Doing some Sunday afternoon cleaning/detailing yesterday, and noticed that the silver finish has started to wear on my stock rims. I had always believed that these were simply a polished aluminum, but it almost looks like a coating that is wearing down. (clear-coat?)
Any preventative measure ideas or fixes? I love the look of these wheels, and would have to end up having to change them out due to poor appearance.

2000 XXR convertible, pretty much 100% stock, except for tensioner and water pump upgrades.

 

You may have to have them stripped and painted. Not unusual for wheels that are pushing 20 years old. A couple of the Atlas chrome wheels on my wife's 2006 XK8 have begun to flake or pit. Sooner or later they will have to be stripped and re-chromed. I previously thought that I would have to ship them off to California for this service, but a bit of research turned up a chrome stripper about 130 miles from me and a re-chromer about 80 miles from me. It will still be a hassle, but the expense and the time involved will be much less compared to sending the wheels to the West Coast....

 

Thanks Jon!
I'm in Ohio, so this sounds like a winter-time project. I'll look for someone near me.

 

any wheel offered for our cars when new other than the chrome is painted. it is a color that is known in the automotive paint mixing catalogs. simply contact a tire dealer or auto body shop to inquire as to who performs their wheel repair and refinishing service. you will be very pleased with the results.

 

Have them powder coated. Much cheaper than plating. Much more durable then paint and there are powder coaters everywhere. You can even get faux chrome.

 

is it possible to refinish in the exact original color with powder coating or are you limited to a fixed catalog of materials?

 

You have to make up your own mind but, I would think twice before powder coating. Of course it is more durable, but if something happens anyway (stone chip, minor curb rash), powder coating is next to impossible to fix (kind of like chrome). Paint on the other hand is not as durable but cheap to fix just about everywhere. Your car, your decision.

 

FWIW, I went the Autogeek.net route with the German scuff kit. (Double Five rims are German)
I did not dismount tires. Some mask with playing cards, but I cut larger, stiffer shipping cards. This was 5 years ago and still satisfied. Like fmertz pointed out, this is repairable.

 

Powder coating comes in many colors, check with your coater. I'm sue the complete chart is on line also. Powder coating is more durable than paint and yes chrome especially if heaven forbid your R ever sees road chemicals.

 

I had my original "silver" painted wheels redone using "hyper-silver" earlier this spring. I think they look wonderful. The original wheels had quite a bit of "curb rash" on them from before I bought the car. I will post pictures later this week when the sun shines.

 

It took a while, but here are before and after pictures of the wheels. The previous owners had an affinity for curbs :-)


After, with new center caps.



Before, with the original center caps.

 

Taxman,

Columbus is a large enough City to have someone that travels around and paints Wheels....We have several here in Houston...Look in the Yellow Pages on your Computer and have someone come out an repaint that Wheel or all 4 of them......Double Fives are great looking Wheels.....that's what my 2000 XKR had on it! Loved them!

Billy Clyde in Houston

 

If and only IF you plan on doing your own repair, there is a simple but time consuming solution.
First, small scraps can be sanded down smooth, larger (deep) will need a filler. JD Weld aluminum filler will do it. That's where the time comes into it. Do not use anything courser than 600 grit to sand things out unless you have very good hand control and can keep it in the area of the build up.
When you get it level with the space you are fixing, stop and get 1000 grit for the rest of the wheel, using lots of soap and water. Wipe down with a cleaner, let dry and tack cloth just before paint.
Now, you can go with a standard silver, lots of choices or have it shot at a automotive paint store. Most will make up a spray bomb full for you, a little expensive but it will come with the clear in it. Not always as much clear as you want with the final results, so a compatible can of clear is a good idea.
On my Hydra's the color was so close, hard to see where you painted. The color was (sorry) Porsche code L92U Arktis silver acrylic enamel.
In some of the areas where I got a few sanding scratches, I did use some sanding primer, very sparingly.