What to do with wheels?
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 10,332
Likes: 63
From: PARADISE
St. Jude Donor '09-'11-'12-'13-'14
What to do with wheels?
I have the stock 2002 C5 polished wheels which were factory clearcoated. The clear was a bit dull so I stripped it and the bare aluminum polished up fine. Problem is that I'm old and lazy and don't feel like polishing all the time to keep 'em looking good. I'm considering painting the wheels and wondering what approach I should take.
Should I bead blast and paint with something like Imron? Bead blast and clear? The car is silver, and I was thinking maybe a gun metal gray, but just don't know if I should go this route. I could always sell the wheels/tires (only 4000 miles on the GY RF's) and go with something a little more maintenance free.
My Volvo XC90 has silver painted wheels and they are super easy to keep looking good.
Anyone have any thoughts? I need some good options.
Thanks,
Dave
Should I bead blast and paint with something like Imron? Bead blast and clear? The car is silver, and I was thinking maybe a gun metal gray, but just don't know if I should go this route. I could always sell the wheels/tires (only 4000 miles on the GY RF's) and go with something a little more maintenance free.
My Volvo XC90 has silver painted wheels and they are super easy to keep looking good.
Anyone have any thoughts? I need some good options.
Thanks,
Dave
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 1,404
Likes: 0
From: Ham Lake MN
why not clean them up and get them polished again and reshoot them with clear? if you want to paint them, I would look into getting them powder coated, I have did that to aluminum rims in the past, they are very durable,
Mike
Mike
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 14,285
Likes: 0
From: Houston, Tx Got traction?
CI 5-6-7-8-9-10 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '07-'08
Originally Posted by viper8u2
why not clean them up and get them polished again and reshoot them with clear? if you want to paint them, I would look into getting them powder coated, I have did that to aluminum rims in the past, they are very durable,
Mike
Mike
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 10,332
Likes: 63
From: PARADISE
St. Jude Donor '09-'11-'12-'13-'14
I like the powder coating idea. Anyone had experiences with vendors, good or bad? Western USA location would be best for me, I'm near Reno, Nevada, Thanks, Dave.
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 1,404
Likes: 0
From: Ham Lake MN
dont have any experience out there, I use to have a room mate that worked at a place, they are able to clean them up with a chemical (be careful what they use since its aluminum), powder coated and then reshot with clear.
I just did a google local search,
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=powder...reno,+nv&hl=en
BTW, the maps on google is pretty good if you havent tried it.
let us know how it turns out,
Mike
I just did a google local search,
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=powder...reno,+nv&hl=en
BTW, the maps on google is pretty good if you havent tried it.
let us know how it turns out,
Mike
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 3,306
Likes: 2
From: Wesley Chapel Fl
To clear coat them it would have to be powder also. A regular clear coat is not going to bond to a polished aluminum surface. There are newer powder clears made specifically for polished aluminum. Powder is going to give you the most durable finish available.
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 10,332
Likes: 63
From: PARADISE
St. Jude Donor '09-'11-'12-'13-'14
This is sounding better all the time, but I've heard it said that the baking process will have an effect on the strength of the wheel. I would assume that factory wheels are 356 aluminum alloy, and I don't think a 400 degree bake would hurt them, but I am not a materials engineer.
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 1,404
Likes: 0
From: Ham Lake MN
I dont recall how hot it was when they baked them. I do know they clean them up pretty good and its almost like an electrostatic charge that draws it to the metal. Than they sprayed clear coat after that. Its been about 5-6 years now and they still look the same, not one chip
good luck,
Mike
good luck,
Mike
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 3,139
Likes: 2
From: Whidbey Island WA
I bought mine for CCW... no problems.
I've no experience with any other but can assure you, if they were bad, they wouldn't still be on the forum.
You also might start a new thread on the subject. I'm sure you'll get lots of help.
I've no experience with any other but can assure you, if they were bad, they wouldn't still be on the forum.
You also might start a new thread on the subject. I'm sure you'll get lots of help.