[nevercansstop]

I am debating what to do with the wheels on my 2002 when they come in. I don't want to chrome because of the loss of strength to the wheel. I talked to a local shop that polishes aluminum (although not usually wheels) and they told me that the wheel can be polished but that it cannot be clearcoated as there will be nothing for the clearcoat to stick to. They told me without clearcoating it will be impossible to keep the wheel highly polished by hand over a period of time.

Help!!!!! My only other alternative is to find some aftermarket rims I like and buy them, as I like the polished and bright look.

It would seem to me there has to be a way to coat polished rims. Any advice or direction that could be offered would be greatly appreciated.

Chris



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2002 MY Z06 On Order
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2002 EB Z06 On Order

 

[CorvetteSS]

How much loss does the chrome cause? Personally, I wouldn't (and didn't) worry about it. The chrome wheels look great and will hold up for a long time.

It seems to me that your polisher isn't giving you the whole truth here. The high polished wheels have been clearcoated since the 2000 model year on the coupes and verts and it sticks just fine. I think I'd talk to another polisher.

 

[JBsC5]

109 dollars per wheel at www.fixrim.com

1 888-4-fix-rim These guys will high polish and clear coat your rims..with a lifetime warranty..

Thats what they told me..and they have 7 locations around the United States..

Thats who I would use.

Give it a shot.

Worst case scenerio ...4 years down the road you powder coat the rims Ferrari satin silver down the road..which I thought would cool too..

The Ferrari 360 has a nice color rim. Anyways..do the high polish with these guys from wheels of America..maybe buy the center cap from Performance wheel outlet for a few dollars as they sell the high polish wheels for zo6 replica..I would imagine they sell the center cap for their high polish version relatively cheaply..

I was so close to doing this myself...but the numbers didn't look right as people wanted top dollar ..by the time I was done I could have gotten ccw wheels which I"m not crazy about..but are awesome performance rims.

You own the zo6 rims..so high polish and clear coat for 436 dollars total....How could you go wrong..

Worst case scenerio..in 3 years if they get dull..sell them to me..and Ill get them high polished again..for three years service..

I really did ask..and wheels of america priced it with high polish and clearcoat..

So you should be good to go.

 

[Jim Dawes]

I don't know where you live but there is a wheel repair company called The Wheel Collision Center in Bath, PA and I have seen their before and after work and it is superb. Their phone # is 610-837-8792. They go to a lot of Corvette Shows and demonstrate what they can do with a severely kaboshed wheel.
Their website is www.wheelcollision.com There are a lot of companys that do good work. One has already been mentioned and another is http://www.metrowheels.net Hope this helps.

 

[hcvone]

HRE and Fiske sell wheels that are high polished and clear coated. High polished wheels on my Vette (stock) are clear coated. You can clear coat high polished items, I owned a Tool and Die company and we did this all the time. /phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif Chrome will not ever weaken your wheel enough to worry about, we chrome plated for many years and many of the parts were on working surfaces, if you like chrome get them you will have nothing to worry about.

 

[Mufflerbearing]

I noticed that HRE offers both clearcoated high polish or chrome finish. I would like to know if they look or wear any different before I order a set. Anyone have any experience? Thanks. /phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif /phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif

 

[nevercansstop]

JB....

Thanks for the info.....they have a location in Farmingdale, NY which is only about an hour from me. That's great because I can drop them off and pick them up in a couple of days... /phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif /phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif /phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif /phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif /phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif /phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif