I got a new set of wheels in silver, I love 'em and all, but the silver isn't really shiny enough for my taste...

I was thinking, could you get the spokes polished, and would that be harmful to the rims? They're brand new...

 

You can polish new wheels no problem and to no ill effects.

Here's a set of new Volk TE37s "jimlab" had done. Nice, eh? The don't quite look like the original wheels, now do they?

 

NICE!! That's what I'm talking about! I was just afraid that maybe the rims come w/ a special clearcoat or something on them, so if you had them polished, it would remove that protective layer, possibly messing them up

 

Test the polish in a spot you can't see. Rub it lightly and see if the cloth you're using (Use an actual nice cloth, like terry cloth), and if it turns a little black, that means its ok. If it doesn't, it means there is some kind of coating, and you should probably rethink it.

Blake

 

Ignore fagot above and thats a fact.

KWH

 

Sorry FDNewbie about the above post people are just pissing me off lately. Anyway about your rims I don't see why you would have a problem. Coating??? I don't believe that ****.

 

If you don't mind what kinda rims did you get? Were people getting on your back about the Konigs LOL

 

Hmmm, so jimlab bought those painted and had them polished by a shop???

Those are hot, plus I like that they have some offset to them and aren't a flat face like other TE37's

 

LOL...yes, ppl were getting on my back about the Konigs, BUT, that's not why I got new rims. I'm not a sucker for peer pressure.

Believe it or not, when I first was looking for rims about a year ago, I had one of 2 wheels picked out... either Volk AV3s or SSR GT3s. But I couldn't afford either, and I got a real good deal on the Konigs to hold me over until I could get some money and some support. (I don't care what people say, I personally think the Konig Monsoons look nice, but not on the car...if that makes sense. But yea, they're cheap imitations.)

Thankfully, now that w/ some time and patience, things have gone my way, I got the rims I wanted: the SSR GT3s.

 

Excuse me?

http://www.mothers.com/detailguide/

You could also go read on EVERY METAL POLISH AVAILABLE. They all say the same thing. Some wheels are painted, some have a clear coat.

This a pretty well known fact about polishing metal. So now why should he ignore me?

And I think you meant ******.

Blake

 

I guess I should probably mention I just got done polishing MY wheels, so I have a little bit of experience. Not only from actually doing it, but I did a bit of research before hand.

And I learned the hard way that if you don't use something nice to polish it, IT WILL LEAVE SCRATCHES.

So is there anything else I need to back up? Sounds like some pretty good advice to me. If I'm wrong, I'm open to correction. Regardless, your little outburst was uncalled for.

 

Ramy, if your new wheels are clearcoated, having them machine polished will take it off, however, the wheels can be clearcoated again. It's common procedure - ask the wheel shop, they probably will do it in-house or send the wheels out to have it done. I'm going to have my Fikses re-polished and re-clearcoated - should look better than new.

P.S. I forgot mention, in lieu of clearcoating, you can also try ZoopSeal:

http://www.zoopseal.com/zoopseal.asp

 

I bought my TE37s from Upgrade Motoring in California, and since I didn't want to wait on a "custom finish", I had them send them out to have the powder coat stripped off (one pair was white, the other was bronze, I believe) and then polished. They're "raw" aluminum, meaning that they will oxidize eventually and will require sealing or touching up every so often.

FDNewbie, you'll have to have the paint or coating stripped prior to polishing, or just have them burn through it during the polishing process, and then you'll be in the same state that I am. You can have them "clear coated", but in my experience, clear coating (or chrome plating, which was my other option) doesn't hold up well on a polished aluminum wheel because there's really nothing for the coating to adhere to. One chip and they can start to flake and peel. I'd rather touch them up now and again, which is one of the reasons I wanted a simple pattern/configuration. The other option is to seal them using the ZoopSeal product, but I don't know of anyone who has used it or what their results were.

 

I actually heard what Jimlab said from the rimshop previously...about clearcoat flaking off later on. When I first got my Konigs, I wanted to get the lip clearcoated again, since it was flaking. The guy at the shop told me it wasn't worth it, since it'll eventually flake off again, and my best bet is just to polish the lip. Sure, you gotta touch it up, but if it gives you issues later on, you can always just have it re-polished.

At this point, I'm trying to decide whether I should get them polished now, or just hold out till later on if/when the clearcoat does get damaged, etc.

Thanks for the input everyone.

 

You can always just put some good wax on it to help keep the break dust from sitting on the surface itself. Doesn't take long to apply to the wheels.

Blake

 

Blake,

I see your point, and I agree. But my issue isn't so much of them staying clean... it's that I don't think they're bright/shiny enough. I LOVE the polished look or even "special silver" finish you can get on Volks...that....BLING! lol

 

I'm not talking about them staying clean, the wax acts kinda like a clearcoat. Brake dust can and such can cause the metal to pit, or need polishing quicker (at least as I understand it). The wax helps protect the wheel like a clearcoat that doesn't stay on as long...

I'll take a pic of my CCW's...they look pretty nice.

Blake