polished thin spokes
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 930
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From: Aiken SC
polished thin spokes
Hi guys......
I have at present painted thin spokes on my coupe. Can these be polished? What is needed to do this & how many years would it take to do it? Or would it be worth it, & what would they look like?
If anyone has thin spokes that were painted & then polished, could you post some pics for comparison.
Thanks,
Gregg
I have at present painted thin spokes on my coupe. Can these be polished? What is needed to do this & how many years would it take to do it? Or would it be worth it, & what would they look like?
If anyone has thin spokes that were painted & then polished, could you post some pics for comparison.
Thanks,
Gregg
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I'd bet the painted ones can be polished - they are made from aluminum after all. But the cost may be prohibitive - probably better to just find a nice set of wheels that are already polished and keep your painted ones if you want.
Le Mans Master
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From: Palm Harbor not far from Sebring Florida
St. Jude Donor '11
Oldtimer
When you say painted, are you really meaning the standard aluminum thin spoke polished with the clearcoat, or are you really talking about a set of wheels that have been painted? If if you mean painted, what color is the paint?
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 930
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From: Aiken SC
Heck 6speed, Don't know. They're the standard thin spokes. I would guess they are argent silver but I don't know the GM color code for them. Here a pic of them if that will help.
They're OEM & clear coated.
They're OEM & clear coated.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2006
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From: Palm Harbor not far from Sebring Florida
St. Jude Donor '11
Oldtimer
Not sure, they really don't look like the polished wheels there is no shine to them at all, at least in the picture. I am thinking they may be the optional magnesium wheels RPO N73. If not then maybe someone has stripted the clearcoat and if so than you can polish them to almost a chrome looking finish, but it will be a nerver ending task.
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Racer
Joined: Dec 2010
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I would assume both the painted and the polished wheels are the same except for the final finish. Sense people with the polished rims strip the clear coat, re-polish, and then re-clear coat I dont see why you could not do the same with painted wheels.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 930
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From: Aiken SC
Hey 6speed....this may help. My RPO is QD4. the standard wheel for the '97-'99 was the wagon wheel, RPO QF3
Mine has the RPO QD4, thin 5 spoke aluminum,which was the 2000 year also.
Year Model Part # Description Finish
* * * * * * * * *
97-99 CORVETTE H 5058 17x8.5 Wide 5 Spoke with Notch 17" FRONT SILVER QF3
97-99 CORVETTE H 5059 18x9.5 Wide 5 Spoke with Notch 18" REAR SILVER QF3
00 CORVETTE H 5103 17x8.5 Thin Angular 5 Spoke 2000 SILVER FRONT OPTN QD4
00 CORVETTE H 5105 18x9.5 Thin Angular 5 Spoke 2000 SILVER REAR OPTN QD4
Mine has the RPO QD4, thin 5 spoke aluminum,which was the 2000 year also.
Year Model Part # Description Finish
* * * * * * * * *
97-99 CORVETTE H 5058 17x8.5 Wide 5 Spoke with Notch 17" FRONT SILVER QF3
97-99 CORVETTE H 5059 18x9.5 Wide 5 Spoke with Notch 18" REAR SILVER QF3
00 CORVETTE H 5103 17x8.5 Thin Angular 5 Spoke 2000 SILVER FRONT OPTN QD4
00 CORVETTE H 5105 18x9.5 Thin Angular 5 Spoke 2000 SILVER REAR OPTN QD4
Last edited by tracer1; Mar 14, 2011 at 08:46 PM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2011
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From: Sooke BC
Not sure, they really don't look like the polished wheels there is no shine to them at all, at least in the picture. I am thinking they may be the optional magnesium wheels RPO N73. If not then maybe someone has stripted the clearcoat and if so than you can polish them to almost a chrome looking finish, but it will be a nerver ending task.
Think they might be magnesium. If so and you really want polished. I've got a set polished thin spoke sitting in my garage like I'm sure a lot other folks do. they should be easy to come by. Sale the magnesium and with the left over $ buy something else for your baby
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,812
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From: eastern NC
Hi guys......
I have at present painted thin spokes on my coupe. Can these be polished? What is needed to do this & how many years would it take to do it? Or would it be worth it, & what would they look like?
If anyone has thin spokes that were painted & then polished, could you post some pics for comparison.
Thanks,
Gregg
I have at present painted thin spokes on my coupe. Can these be polished? What is needed to do this & how many years would it take to do it? Or would it be worth it, & what would they look like?
If anyone has thin spokes that were painted & then polished, could you post some pics for comparison.
Thanks,
Gregg
There is a gent near Raleigh that polishes a lot of aluminum for the shop I use and I will get his name if you'd like. He has polished at least two sets of C3 aluminum wheels for us. But was not eager to tackle a set of C5 ZO-6's when I asked about them. C5 thin spokes might be a different matter.
