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I have a 2005 C6 and wondered if there was an option offered for either "chrome" or "polished aluminum" for that year model ?
Mine don't look like chrome, but they may need to be polished.
Question is- I don't want to polish off any protective top coat if they are aluminum and have the coating. But that may be the only way to get the shine back
I am thinking about using Flitz but would welcome suggestions.
Thanks
They are not chrome, they are Polished. As far as I know, no way to make them look like chrome. I traded mine for a set of chrome rims. I still have 1 they wouldn't trade for, it has a little road rash on it.
They were available only in polished aluminum and competition gray. I believe the gray was available late in the year. I polished my C3 rims once, removing the protective finish. I worked on them nightly for almost a week before I got them looking like I wanted, but they began oxidizing quickly. The maintenance was super high! I don't plan to mess with my 2005 wheels!
You should be able to find a local paint/body shop or detail shop that can remove the clear coat, polish the wheels, and apply new clear. Personally, I would not reapply the clear. Without clear, you can polish the wheels on a regular basis. The upkeep is NOT that difficult. Every few weeks, a lite polish followed by a spray wax will keep them bright and shiny.
Those are polished aluminum and then clear coated over . It looks like the rims are in good shape but the clear coat has a lot of hazing. My guess is someone used metal polish on them not realizing hey we're clear coated like the paint on the car itself..you would never use metal polish on the body and the clear coat on the wheels is basically the same not sure why people do this! you could try using cutting compound and then repolish the clear just like you would on the body and see if it helps or there was a thread I remember seeing years ago on the C5 forum that went into great detail on how to remove the clear coat with a stripper and then polish the aluminum back out and then keeping them polished only... It looked pretty simple but very labor intensive. I did a quick search and couldn't find the detailed thread but I did find some others that said they have done the same. I'm confident this could be done with these C6 wheels the same way but again will take a ton of elbow grease and time. They will look very similar to chrome if polished correctly and kept up.
-Tyler
Last edited by Tyler_RN_EMT; 06-03-2016 at 03:53 PM.
The rims on my car are the same as you have. I treated the clear coat on mine just the paint on the car. Polished with M105. Then M205 and followed up with Rejex. I am really happy with the finish. I'm sure any polishes followed by a good wax or sealant will make those rims shine again. Don't treat them like aluminum. Treat them like any other clear coat on your car.
The rims on my car are the same as you have. I treated the clear coat on mine just the paint on the car. Polished with M105. Then M205 and followed up with Rejex. I am really happy with the finish. I'm sure any polishes followed by a good wax or sealant will make those rims shine again. Don't treat them like aluminum. Treat them like any other clear coat on your car.
Nice work "HBsurfer"- those wheels are VERY, VERY nice !!
I have a 2005 C6 and wondered if there was an option offered for either "chrome" or "polished aluminum" for that year model ?
Mine don't look like chrome, but they may need to be polished.
Question is- I don't want to polish off any protective top coat if they are aluminum and have the coating. But that may be the only way to get the shine back
I am thinking about using Flitz but would welcome suggestions.
Thanks
These are the way they look now. I'm disabled with back problems and wish I could have spent more time on them. At least they look better than before. Will do them again in 6 or 8 months
They are not chrome, they are Polished. As far as I know, no way to make them look like chrome. I traded mine for a set of chrome rims. I still have 1 they wouldn't trade for, it has a little road rash on it.
06-03-2016, 12:05 PM
C6 Factory Wheels Question
you could try using cutting compound and then repolish the clear just like you would on the body and see if it helps or there was a thread I remember seeing years ago on the C5 forum that went into great detail on how to remove the clear coat with a stripper and then polish the aluminum back out and then keeping them polished only... It looked pretty simple but very labor intensive. I did a quick search and couldn't find the detailed thread but I did find some others that said they have done the same. I'm confident this could be done with these C6 wheels the same way but again will take a ton of elbow grease and time. They will look very similar to chrome if polished correctly and kept up.
!!
