OEM polished aluminum wheel problem

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DWMJr1944

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Recently I had a minor curb rash professionally repaired on my 2004 OEM Corvette wheel. The repair itself is great however the finish or gloss on the entire wheel is not nearly as highly polished as the other wheels. The repair shop said that's as good as it going to get. I'm not buying their statement. So I'm looking to you for suggestions on how I can bring the repaired wheel up to the near chrome gloss like the other wheels.
 
I had one of my wheels done by Rim Pros and it came out better than factory.
All curb rash gone, and spokes look like new. They sprayed a clear coat on it and it looks better than factory. The clear coat is thick and unbelievably shiny.

See if there is a Rim Pros near you or find another shop that can clear coat them.

View attachment 34734
 
If your Vette came with the High Polished wheels OEM, then they are indeed clear coated. Most of those wheels had a little bit of a milky appearance often because of the thick coats of clear. It can be polished with a paint polish, but very hard work and outcome varies.

If its really that bothersome, look locally or on Ebay for a replacement wheel.
 
QUOTE=Post some pics

I'm not sure what happened but the photo that I saved in my documents will not upload. If I figure it out I'll send a photo. In the mean time I'll try and verbalize what the wheel looks like as compared to the factory wheels. The repair was done very well meaning there are no signs that the wheel was ever damaged. The finish on the repaired wheel is smooth and what I would call fairly glossy. When you stand back and scan your vision from the repaired wheel to the other wheel you can clearly see that the original OEM wheel has a much higher gloss. It's probably not accurate to refer to the factory finish as chrome in appearance but they are darn close whereas the repaired wheel is probably 90% of that polished appearance. Any suggestions you can provide will be greatly appreciated.
 
From your description it's the aluminum rim itself that was not polished to the same level as the remaining ones before it was coated.

If that's the case, there's not much that can be done - short of stripping the clear coat, polishing it back up; and then re-clearing it.

If you can figure out the pic posting, it would help. Maybe use a photo hosting service like photobucket or flickr.
 
forrest@mothers said:
From your description it's the aluminum rim itself that was not polished to the same level as the remaining ones before it was coated.

If that's the case, there's not much that can be done - short of stripping the clear coat, polishing it back up; and then re-clearing it.

If you can figure out the pic posting, it would help. Maybe use a photo hosting service like photobucket or flickr.

I believe you are correct. Is there a way I can remove the clear coat, repolish the wheel then recoat the wheel myself or do you think I would be opening a can worms by attempting this?
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DWMJr1944 said:
I believe you are correct. Is there a way I can remove the clear coat, repolish the wheel then recoat the wheel myself or do you think I would be opening a can worms by attempting this?
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Sure, you can, but the big questions is, is it worth the time and effort?

Busch makes a clear coat stripper for rims. They're out of the Charlotte NC area. I know others have found various products that work, but if you're going through the effort, I'd use a product made specifically for that purpose.

Then, you can polish it up with your choice of product and technique. The trick is going to be getting it to a level so it will appear to be the same as the remaining 3, once the clear coat is applied. (Which seems to be the problem you have now.)

Do you have experience and the equipment to shoot paint so you can apply a clear? You'll also need there same type as used on the rims.

Honestly, it's all a big pain. I'd never attempt it.

If the minor difference (again, a pic would be helpful) bothers you, consider buying 1 wheel - eBay or the Corvette forums must be full of them from folks who have upgraded.

Good luck.
 
forrest@mothers said:
If the minor difference (again, a pic would be helpful) bothers you, consider buying 1 wheel - eBay or the Corvette forums must be full of them from folks who have upgraded.
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Or he could get it refinished (again) at a wheel refinisher.
 
Setec Astronomy;What part of the country are you located in?[/QUOTE said:
I live in S. Plainfield, NJ. I contacted a company located here in NJ called GTL Metal Polishing but that didn't go anywhere. If you have information that you think might help please let me know.
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forrest@mothers said:
Sure, you can, but the big questions is, is it worth the time and effort?
If the minor difference (again, a pic would be helpful) bothers you, consider buying 1 wheel - eBay or the Corvette forums must be full of them from folks who have upgraded.
Good luck.

Truthfully the wheels I've looked at on ebay are far,far worse then the one problem wheel I have right now. Then I found what I thought was the answer in one of the Corvette parts and accessory companies catalogs, a brand new OEM polished aluminum wheels. Two problems, first they cannot find one and 2nd the delivered cost to me is over $600. At that price I'll live with what I have. As for having the skills and equipment to accomplish stripping the clear then polishing the wheel followed by re coating the wheel I'd have to say I certainly have the determination but no actual experience with any of the tasks required to successfully accomplish my mission. Thanks for your help.
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Setec Astronomy said:
Or he could get it refinished (again) at a wheel refinisher.


That was the very first thing I did but according to the refinisher there was nothing he could do to increase the level polishing. Personally I think he could have done a better job on the polishing before he cleared it but that would have meant spending probably another half hour or so polishing it which he wasn't willing to do. In the end I'll probably end up living with what I have but that sure doesn't make happy. Thanks for your input.
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