Good luck... GUSTO
Le Mans Master
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From: ABQ NM
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Hi tracer,
First of all, based on your picture, those are not the magnesium wheels, which have (OEM) a sort-of-champagne colored finish. Second, your wheels may be Alcoas (forged) or Speedlines (spun cast) - can't quite tell from your pic. If you pull a wheel and look at the back of a spoke, it will say "GM" (Alcoa) or "Speedline". Either could be stripped and polished, although my belief is that the forged wheel would give better results. Regardless, it will be a lot of work. I think it will be cheaper and less hassle to simply buy a used set of polished wheels. If you'd consider a machined (face) finish, check out Panther Wheels in Surrey, B.C. Quite a few people here on the forum have used them with great results. Good luck.
First of all, based on your picture, those are not the magnesium wheels, which have (OEM) a sort-of-champagne colored finish. Second, your wheels may be Alcoas (forged) or Speedlines (spun cast) - can't quite tell from your pic. If you pull a wheel and look at the back of a spoke, it will say "GM" (Alcoa) or "Speedline". Either could be stripped and polished, although my belief is that the forged wheel would give better results. Regardless, it will be a lot of work. I think it will be cheaper and less hassle to simply buy a used set of polished wheels. If you'd consider a machined (face) finish, check out Panther Wheels in Surrey, B.C. Quite a few people here on the forum have used them with great results. Good luck.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 930
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From: Aiken SC
Thanks Gusto14, if you have the name handy, that would be great.
They're not magnesium, warama. They do have GM on the back so they should be forged Alcoa. They are in excellent condition so I will look into all the possibilities....polish, put them in the attic & buy some polished ones, or have them chromed. I've seen these chromed and they are beautiful. Much better looking than the chromed Z06 wheels, IMHO. The 10 spoke Zs are nice looking also but want to keep it near the stock zone as much as possible ( just me). The really good thing about these wheels is they are so simple to clean. Just hose them down, wipe dry with a good clean cloth & polish. Simple.
Thanks to all you guys for the interest and info. It is much appreciated.
Thanks,
Gregg
They're not magnesium, warama. They do have GM on the back so they should be forged Alcoa. They are in excellent condition so I will look into all the possibilities....polish, put them in the attic & buy some polished ones, or have them chromed. I've seen these chromed and they are beautiful. Much better looking than the chromed Z06 wheels, IMHO. The 10 spoke Zs are nice looking also but want to keep it near the stock zone as much as possible ( just me). The really good thing about these wheels is they are so simple to clean. Just hose them down, wipe dry with a good clean cloth & polish. Simple.
Thanks to all you guys for the interest and info. It is much appreciated.
Thanks,
Gregg
Instructor
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 212
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From: Atlanta GA
I would also vote against trying to polish them. If you attempt it yourself, you'd probably want to do it by hand because a polishing tool in an untrained hand can yield sub-par results. You might get away with it because the flat surfaces on the thin-spoke wheel are small, but I've you've ever seen a poorly polished motorcycle frame, you know what I'm talking about. A wavy looking polish job is not what you want. As you can imagine, hand polishing is hugely time intensive and not remotely fun (think hours of wet sanding). The end result will look great, for a while.... Wheels take tons of abuse, and the mirror finish will dull in a hurry unless you clearcoat it, which is expensive. Unless you apply clearcoat, you will have to periodically redo your polish job which is a lot of maintenance depending on how much you drive the car.
Considering the time, effort and expense involved, I think you're better off just buying used OEM polished wheels (which are clearcoated) or going aftermarket.
Considering the time, effort and expense involved, I think you're better off just buying used OEM polished wheels (which are clearcoated) or going aftermarket.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 6,774
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From: Midland TX
My 2001 came with the polished Thinspokes from the factory when I ordered it. The first week after the car came in I did the trade-in program at Discount Tire for another set of equivalent Chrome ones. Nearly 11 years later they still look like new.
Mine came with GM Speedline (cast) wheels Made in Italy and my replacements were the same. Most are not Speedlines now, but I would like to buy a new set of chrome Speedlines as a backup!
Back then the swap cost about $1200 - now you can buy a set of chrome cast thinspokes outright for less and keep your current wheels - the trade-in programs are even less.
Still have not seen a better looking set of wheels offered for the C5 at any price - these wheels were a big part of my decision to buy the car when I did.
Mine came with GM Speedline (cast) wheels Made in Italy and my replacements were the same. Most are not Speedlines now, but I would like to buy a new set of chrome Speedlines as a backup!
Back then the swap cost about $1200 - now you can buy a set of chrome cast thinspokes outright for less and keep your current wheels - the trade-in programs are even less.
Still have not seen a better looking set of wheels offered for the C5 at any price - these wheels were a big part of my decision to buy the car when I did.
Last edited by Choreo; Mar 15, 2011 at 01:18 AM.
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Dont fool with trying to polish them....I sent my powder coated OEM thin-spoke wheels (just like you have) to West Coast Corvettes for chroming...about $1000 including shipping...Very happy with the results...AND, I dont have to worry about shoddy chrome reproductions made in China...stick with your GENUINE GM wheels!!
