FASST LN

I bought my car used with chromed OEM 2000 wheels (I guess the previous owner had them chromed at some point). One of the wheels broke:


So I bought an OEM polished 2000 wheel from another Vette owner as a replacment.

I'm sure most people don't notice that my car has three chromed rims and one polished, but I do. This is my daily driver so I can't afford to have my car down long enough to have the subject rim chromed, so I'm exploring other options.
I bought a polishing kit in the hopes I could polish the wheel enough so it looks near chrome. Is there a protective coating on the wheel that I should not remove and therefore should abort this plan OR can I go ahead and try to polish it to a mirror like reflection??

THANKS!!!

71sx

I use Mother's wheel polish on my polished rims, they shine right up. As far as I've seen there's no clear coat to worry about.

flir_man

The wheels are highly polished aluminum with a clear coat. If you use an abrasive polish the clear coat will dull just before you break through it to the bare metal.

Thanks,
Gary

robvuk

By the time you strip off all that clearcoat, you'll wish you just bought a used chrome wheel. And it still won't look like chrome.

71sx

I agree that chrome and polished aluminum are going to look different. But you might not notice too much of a difference unless you really stare. That being said, 10 minutes of hand buffing with Mother's and my wheels were very shiny. I had to hit some spots twice, but it took all the tarnish off.

tiojames

The coating GM uses is really tough. One member posted on his removal of the coating and it took him days to do his four wheels. They looked really good when they were finished.

The Wrench

There's a subtle difference in spoke width between some of the wheels in the 2000 year range. I think the polished 2000's were a bit thinner than the painted 2000's, and maybe later years used slightly thicker on the polished ones also. can't remember all the gory details, but if you do buy a 4th wheel, you might check this, and be sure it matches the other three, in spoke width.

DG

nmbis2k

The real polished wheels are forged with a process to make them denser, so they are thinner with the same strength.

Overall, IMHO, the polished 2000 wheels are the best looking ever installed from the factory. The spokes are thinner than any other factory wheel, from any manufacturer.

MagneticRed1977

I stripped a set of clear coated wheels in three hours. Key is to use epoxy stripper and plastic putty knifes, etc.

Polishing took another 2 hrs a wheel.

FASST LN

Thanks for all the replies! I'll try some light polishing and if that doesn't workout, then I'll have to get the wheel chromed.

Maybe I can coincide the replacement of the tire on the rim (almost worn out) with the chroming.

Thanks!