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Removing the wheels and giving them a good polish is one thing. However Forum member Toque took it to another level back in 2016 when he worked up from 320 grit to get rid of the forging lines from the original manufacturing process....
if I were to take that much time, they would have to be cleared. no way I would go through all that and not seal the wheel completely!!
hell I think yours look stellar right along with Mickeys.......if I take it to that level I will be looking into some kind of clear coat.
If I got my 9 year-old CCW 505As looking like Toque's CCW SP500s, I think I would park the car for 3 months just to look at it before the wheels got dirty again.
If I got my 9 year-old CCW 505As looking like Toque's CCW SP500s, I think I would park the car for 3 months just to look at it before the wheels got dirty again.
It’s hard to make that first drive after all the work involved!
after a few more hours of work. up until this point I have been using mothers polish. I will be ordering the Adams #1 and #2 polish. already ordered some of the webril cotton patches as well.
I'm not, in any way, shape, or form, trying to be a "Debbie Downer", but someone mentioned earlier in this thread, that a set of CCWs is now up in the $5000 range. I have one question.....how long is it going to be, before they simply price themselves out of the business? I'm NOT jealous, as I've owned a couple of sets of CCWs, one set on my former Z/28, and one set, a number of years ago, on my current C-5. I loved the look of the wheels on my C-5, as I had a set of the Classics, with black powder coated centers.
At the time, they were trying to get by with epoxying the TPMS sensors to the inside of the wheels, due to an interference issue with the outer rim. Mine wouldn't stay glued in place, so I finally gave up and reluctantly sold them. However, I know about inflation, etc, but as I recall, I paid $23-2400 for the Camaro's wheels, and about $28-2900 for the Corvette's. That was somewhat pricey, at the time, but today, wheels that are essentially the same, are $5K??? Wow........
I'm not, in any way, shape, or form, trying to be a "Debbie Downer", but someone mentioned earlier in this thread, that a set of CCWs is now up in the $5000 range. I have one question.....how long is it going to be, before they simply price themselves out of the business? I'm NOT jealous, as I've owned a couple of sets of CCWs, one set on my former Z/28, and one set, a number of years ago, on my current C-5. I loved the look of the wheels on my C-5, as I had a set of the Classics, with black powder coated centers.
At the time, they were trying to get by with epoxying the TPMS sensors to the inside of the wheels, due to an interference issue with the outer rim. Mine wouldn't stay glued in place, so I finally gave up and reluctantly sold them. However, I know about inflation, etc, but as I recall, I paid $23-2400 for the Camaro's wheels, and about $28-2900 for the Corvette's. That was somewhat pricey, at the time, but today, wheels that are essentially the same, are $5K??? Wow........
I bought used for a reason. haha. I simply can't afford to pay 5500 for a set of new wheels. And I am a HUGE supporter of "buy American"
Its unfortunate that running your business here in America means having to have such high prices.
I'm not, in any way, shape, or form, trying to be a "Debbie Downer", but someone mentioned earlier in this thread, that a set of CCWs is now up in the $5000 range. I have one question.....how long is it going to be, before they simply price themselves out of the business? I'm NOT jealous, as I've owned a couple of sets of CCWs, one set on my former Z/28, and one set, a number of years ago, on my current C-5. I loved the look of the wheels on my C-5, as I had a set of the Classics, with black powder coated centers.
At the time, they were trying to get by with epoxying the TPMS sensors to the inside of the wheels, due to an interference issue with the outer rim. Mine wouldn't stay glued in place, so I finally gave up and reluctantly sold them. However, I know about inflation, etc, but as I recall, I paid $23-2400 for the Camaro's wheels, and about $28-2900 for the Corvette's. That was somewhat pricey, at the time, but today, wheels that are essentially the same, are $5K??? Wow........
And I bet you can still buy a new Corvette for $45K,,right? How long ago was it that you paid $2900 for a new set of CCW's? My CCW SP500's cost that,,in 2005! Practically everything has doubled in price over the last 15yrs. Heck, Trump and Biden both have added over $6T to the money supply, just in the last year. The impact of that idiocy is only just beginning.
And I bet you can still buy a new Corvette for $45K,,right? How long ago was it that you paid $2900 for a new set of CCW's? My CCW SP500's cost that,,in 2005! Practically everything has doubled in price over the last 15yrs. Heck, Trump and Biden both have added over $6T to the money supply, just in the last year. The impact of that idiocy is only just beginning.
If that's the yardstick you want to use, OK, I bought my first brand new car for $3650, and the following year, I bought a set of aftermarket wheels for it, for $150.....for all four wheels!! My point, which you may have missed, is a large amount of money, for certain items, is getting to be quite extravagant. Like custom wheels, I have to trust them to the "tire jockeys" at the tire store, every so often, I have to subject them to rough roads, and possibly pot holes, that I just can't avoid. It seems to be quite an expense, for an item that will be subjected to that kind of usage, and isn't an absolute necessity. Keep in mind, custom wheels are a "want", not a necessity.....
