Re: [DML] Creativity with OEM rims (was Michelin Pilot Tires)

["Donald Ekhoff" <ekhoff@xxxx>]

Walter,

The first set I had polished (only) and painted. While they looked great
new, the maintenance was an effort and the excess polish tended to make a
mess of the black paint. The next three sets I had done by CICC and one set
is over ten years old with no problems. I paid just over $125/wheel
including paint which I think was a real bargain. Including transportation
it was under $600.00 for the set. The only thing negative was that there
was some variation in the quality of the polishing work. The original
polish (only) job showed the most porosity in the base metal and every set I
received after that was better than the one before. The last set belong in
a museum they are so beautiful. To be fair, that first set was the least
pretty of the batch as the paint had a "crinkle" rough texture which might
have been there to cover up a rough casting. The last set had nice shiny
factory paint and were probably denser base metal to begin with. These have
not been exposed to a nasty environment but compared to an other set of
aluminum rims I had done in LA recently by another company where the tires
could not be mounted without the chrome pealing, the quality from CCIC was
excellent.

I really like the idea from Houston. This sounds like a really good look.
How does powder coat stand up to brake dust? I had a set that had some kind
of clear coat that the brake dust stained and I could never get them clean
without stripping off the clear coat. It might have been a urethane
clearcoat. I think the Delorean deserves better wheel treatment than
factory stock paint and while I run one set of aftermarket rims with an
outer lip that has the Houston look, I am most pleased with the chrome stock
setup.

Don
----- Original Message -----
From: "Walter" <Whalt@xxxx>
To: <dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, August 12, 2001 9:52 AM
Subject: [DML] Creativity with OEM rims (was Michelin Pilot Tires)


> Don,
>
> I thought about having the rims chromed. What I remember seeing on the
DML
> was that someone used a 'chrome colored' powder coat with good success.
I'm
> not sure how well real chrome plating would stay on our rims.