[2Rusty]

In the words of the great Homer Simpson, I am amongst the suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked! I am such a toolbox! This weekend I guess I had too much time on my hands and decided to finally get those little black spots off my wheels. :V
The result made me sick.

I STRIPPED THE CLEARCOAT OFF OF MY ALUMINUM WHEELS!

Strange though, it doesn't look that bad to me. The car is red with black trim and now the wheels look almost white instead of shiny silver. The white kind of accents the GT badges on the side. I always said that I would get white wheels if I ever had the cashflow. I still just feel so stupid.

Does anyone have any experience with this? I'm just worried that it will oxidize and look horrible or it will become a maintenance headache. What are my options besides getting new wheels? Paint, new clearcoat, powdercoat, leave them how they are?

 

[Rendell]

"Clean as a whistle Homer!"

 

[2Rusty]

Thanx. No doubt about that.

 

[Thunder18]

You should be able to buy clearcoat in a spray can at your local pep boys...I'd just tape off your tires and go to town if you're worried about the bare wheels getting damaged

 

[2Rusty]

Thanx. I'll keep that in mind. I'm good with mechanical stuff on the car but not so good with paint and such. Nobody has come forward and admitted they have done this. I must be the only one boneheaded enough to pull it off. I'm thinking I'll do one of three things:

leave them alone
have clearcoat professionally done
have powdercoat professionally done

I have an idea how much powdercoat will cost. How much would a new clearcoat cost? It seems like it would be pretty expensive. Anyone know?

 

[anarchyx34]

I know of a few places where you can have wheels refinished for about $75 each. They'll come back looking brand new. But for that money I'd just as soon get new wheels.

 

[2Rusty]

Good Point. I actually like the stock wheels. But now I'm curious...how much do they weigh? Obviously they're aluminum. For a little more money than clearcoating I could get new, lighter, possibly better looking wheels. Hmmmmm...
How many different wheels were offered on '88 - '92 GT's?
Mine kind of look like a pentagram snowflakes.
Thanx for the help.

 

[2Rusty]

What is the offset for the wheels on the GT?

 

[tap826]

If memorie serves me correctly the first gen aluminum wheels weigh 17lbs. each w/ no tires.

 

[anarchyx34]

That's pretty light but then again they're only 15"s. I wonder if that weight rating is for the '88-'89 wheels or for the '90-'92 wheels. I imagine the later wheels are more heavy. I dunno, they just look heavier.