[Z06] Polished Z06 wheels
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Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 66
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From: Camp Hill PA
Polished Z06 wheels
Does anyone actually polish the standard Z06 wheels to make them look like the wheels on the Z16? I'm familiar with the Panther paint treatment but I'm talking about really polishing them.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,618
Likes: 5
From: Overland Park KS
Re: Polished Z06 wheels (slong)
Just a note about polishing the wheels....
01 wheels are forged aluminum and easy to polish (relatively easy :lol: )
02-04 are spuncast aluminum and they do have pits. I had my wheels painted light silver and all the outer surfaces machined by Panther. There are a couple extremely minor yet visible pits on a couple of the wheels. Just had them put on this afternoon so no pictures of them on the car. Here are some photos of them next to my OEM wheels:
Several more photos can be looked at here including some pics I found on the internet of the "black chrome Panther wheels". The black chrome are twice the cost: $900-$925 plus shipping.
http://www.pbase.com/callaway/panther_wheels
You can see much larger photos at the link above:
[Modified by KCvetteowner, 11:26 PM 10/21/2003]
01 wheels are forged aluminum and easy to polish (relatively easy :lol: )
02-04 are spuncast aluminum and they do have pits. I had my wheels painted light silver and all the outer surfaces machined by Panther. There are a couple extremely minor yet visible pits on a couple of the wheels. Just had them put on this afternoon so no pictures of them on the car. Here are some photos of them next to my OEM wheels:
Several more photos can be looked at here including some pics I found on the internet of the "black chrome Panther wheels". The black chrome are twice the cost: $900-$925 plus shipping.
http://www.pbase.com/callaway/panther_wheels
You can see much larger photos at the link above:
[Modified by KCvetteowner, 11:26 PM 10/21/2003]
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 6,101
Likes: 44
From: ABQ NM
Cruise-In II Veteran
Re: Polished Z06 wheels (jeclarke)
I was under the impression that Panther would polish the wheels :confused: ?? I recall forum member Jacob recently posting a pic taken at Panther showing a bunch of refinished wheels, one set of which was polished.
[Modified by wamara, 9:23 AM 10/22/2003]
[Modified by wamara, 9:23 AM 10/22/2003]
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 6,101
Likes: 44
From: ABQ NM
Cruise-In II Veteran
Re: Polished Z06 wheels (corvette dave)
I had mine polished 21 months ago. No clearcoat.
I think they look great.
Dave
I think they look great.
Dave
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,171
Likes: 0
From: So Cal
Re: Polished Z06 wheels (KCvetteowner)
Yeah, I'd REALLY appreciate it if some of you guys who've done this could post some more info on how you went about doing it and how much it costs. Those wheels look really sharp. I really don't care for the dull grey stock wheels on my '04, but I'm not ready to slap down the coin for the chromies. This looks like a really nice compromise. Thanks in advance! :flag
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 6,101
Likes: 44
From: ABQ NM
Cruise-In II Veteran
Re: Polished Z06 wheels (mikeo)
mikeo, you've got it made where you live. I've received a few leads on shops in the LA area that do polishing (but no references), and Panther Wheel is a known commodity that does a great job of painting/machining - I'm just trying to find out about polishing :crazy: . Do a search here on Panther - you will find several posts from members with sharp pics of their "new" wheels. Just give Panther a call and ask for Keith. Some other folks here have had machining done by a national chain called Wheels America - I think their web address is http://www.fixrim.com.
Does anyone know if Panther has an e-mail address ??
[Modified by wamara, 2:22 PM 10/22/2003]
Does anyone know if Panther has an e-mail address ??
[Modified by wamara, 2:22 PM 10/22/2003]
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,171
Likes: 0
From: So Cal
Re: Polished Z06 wheels (wamara)
mikeo, you've got it made where you live. I've received a few leads on shops in the LA area that do polishing (but no references), and Panther Wheel is a known commodity that does a great job of painting/machining - I'm just trying to find out about polishing :crazy: . Do a search here on Panther - you will find several posts from members with sharp pics of their "new" wheels. Just give Panther a call and ask for Keith. Some other folks here have had machining done by a national chain called Wheels America - I think their web address is http://www.fixrim.com.
Does anyone know if Panther has an e-mail address ??
[Modified by wamara, 2:22 PM 10/22/2003]
Does anyone know if Panther has an e-mail address ??
