I have the stock chrome wheels on my 99 coupe. As I was detailing it this weekend, I noticed only one wheel, the drivers side front, has the word "Corvette" Imprinted on one of the spokes. None of the others have it. Is this typical?

These are the wheels I'm talking about:


Thanks!

 

Those are not stock '99 wheels. They are either from a 2000+ or aftermarket replacements. If truly chrome they are aftermarket as chrome was not offered as an option on C5's. From the picture, they look like they might be polished aluminum which was an option on the later C5. Mine are polished on my '01 and none of the spokes have Corvette imprinted on them.

 

Aaah, ok, thanks, I was going off the fact a friend of mine with a 2001 has the same wheels, so perhaps these are later C5. Was there an option code designation to indicate what wheelset was on the car from factory? About half of my option code list in the glove box is warn off.

 

ok, thanks, that line in my option sticker is pretty much non-existent due to age. Appreciate the help. Any idea when these wheels were available?

 

Original wheels that look like those on your car have the work "Alcoa" or "Speedline" stamped on one of the spokes on the inside - can't see it unless under the car or the wheel removed. There are aftermarket decals that state Corvette that have been installed. It is quite common to find original wheels for sale as many have changed out for upgraded wheels - I personally like the original aluminum 5 spokes.

 

From what I've read, the N73 magnesium wheel option was available for all C5s except the '97.

 

OP, I've never seen an OEM C5 polished wheel with the word "Corvette" printed on any of the spokes. That was either a decal that someone added after or, if it's stamped into the casting, it's an aftermarket wheel.

 

This only applies to chrome finish. Steel wool double, 00 is the finish or texture of the steel wool. Most of you may know this but steel wool does not scratch chrome it will clean anything off of it from road tar, to bugs that have been there for weeks, I used to clean my rims or any chrome grill with a solution of some type which required waiting and wiping it off, however steel wool mechanically removes unwanted material and buffs it to a mirror finish. The following pictures will be of the tools that I used the first pass of paint basically you can slather it on don't worry about overlapping it getting on to places that you don't want. let it dry, take the steel wool and run it across the letters . it will remove everything outside the imprint as you can see in the photos. I thought I would need the squeegee spatula, however when I tried to do this it smeared. Also there is a photo where I didn't wait long enough for the paint to dry when I started to use the steel wool and you can see where it drug the paint out and even at that point with the paint all over the chrome, I waited until it dried and then polished it off. now if you zoom in you can tell that it's not totally solid but you cannot tell this by standing and looking at it plus I was in a hurry wanted to get it done I waited too late I plan on redoing it today, not actually doing it just applying more coats of paint. Also the paint pen that I used I bought from Hobby Lobby for $2.95. However I had to trim the tip thin enough to fit in the imprint which is very easy because the tip is made of very soft wood fibrous material. I just took my knife and on either side went straight down and then broke it off where it started the handle of the pin. Sorry for the long post hopefully my pictures will come across if not I will attempt tomorrow. Also another very important point when dealing with this particular type of paint it was fairly runny and then so you need to take your tires off and lean them such that the imprint is level and the paint does not run out and drain across and on the tire.