My car has the 5-spoke disc-like 17" Sport wheels, and the finish is crazing.
I would like to get them refurbished, and wondered what they are actually made of - are they an aluminium alloy, or pure aluminium? Can the clear finish be stripped, and the metal polished ? I realise this may depend on the wheel's composition.
I am keen on the idea of polished finish with a clear coat, and a painted finish in the 'holes' (similar to standard).
Has anyone got experience in this area?

 

Can't comment on the metallurgy of the wheel, but they seem to be standard "aluminum" wheels AFAIK.

I'm sure they wouldn't be hard to DIY refinish though, although restoring the "gold" tone in the cutouts and around the hub might be a little challenging, but still do-able. If I refinished mine, I might even think about changing the "gold" to be a closer match to my car's "titanium" finish.

I have also seen some refurbished wheels here in the USA advertised for about $130 if I recall, so they are "affordable". Advertised versus availability of course But it just depends on what one's time is worth, or how well one enjoys DIY.

Search for MNA6116AA

An example:

http://www.wheelsandcaps.com/p-21566...7x8-59686.aspx



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I recently purchased painted 16" wheels from Rock Auto for about $130/wheel. The polished aluminum ranged from $175-300. Also, the 17" XJR wheels seemed to be in the 200-300/wheel range. I had an old bent wheel that I played with and it was a PIA and not something I wanted to do after a couple of hours. You need to be patient and follow the directions, there are lots of Youtube video's on how to do it. I've had my BMW wheels refinished in Boston and it was about $180/wheel.