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Wheel restoration in Texas

Discussion in '1965-1970 Shelby Mustang GT350 & GT500' started by weikelrk, Oct 13, 2011.

  1. weikelrk

    weikelrk Member

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    Have a set of 66 Shelby wheels in need of refurbishing/polishing. Anyone have any experience/recommendations for a service. Preferably in Texas...San Antonio or Austin area would be ideal. Wheels are straight, no rim damage just corrosion. Thanks in advance.
     

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  2. rshelby

    rshelby ShelbyForums Admin Staff Member

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    Wow, those do look a little rough. Anyone have a suggestion?
     
  3. zrayr

    zrayr Well-Known Member

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    if you are just looking for polishing out the corrosion, we can do that at our shop in Austin. Austin Moto Classics. (512) 2914604, ask for Ray

    Z.
     
  4. Bob Gaines

    Bob Gaines Well-Known Member

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    The prefered way is to machine them like the factory. Polishing will get rid of the corrosion but at the expense of smoothing out the factory machining and rounding off the edges some. Most people will not know the differance . If you don't care about a true factory look the polishing will be fine. Bob
     
  5. zrayr

    zrayr Well-Known Member

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    100% correct. which is why I specifically asked if the OP was "just wanting the corrosion polished off".

    As bad as they appear to be corroded even machining new surfaces might result in noticeably different dimensions. If so, the machining expense, which I don't pretend to know, might not be worth the result. Any ideas on what the cost of machining might be ?

    for me, it's just impossible to make any determination without seeing how deep the corrosion goes. If it's not too deep, an experienced polisher could polish it off and not destroy the crisp edges. But it does look bad from the photo.

    Bob, have you seen wheels that were too damaged from corrosion to be saved be any method ?


    Z.
     
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2011
  6. steveshelbymustang

    steveshelbymustang Well-Known Member

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    I would not want to spend more per wheel than the replacement cost of a reproduction wheel. There were unfortunately a lot of wheels Aluminum and Chrome in the reproduction market that didn't hold up to everyday use. If you wanted to have them restored to look like genuine originals .. that will cost a bit more for the time necessary to modify reproductions.. Its all a preference to how you intend to use them,,, Looks to me like the clear coating is just flaking off the polished area.. buff the clear off and refinish with a new coat of clear...
     
  7. Bob Gaines

    Bob Gaines Well-Known Member

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    The corrosion looks like just in the clear coat or light surface as has been mentioned. Various ways to tackle the problem the solution depends on what you are going after.I have seen some wheels that have been polished so much that machining is out of the question. I haven't come across (thank goodness) a set that has never been polished before that couldn't be restored respectability. Feasability of restoration is one thing cost is another. Bob
     

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