cknoma2005

iTrader: (3)

Can someone tell me what this is? Is this the clear coat peeling or just stained?
Can this be buffed out or do I need to just stripe the clear off and polish them up?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.



This one is the worst. I'm not sure if that is the metal coating coming up there in the corner.

dws6

hard to tell but it looks like the clear coat is starting to seperate from the wheel.

Furious1

iTrader: (1)

Yes, it looks like the clear is coming off. You can strip the rest off and have them recleared, or you can leave them striped and polish them (they are polished aluminum.) The ones that I have seen stripped and polished look awesome...so much "brighter" than factory.

why87

Some of that may be oxidation of the wheel as well. Strip them with aircraft stripper and polish them.

cknoma2005

iTrader: (3)

I think I am going to buy some Speedlines and just put these on the back burner.
I would rather strip them, polish and have them re-cleared, but not anytime soon.

tnmotown

iTrader: (107)

What are you guys using to re-polish them up?

I'm having the same concern as the OP, and pretty sure its the clear flaking off.

Now if I strip the rims, can I just leave the tires on? Don't want to pay the tires shop to dismount/mount the tires back on.

BOBS99SS

iTrader: (2)

Stripping and polishing is pretty easy just need a top notch stripper,i would dissmount the tires before you do all that,

slowwssix

iTrader: (4)

I have a 2001 white ws6 aswell I thought all 01/02 ws6s came with speedlines but I have the same wheels as yours and I have a dealer pic of the car these are the wheels it.came with new thtas weird but strip them bad boys and polish them man they will look sick

dws6

I too have an 01 I bought new. They changed the wheels to convex type mid 2001. I am assume this is what you mean by speed lines. I ordered my car in March rather then taking the dealer lotted one with concave wheels and had them write on the order that the dealer had to supply the original concave style if it came with the convex type. Long story short I took the lotted one and when my ordered car came in it had the convex type that all 02's have. Good thing I took the original one on the lot as the dealer said they couldn't get them anyway. I think it was bs but nonetheless it would likely have been a fight.

slowwssix

iTrader: (4)

Yes that is what I mean by the speed line wheels and that is bs dealers are always trying to pull something I swear lol did they change over to the ls6 intake mid year aswell? My car had the ls6 intake but these wheels my door sticker says the car was made 8/00

dws6

No all 01 and 02 cars had ls6 intakes as far as I know. Mine was 00 build date too. July maybe? I can't remember now. I'd have to go look.

Zlow28

iTrader: (11)

Definitely strip them. Mine went from this


to this


I still have a bunch of imperfections but ill finish them next week.

You can leave the tires on the rim when stripping them. Just mask off the tire and be try to avoid any contact with the tire.

I used rustoleum aircraft stripper. It wont harm the aluminum and works pretty good. Powerful stuff.

Im also gonna buy centercap decals until i have them replaced.

SkWiDsTyLe321

iTrader: (1)

i got light scratches when removing the clear coat ... thought they would come out with aluminum polish but did not ... should i wet sand with 800 or 1000 sandpaper to get them perfectly smooth? or if i use a rotary/machine buffer with the polish as opposed to hand with terry cloth will that do the trick ? ... or something else?

SkWiDsTyLe321

iTrader: (1)

^^^ nvm... mothers power ball thing at walmart is a beast!!!!! buffed scratches right out with just the aluminum polish. stripping the clear off your ws6's & repolishing will be the best thing you ever do for the wheels! just wipe away whatever paint remover you use with a REGULAR NON SCRATCH dish pad/sponge (i used a remover specific one & got the scratch marks - not a big deal but twice the work buffing the scratches out).

12welvemonkeys

I have researched these types of threads and I can't seem to find someone who has stripped a polished a set as bad as these. So, the question is: Can these be saved? If so, how??

As you can see, I have stripped them clean but too much of the clear was gone for many years and in those areas its bad from exposure. Thanks for any help or info you can provide.

dws6

They can be fixed. Just strip them and wet sand out any of the pitting or corrosion on the wheel finishing it with 1500-2000grit. Once all the imperfections are sanded out you can repolish it to a mirror shine.

vader99

iTrader: (4)

Fully polished sportline ws6 wheels with 2 wheels widened to 11".