stuff the highway department tosses on the roads during winter.
I take very well care of the car and wash it using either Zaino Z7 car wash soap and most recently the Mr. Clean Car Wash system soap. When I wash the car I always make sure that I wash the face, spokes, and as far into the wheels that I can reach. I absolutely love the look of these wheels on my car, they have been fabulous.
So, the reason for my email? Starting last year I noticed that the finish of the wheels started to flake off and get spotty in some areas. Mainly it has started on the interior of the spokes and is working its way towards the face. I do not know if your finishing process is a clear coat paint over the black powder coating or a clear powder coating process. I didn't think too much of it at the time because I wasn't driving the car much so I would forget about it until each washing. This spring when I brought the car out I noticed that it is even worse. Some of the spokes look like they could possibly be totally void of the clear finish by the end of this year. The front wheels (17x9.5") look worse than the rears (17x11") do.
I am curious as to what AFS's opinion is on possible causes. Could the finish be reacting with brake dust? Could heat from the brakes be being transferred to the wheels too much? Anything really I guess. I am a little bummed even though I bought them with full knowledge of their "blemish" status. I will probably have to have them refinished this winter at this rate.
Thank you for any opinion you may be able to provide me with. I will be more than happy to send some digital photos over when I get a chance. The weather is pretty lousy up here this week to get anything good.
Thank you for your time and assistance,
I purchased a set of your black Corvette ZR-1 style replica wheels from Ebay somewhere I think early 2003 or very late 2002. I did not have them mounted until somewhere around 7/2003. I will have to dig through my receipts and photos to find the exact dates. I'm at work at the moment so please forgive me for not having the exact ones available at this time. The set was advertised as a blemish set and appeared to be the result of very minor defects in the powder coating process. To the untrained eye they looked flawless.
Since mounting the wheels the car has been driven probably less than 5,000 miles total. The car is not driven during the winter through any snow/salt or other fun stuff the highway department tosses on the roads during winter.
I take very well care of the car and wash it using either Zaino Z7 car wash soap and most recently the Mr. Clean Car Wash system soap. When I wash the car I always make sure that I wash the face, spokes, and as far into the wheels that I can reach. I absolutely love the look of these wheels on my car, they have been fabulous.So, the reason for my email? Starting last year I noticed that the finish of the wheels started to flake off and get spotty in some areas. Mainly it has started on the interior of the spokes and is working its way towards the face. I do not know if your finishing process is a clear coat paint over the black powder coating or a clear powder coating process. I didn't think too much of it at the time because I wasn't driving the car much so I would forget about it until each washing. This spring when I brought the car out I noticed that it is even worse. Some of the spokes look like they could possibly be totally void of the clear finish by the end of this year. The front wheels (17x9.5") look worse than the rears (17x11") do.
I am curious as to what AFS's opinion is on possible causes. Could the finish be reacting with brake dust? Could heat from the brakes be being transferred to the wheels too much? Anything really I guess. I am a little bummed even though I bought them with full knowledge of their "blemish" status. I will probably have to have them refinished this winter at this rate.
Thank you for any opinion you may be able to provide me with. I will be more than happy to send some digital photos over when I get a chance. The weather is pretty lousy up here this week to get anything good.
Thank you for your time and assistance,
