Help i need a new rim

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Nov 20, 2005 | 12:09 PM

SCG620

Thread Starter

Heel & Toe

Joined: May 2005

Posts: 17

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Help i need a new rim

I help finding an oem 18" polished rim for the rear of a 2000 vette got some curb rash recently and it looks terrible. Hoping to find the rim cheaper rather than going to the stealership and getting robbed for one rim. Thank you.

Nov 20, 2005 | 12:18 PM

darkmercury

Le Mans Master

Joined: Feb 2001

Posts: 5,381

Likes: 87

From: Houston TX

You should try polishing it out... Get a dremel tool and got work on the rough curbed metal! The wire brush wheel should do the trick since the rim is aluminum and soft.
Follow up with rough to fine sanding blocks to shape/blend the lip back to being flat. Then... polish it up with Blue Magic metal polish.

At this point... it can only help until you find a replacement wheel.

Nov 20, 2005 | 12:50 PM

Boomah

Racer

Joined: Jun 2005

Posts: 334

Likes: 0

From: Honolulu Hawaii

Just take your time and I'm sure you can really improve the looks of the rim, a Dremel can work wonders.

I had a similar situation a few days ago with my Z. Of course those are painted rims but curb rash is curb rash and the rims looked pretty bad (think my next mod should be curb-feelers). Anyhow I Dremeled away the rough spots, filled the gouge, touched up with the appropriate color, and polished it out using the Micro-mesh system (it's used on our Eagle windscreens and canopies as well as airliners so I figure it's good enough for my Vette

). So far so good, no one can tell the rims were scrapped by my lack of parking skills & judgment

Again give a go to making the repair yourself & save some $$$. Just take it slow & make sure you protect the unaffected surrounding areas just in case the Dremel gets away from you. One last thing... If you don't want to risk it try a wheel repair specialist. I understand they can work wonders and the cost should still be less than replacing the damaged rim.

HTH

Mark

Nov 20, 2005 | 02:03 PM

charlene

Safety Car

Joined: Feb 2004

Posts: 3,802

Likes: 0

From: monroeville pa

St. Jude Donor '04-'05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCG620

I tried lots of things on my rim of my 03 i guess i was not as handy as the men giving you the advice on how to make the rim that was scratched look nice but i tried. So i bought a new rim from the dealership and got their employe discount and since i belong to the corvette club out here i got a discount from that to the rim ran me $425 instead of the price on the receipt for almost $700 dollars i think i got a good deal.Charlene

Nov 20, 2005 | 04:38 PM

edensknight

Race Director

Joined: Jul 2005

Posts: 11,308

Likes: 1

From: The Beautiful Greater Bay Area California

Try polishing the wheel youself as recommended above. Also, Eastwood Company offers many different wheel polishing kits for the DIY'er that are very reasonably priced. As an alternative, you might try locating a professional wheel polisher in your area. Generally, professional wheel polishing is approx. $100 to $125 per wheel. Lastly, you might also try a local chevy dismantler in your area. These used parts facilities will have used wheels. In fact, Gene at the Karshop (supporting vendor) can help you with this issue (purchase a used replacement C5 wheel) at a great price. Good luck to you.

Nov 20, 2005 | 06:32 PM

vcarr

Instructor

Joined: Oct 2005

Posts: 143

Likes: 0

From: El Paso Tx.

had a hard time finding one myself and after long hrs. on the internet corvettemikes.com was the cheapest for the particular one that i was looking for. good luck

Nov 22, 2005 | 06:46 PM

SCG620

Thread Starter

Heel & Toe

Joined: May 2005

Posts: 17

Likes: 0

thanks for the advice i tried dremeling the rim but it seems like it made the area dull and the thickness is not the same as the rest of the rim, first im going to try a wheel repair company then if it doesnt work i guess ill bite the bullet and get a new rim.