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My OEM C5 wheels are polished aluminum. Would they have come with clearcoat? The answer affects how to deal with blemishes that have arisen on the wheel barrels during 10 years of neglect by prior owners.
From the factory the polished thin spokes had a clear coat on the spokes and barrel of the wheel. If you are not the original owner it is anyone's guess what a previous owner may have done to the wheels.
It is the thin spoke wheel. Judging from the thick coat of black brake dust on the barrels when I bought the car, I am willing to bet that the prior owners did absolutely nothing to the barrels. The spokes are perfect, so I think that they took good care of the outer part of the wheel and ignored the barrels.
It's not uncommon for the insides of wheels to corrode just like yours. They are clear coated. You can either sand down the barrels of the wheels and apply fresh clear coat, or take the easy route and use Rustoleum bright metallic silver spray paint. Make sure you mask the tires and faces of the wheels.
From: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
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It's a shame the previous owner(s) didn't take better care of the wheels. It's not that difficult to clean the barrels of the wheels when washing the car. Good luck getting them back on shape.
I posted a year or so ago about the cleaning/polishing process. If you would like I can forward it to you. Below are some pictures of the finished project.
I posted a year or so ago about the cleaning/polishing process. If you would like I can forward it to you. Below are some pictures of the finished project.
wheel question
