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A friend picked up a set of 16" 951 wheels at that swap meet a few weeks ago, for $150. They're in that original gloss anodized finish, not painted.
Problem with the anodized is that while it looks good new, it scratches easily and there's nothing you can use to clean it other than soap and water.
No place locally offers re-anodizing. He found a place in CA that re-does Porsche anodized wheels, but it's expensive like $200-300 a wheel.
As an experiment, he polished half of a wheel with his orbital. The anodized layer came right off and left it smooth and shiny, but it is now an aluminum grey color, not the chrome like color. Polished on left.
What do you think he should do;
1. Leave them all alone
2. Polish all of them to be the shiny gray
3. Sand them down and paint them some color, maybe gloss black
If you're any good with a rattle can I'd say paint. You can match the car color, white, black, or some innocuous metal color, followed by a clear coat. Possibilities are endless. You could consider powder coat too. Might be more durable but colors are probably limited.
Those are very nice forged aluminum wheels made by Fuchs. Sure, they're heavier than the Club Sport variant - but there's no way I would be slapping some cheap paint on them!
Polishing is never going to give you a chrome look.
I wouldn't powder coat them. Powdercoating is never a good option for wheels. The heat treatment is not good, also the thickness of the coating hides cracks. Neither is chrome, for that matter.
The anodized surface is very robust. In my experience it doesn't scratch easily. A polished wheel requires more care. It stains easily and must be repolished frequently.
Last edited by FrenchToast; 08-22-2017 at 08:09 PM.
Polishing is never going to give you a chrome look.
I wouldn't powder coat them. Powdercoating is never a good option for wheels. The heat treatment is not good, also the thickness of the coating hides cracks.
The anodized surface is very robust. In my experience it doesn't scratch easily. A polished wheel requires far more care. It stains very easily and must be repolished frequently.
I'm not sure what you're suggesting.
The anodized surface is trashed, it's a moot point.
Re anodize. There is only 150 bucks invested now..... the cost to do it the way they were built, is an offset of the investment already made.
Paint, chrome, powder coat on forged aluminum wheels is a choice in the wrong direction.
Do it the way they were manufactured
Anything less is a waste of money
I have a set of fuchs went through the same polishing and loss the anodize. I end up keeping the lip polish, I don't even spray it with a layer of clear. I also paint the middle with dupi-color rubber spray. cost me $20 bucks.
I never use the wheel on snow and salt, I only need to rub it with aluminum polish maybe once a year or two to keep it shine.
Originally Posted by ried
Those are very nice forged aluminum wheels made by Fuchs. Sure, they're heavier than the Club Sport variant - but there's no way I would be slapping some cheap paint on them!
You are right, I am guilty of snapping cheap paint on some nice fuchs. On the other hand, I can peel the paint off in no time. I am keeping the re-finish option open while making them looks relatively presentable.
Humor me and try exactly what the owner's manual says for these - put some petroleum jelly on them and buff out. I promise you will be very surprised. These are very valuable wheels and are made by Fuchs - worth 10x what you paid. Clean with P21S and then try the Vaseline. Pictured are mine before and after.
Beautiful end result. I believe the Owner's Manual states one is supposed to rub in petroleum jelly ( Vaseline ) twice a year to preserve the finish on FUCHS wheels.
Worst thing in the world for a FUCHS forged alloy to endure is car wash soap, dog ****, non ph balanced cleaners which lean to the acidic side of the scale, or washing in direct sunlight or when the wheels are warm to the touch. The wheel surface will instantly turn milky white with streaks running down the face of the wheel. On the black star face wheel ( the traditional 911 Fuchs wheel ) the rim which is anodized, will be ruined as well but the black painted center may survive without distress.
OR, totally ruined if one is to take a piece of steel wool to the surface. The anodizing is instantly destroyed as it's a very thin layer of molecules brought to the surface of the wheel when applying an electrical charge to the aluminum during the manufacturing process
08-21-2017, 09:28 PM
951 wheels. Polish? What would you do?
I had mine done to match my car. Cost was $300 for all 4.