[Modified by wamara, 2:22 PM 10/22/2003]
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 6,101
Likes: 44
From: ABQ NM
Cruise-In II Veteran
Re: Polished Z06 wheels (mikeo)
mikeo, glad to be of service. I was a newbie too :lol: . BTW, Panther's website is http://www.pantherwheels.com
[Modified by wamara, 2:50 PM 10/22/2003]
[Modified by wamara, 2:53 PM 10/22/2003]
[Modified by wamara, 2:50 PM 10/22/2003]
[Modified by wamara, 2:53 PM 10/22/2003]
Racer
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 473
Likes: 2
From: Columbus Ohio
Re: Polished Z06 wheels (jeclarke)
Hey Jeclarke,
I know Dave and have seen his car many times. Trust me, polished looks great. So much so, that I am considering doing this for my wheels next spring or summer also. They are not as shiny as chrome, but a great alterative in my opinion.
I know Dave and have seen his car many times. Trust me, polished looks great. So much so, that I am considering doing this for my wheels next spring or summer also. They are not as shiny as chrome, but a great alterative in my opinion.
Racer
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 473
Likes: 2
From: Columbus Ohio
Re: Polished Z06 wheels (wamara)
Unfortunately I don't know specifics. It was done in Ohio and the cost was either $600 or $800 for all four. But he told me recently that he heard that they reduced their price for polishing but he didn't know what the new price was. I am sure he will chime back in once he has dug out the info.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,618
Likes: 5
From: Overland Park KS
Re: Polished Z06 wheels (wamara)
I was under the impression that Panther would polish the wheels :confused: ?? I recall forum member Jacob recently posting a pic taken at Panther showing a bunch of refinished wheels, one set of which was polished.
[Modified by wamara, 9:23 AM 10/22/2003]
[Modified by wamara, 9:23 AM 10/22/2003]
The Jacob treatment:
The wheels are painted a very light silver and then machined and not polished....The machined surfaces are smooth but have lines which are difficult to see from more than a couple feet away. They look polished but because the wheels are spinning while the surface is being machined, it leaves a very faint pattern. Again, it looks polished but isn't technically. No buffing wheel is used because it would damage the paint between the spokes. Once the surfaces are machined the wheel is clearcoated. They will paint your center caps and lugnut caps. I am going to purchase some polished center caps which Jacob had told me are a better match to the machined surfaces.
It cost me $650 including shipping, to have the wheels above done...
[Modified by KCvetteowner, 4:35 PM 10/22/2003]
Racer
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 258
Likes: 1
From: Memphis TN
Re: Polished Z06 wheels (corvette dave)
I have spoken to someone at Panther about this and they WILL do full polishing on '02-'03 Z06 wheels. They kind of discourage it because they say it is twice as expensive and much higher maintennance than their machined spoke + light silver paint-between-the-spokes treatment, which they push. Normally they do not clearcoat their polished wheels, but they told me they would for me if I wanted. So my buddy is going to give me his old wheels from his '02 (he bought chromies outright), and I am going to send them to Panther in the near future for a full polish + clearcoat. I will then give him my wheels when the polished ones come back. Should be about a grand U.S.$. I'll post pics when I get 'em.
I figure if the factory can offer them with a warranty, like on the C5's, somebody out there should be able to do it right, and Panther sounds like the right folks.
I figure if the factory can offer them with a warranty, like on the C5's, somebody out there should be able to do it right, and Panther sounds like the right folks.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 2,333
Likes: 32
From: USA
Re: Polished Z06 wheels (slong)
Hey Dave, would you mind posting a couple of pic's with those polished rim?
I sent you 2 pics of the wheels. Please post them here on this thread.
It would take me 3 days to figure out how to do it.
The wheels were stripped and polished at Motomotion in Medina, Ohio.
Cost was $800 for all 4. Mounting and balancing about $50 extra.
Someone on this thread said the 2002 wheels had pits because they are spuncast. I also heard this before I had mine done but this was not a problem with mine. A good polisher will sand out small pits and then polish. There are no pits in my 2002 wheels that I can see. (An advantage of getting old) :)
Maybe there were some pits but they were polished out.
Dave
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 6,101
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From: ABQ NM
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Re: Polished Z06 wheels (KCvetteowner)
corvettedave, thanks for the information follow through.
KCvetteowner, thanks for the reply. I'm familiar with the Panther repainting and machining treatment ala Jacob; that's NOT what I'm looking to do. Rather, I'm looking to have my rims polished. As I said, he had posted a pic (maybe on the other Z06 forum :confused: ?) showing a slew of refinished rims at Panther, including a set of polished rims.
KCvetteowner, thanks for the reply. I'm familiar with the Panther repainting and machining treatment ala Jacob; that's NOT what I'm looking to do. Rather, I'm looking to have my rims polished. As I said, he had posted a pic (maybe on the other Z06 forum :confused: ?) showing a slew of refinished rims at Panther, including a set of polished rims.