Can Polished Thinspokes be Fixed?
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 45
Likes: 0
From: Fredericksburg VA
Can Polished Thinspokes be Fixed?
Two of my wheels have some pitting near the bottom of a couple of spokes. It looks almost like a layer of the aluminum has been eaten away.
Can this be buffed out or is it not worth the effort? Should I just replace the wheels? They don't look terrible, but I notice the flaws.
Can this be buffed out or is it not worth the effort? Should I just replace the wheels? They don't look terrible, but I notice the flaws.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 1,156
Likes: 2
From: Arlington VA
The stealership scratched one of my high polished thin spokes a couple years back when they aligned the car. It was failry minor scratch, only about 1/4 inch, so I made them aware of it and said I would try and buff it out myself. I used some Scratch X on it which made it look better but not good enough. I ask the dealer to repair the wheel. They had it for a couple of days and then got back to me stating their body shop could not re-finish the wheel so they gave me a new one.
This is my experience, but I am sure there has to be a professional wheel refinisher out there that could work on your wheel and fix it for you. Good luck with it.
This is my experience, but I am sure there has to be a professional wheel refinisher out there that could work on your wheel and fix it for you. Good luck with it.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 7,050
Likes: 7
From: Canadian Rockies
I'd try sending a PM to Evil Twin. He might be able to help you out based on this previous post of his :
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...+happen+to+you
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...+happen+to+you
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 45
Likes: 0
From: Fredericksburg VA
After reading the attached procedure from FRC Ken, I think I'll give the sandpaper a try. I can't make the wheels look worse, so if it doesn't work, I may have to just get new wheels.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 11,945
Likes: 12
From: Vancouver
2015 C5 of Year Finalist
St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10
Remember you have clear coat paint on the wheels. If you use sandpaper you will probably have to go through the clear coat before you see any improvement. But by then you'll have quite a large area sanded. I think unless you are prepared to remove all the clear coat from the wheel I would leave well enough alone. Mine you I am thinking of doing this myself since my wheels certainly don't look like they did when new. But it's a lot of work getting the clear coat off and from that point on you must keep them hand polished or corrosion will set in since there's no clear coat protecting them. Another direction you can go is to find a wheel re-finisher in your area and have them redo your wheels they usually charge anywhere from $150 to $250 a wheel. For me I will just remove the clear coat and keep them polished. I've done lots of aluminum polishing on motorcycles with great results. My .02