Originally Posted by USAZR1
Kinda hard to compete against a foreign competitor that pays a dollar an hour or maybe less.
That's true, and I agree. However, what foreign wheel company is directly competing with CCW, and selling comparable wheels for 40% of the cost of CCWs?
Keep in mind, custom wheels are a "want", not a necessity.....
That's true, and I agree. However, what foreign wheel company is directly competing with CCW, and selling comparable wheels for 40% of the cost of CCWs?
For many of us, custom wheels are a necessity. Stock sucks! lol
Forgestar and TSW are just a couple that came to mind.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (appearance mods)
C5 of Year Winner (appearance mods) 2019
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-'19-'20-'21-'22
CCW's have gone up exponentially in the past 3 years....Hearing their over 5K now is outrageous. I'm sure them being bought out by Weld a few years ago, plays no small part.
I bought a set of 2 used rear CCW 505A's here on the forum, that take a 345/30/19 tire, and got a real sweet deal back in 2013. The fronts I ordered directly from CCW at the time, and they were roughly $800 a piece.
The CCW Classic's I ordered in early 2018 for an '86 Corvette restoration project, and they were just under $3500 for the set.
As far as the polishing goes...They look beautiful if you have the time to do it right, and there's no shortcuts. It definitely is a labor of love, and for me since I'm not home much. The bloom came off the rose after polishing them 4 years, I was done with labor intensive wheels, and ante'd up for chroming.
If any of you are tired of the polishing bit, I highly recommend Wheel Concepts based in Camarillo, CA for chroming, powder coating, wheel repair, etc, etc.... They've chromed 2-sets of CCW's for me, and I couldn't be happier with the results. There's just no comparison with the time spent cleaning chrome over polished aluminum. Just my .02
CCW's have gone up exponentially in the past 3 years....Hearing their over 5K now is outrageous. I'm sure them being bought out by Weld a few years ago, plays no small part.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (appearance mods)
C5 of Year Winner (appearance mods) 2019
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-'19-'20-'21-'22
Originally Posted by leadfoot4
In essence, that's what I was getting at.....
Yes, you did, and far more descriptive than what I posted earlier!!
I'm not sure if they still offer this but, in the past CCW at least had a Black Friday sale, that knocked off $400 for a set. They might have other sales during the year but, it never hurts to ask if/when they do. I know in summer of 2019, I wanted to buy a set of COR wheels for my Aston Martin, and at the time, they wanted $5600+. I held off for a year when I got a call from COR stating they were having a sale, and I could get the same set for $1200 less. I think the pandemic had something to do with that but, nonetheless, it was worth waiting to save that kind of money.
Wheel shopping can net you some great bargains, if you stay vigilant in the venues where their being offered for sale. Patience is the key...
I had never even heard of a webril wipe before this thread. Now I understand!!! wow those things are awesome.
Also, any of you CCW owners have an opinion on a sealer? Is just a good carnauba wax good for sealing? Or what about a ceramic coating? But something off the shelf. I don't want to spend a **** ton of money on sealing them.
Ordered tires today. Im not sure how the folks at discount are going to manage to mount the tires without touching the wheels!!!! This has been a very addictive process. I never thought I would taking polishing them this far.
There are a few sealants of choice out there that others will chime in with I'm sure, but I already had an accidentally large arsenal of stuff at home, so I've just used what I already had laying around with success. I've just been hitting all of my wheels with Turtle Wax Seal n' Shine every time I wash/dry. Doesn't add any real extra time to a wash process, lasts at least until the next wash, and hasn't failed me yet. Any "off the shelf" ceramic coating should work just fine as well. When I'm out of the Seal n' Shine, I'll try out the Chemical Guys Hydrocharge (ceramic coating) or Jet Seal (sealant) I've got.
I had never even heard of a webril wipe before this thread. Now I understand!!! wow those things are awesome.
Also, any of you CCW owners have an opinion on a sealer? Is just a good carnauba wax good for sealing? Or what about a ceramic coating? But something off the shelf. I don't want to spend a **** ton of money on sealing them.
Ordered tires today. Im not sure how the folks at discount are going to manage to mount the tires without touching the wheels!!!! This has been a very addictive process. I never thought I would taking polishing them this far.
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I applied a wheel ceramic coating product from Adams Polishes. The kit included a prep spray, the ceramic coating, and a “ boost” spray along with applicators and a couple of micro fiber polishing towels. Did it add another level of protection? Probably, but the wheels still require a lot of attention to look good.
I had a set of billet wheels in college, and I was dumb enough to daily drive with them. That experience swore me off anything polished ever again. Hats off to you for taking the time to do it - it looks amazing. I think, though, I would rather have a root canal.
I polished mine like the op did plus...and this is just food for thought, I polished the control arms which was a real pia but worth it in the long run because the 505a's are wide open and they really show but then again it's not DD, I don't think I would have done it if it was, alot of work considering the arms are cast aluminum, looks very nice OP
05-13-2021, 03:28 PM
It’s hard to make that first drive after all the work involved!
This has been a very addictive process. I never thought I would taking polishing them this far.
