I have been told we can strip[ and polish the stock rims.
NE1 done this?

 

can you elaborate a little more..... i not quite understanding what you are saying

 

I'd like to see this. I don't quite like chrome, but I would like to see the stock 18's in a polished look.

 

I have been told that we could strip the paint from the stock 18s and polish them but i have not seen it or know anyone that has done it.

 

thats a good idea. i bet they will look really good. personally i am not a fan of the oem chrome wheels.

 

...................

 

Wait... whats the difference in the look between striped and polished and the oem chrome. I thought when you striped and polished your rims you did it to make them look shiny like chrome bc you didnt just buy the chrome rims....

 

There is a big difference in Chrome wheels and Polished allum wheels.
And polished wheels do not crack and rust like some chrome rims do.

 

Yeah not a big fan of chrome wheels, to me they look a little cheesy. My preference is for a nice polished lip.

 

I want to stripped and power coat Gun Metal color.

 

Using RX330 wheels. Best to compare the Lexus logo in the middle to the rest of the alloy:

Alloy:


Polished:


Chromed:

 

After polishing you better clear coat them otherwise you will become a slave to keeping them shiny. There is a chrome like powder coating that I will be looking into. There is also a polished/anodized look that I have seen on motorcycles that is also worth looking at.

Koz

 

If they are polished well, they will look just like chrome.

Koz

 

When I had my Corvette there were some after market companies that did this. You actually traded wheels, give them yours to polish and you got a set that use to be someone elses that were now polished. I had polished wheels on it for 7 years and never repolished, just kept them waxed every time I waxed the car, about monthly.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y17...urCorvette.jpg

Aloha

 

Polished will never look like chrome. Side by side, polished will look less bright. Chrome is far brighter, but also heavier and susceptible to flaking and corrosion where polished will not be. If you get polished and clearcoated (like OEM), the wheels will look good for a very long time with nearly no effort outside of typical washes.