Help with wheels please:)

[heartdisease]

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/MiniWheelSearchServlet?nonWinter=true&partNum=W850 03204FBMF&autoMake=Toyota&autoModel=Camry&autoYear =2009&autoModClar=LE&wIndex=215&grid=true&sw=1280

this is my car with the wheels I have now. Before you go off about the wheel gap and too small and all that I know. I drive 30-40k miles a year and I am not going to put $1000 a year in tires on my work car! I also like the currently cushy ride, and we do get a winter here in Kansas. If I just rode around sunny Cali I might have a combo like this---

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/MiniWheelSearchServlet?nonWinter=true&partNum=Z249 0545B4273BMF&autoMake=Toyota&autoModel=Camry&autoY ear=2009&autoModClar=LE&wIndex=220&grid=true&sw=12 80

My question to you Toyota Gods is-- Have you ever tried to polish machined aluminum? I know you can do it I have seen compounds that will polish rusty steel to a mirror shine. My bigger concern is the clear coating that is one them now. What is it? How could you re-apply it? Any Ideas would be appriciated

[BiGbodyANT]

If you polished the wheel, you would continually have to repolish them every so often to maintain the shine. people have tried to clear coat polished wheels but i think the surface would be too smooth for a clear coat to stick adn cause it to bubble and lump.

[workerant]

Actually I think the OEM wheel have the clear coat too and always look pretty, no scratch or rust until you hit the curb.

[scamry]

Originally Posted by TTM77

Actually I think the OEM wheel have the clear coat too and always look pretty, no scratch or rust until you hit the curve.

i'm pretty sure you mean curb. i hit "curves" almost every day.

and to the OP, wheel polishing has already been discussed here. Polishing requires a lot, and I mean a lot of work, unless you have it done for you. However, the amount of work that would still be required is immense. If you aren't willing to "spend 1000 dollars on tires", then you should probably rethink polishing whatever wheels you have, although some wheels do look nice polished., though probably not on a stock camry.

btw. your links suck.

[heartdisease]

Originally Posted by scamry

i'm pretty sure you mean curb. i hit "curves" almost every day.

and to the OP, wheel polishing has already been discussed here. Polishing requires a lot, and I mean a lot of work, unless you have it done for you. However, the amount of work that would still be required is immense. If you aren't willing to "spend 1000 dollars on tires", then you should probably rethink polishing whatever wheels you have, although some wheels do look nice polished., though probably not on a stock camry.

btw. your links suck.

Sorry about the links If you go to tire rack and plug in a black 09 Camry and put 16in x-line by O.Z. "power" wheels that is what I have now. I like the looks of Zinik "risso" wheels in 19in a lot.

As far as the Tires go I would spend a grand on tires if they would last 4-5 years or so But I would wear them out in about a year. Every tire I have seen in 19in only has about a 30k-40k rating.

I was going to polish them myself. The wheels are a 5 double spoke design I figured I could do each one in about 2-3 hours. You can buy a polishing compound kit for about $100 around here, probably less if you just bought the compound and polished them by hand without using the different wheels for the buffer/grinder method. I was more interested on what you would put back on to seal them, Aluminum does corrode with exposure to air over time. What would make them bubble and Lump? What stuff would you use, just some sort of automotive clear coat? It seems to be almost a plastic like material to me.