Where's A Good Place To Buy Custom Wheels?

B

Bruise Lee

Joined
Aug 4, 2002
Messages
363
I went in to get my old 1978 era 15"x8" aluminum mag wheels polished - 26 years worth of brake dust and road grime have taken their toll, as you can see from this picture.
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I was going to take them to a place to get them polished. I was quoted the reasonable price of $25 a wheel. But, when it came time to actually get the wheels polished, the price shot up to $200 a wheel. Of course, I complained, and the price went down to $125 a wheel.

I'm hoping that for not too much more than that price, I can just purchase a new set of custom wheels. I'd prefer to get another set of dish mags like I have now, but they no longer make them, so I'm willing to settle for a different style.

If anyone has had good luck buying custom wheels from any place at a good price, I'd love to hear about it. If anyone has any tales to tell about the quality, or lack of quality, of wheel from a certain manufacturer, I'd love to hear about that, too. I had Superior Wheels, who I think are out of business now. One got bent after hitting a speed bump, another had a candy bar sized piece break off after I spun the car out and the wheel hit the curb. I replaced them with American Racing Wheels, which I've had no problem with so far.

Bruise
 
Maybe you could polish them yourself for cheaper than a new set? You did say you like the current style, and there are kits/compounds out there to do it yourself. That way you still have the original wheels that you like... :cool:
 
arcteryx79 said:
Maybe you could polish them yourself for cheaper than a new set? You did say you like the current style, and there are kits/compounds out there to do it yourself. :cool:
Click to expand...
I've never seen or heard of anyone selling polishing kits for custom wheels. Could you please tell me where I could find them?

Bruise
 
I haven't tried it yet, but I would imagine this would be pretty good. They have a kit with the polish and a polishing "ball" that goes in the end of a standard corded/cordless drill. I bet it would do a real nice job on my truckbox...........maybe someday.

http://www.flitz.com/
 
ROM831 said:
I haven't tried it yet, but I would imagine this would be pretty good. They have a kit with the polish and a polishing "ball" that goes in the end of a standard corded/cordless drill. I bet it would do a real nice job on my truckbox...........maybe someday.

http://www.flitz.com/
Click to expand...

This is the one I have seen on the show "TRUCKS" and it did a pretty good job. My father also used one on his 'Vette to remove the oxidation, though I can't remember the name offhand...it used some pretty caustic chemicals!!! It looked a lot like the POR15 kit:

http://www.por15.com/product.asp?productid=333
 
If they are pitted... theres not much you can do.

But, have you tried mothers mag wheel polish on them? That stuff does a great job, and a little goes a long way!

Give it a shot...


:cool:
 
Just re-read...

I see your out some wheels... Maybe I need to re-re-read the threads before responding!

Check out www.jegs.com and www.summitracing.com for some decent priced wheels. Find one you like, then go to sears and get their price on them! (American Racing 15 inchers are cheaper at sears than mail order!)

:cool:
 
flitz works good on aluminum wheels, ya can also get a thing ya chuck in a drill to polish the nooks/crannies, IIRC auto zone has them.

ya also could get them chrome plated.

or ya could buy some new ones, ya are lucky i have a vette and the wheels for them are high dollar ($500 or so each, )
 
Lots of very good suggestions, thank you very much!

I've heard a lot of good things about Mother's Car Care products, so I'll definitely give that a try.

Likewise, I've heard good things about Flitz over the years. I figure even if if doesn't work on my wheels, I can use it to clean other things I have around the house.

I checked out the por15 wheel cleaning kit. At $139, I think its a better value than having to pay 5x$125=$600 to have my 5 mag wheels polished (I have a full service spare, I don't think there were space saving spares back in 1970 lol). Still, if it doesn't work, you are out $139, which is a lot more than it costs for a spray bottle of Mother's Multi-Purpose Wheel Cleaner Mist.

Hotrod, thanks for the tip about jegs.com! They have a good selection of wheels, and good prices. For instance, here are the prices for some 15"x8" wheels:

Cragar SS $120

Cragar Keystone Klassic $128

Wheel Vintiques Magnum 500 $130

All these wheels are within $5.00 of the cost of having my old wheels polished. In fact, the Cragar SS would actually cost me $5 less a wheel! So, I'm going to tell that guy to shove it. I think he upped his price from $25 to $125 because he polished the wheels of the Gran Torinos used in the Starsky and Hutch movie.

Thanks again for all the great suggestions. I'll post again after I try to clean the wheels with Mothers and Flitz. If that doesn't work, I'll either try the pro15 kit or just buy a new set of wheels from jegs.

Bruise
 
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