ncmail

Just wondering how they came out and if you thought it was worth the $250

Edwardgp

You can do it yourself one wheel at a time and save your money.

peterc005

I bought a set of polished IROC wheels from Denny and thought the finish and quality was very good.

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

Is TGR actually doing the work in-house or are they sending them out to be done? Any body shop can provide this service and will save you the cost of having to ship wheels back and forth. My father's body shop used to get wheels restored/refinished through Keystone, and the work was exceptional. All of the wheels that came back were indistinguishable from a brand new OEM wheel.

4rcFed

Any contact info for this Keystone place? I can do my own paint work, but for the time that I have right now, I'd rather send them off. But I want to retain the original coloring. The only thing wrong with mine really is the clear coat is shot once you see them up close. I am hesitant though that a quick sand and a re-clear will be all that they need.

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

I totally agree with Jim85,check with your local body and fender shop,they send them out all the time.Who knows!!!! you may have a place close to where you live.

cavazos31

iTrader: (4)

$62.50 a wheel sounds about right. I'm not overly impressed with the pics I've seen of their polished wheels. You'd be hard pressed to get a dull polished wheel, re-polished for that price. Even with electric sanders, and high speed buffers/polishers, your spending more time than $62.50 a wheel can take you. Anyone who has sanded down and polished their own wheels can attest to that.

Their reflections seem dull and clouded, indicating they don't sand much past removal of the machined grooves, before proceeding to polish. You need to sand past that, very well with low grit to get a clear, sharp reflection. Imperfections naked to the eye, deflect light and cloud the finish. It will look nice and shiney, but the reflection will look cloudy and dull, as opposed to clear and bright. If you don't sand well with low grit, you won't get accurate coloring when you get to the final stages of polishing.

LHernandezJr

You can also check with http://www.repairmyrim.com/

I have not used them, but the guys at the paint shop gave me their biz card.

Z28ricer

iTrader: (2)

Technically thats not refinished, thats polished that theyre offering.

I had a set refurbished by glenns wheel polishing years ago, they were 91/92 wheels which they remachined the lines all completely again, then painted the inserts and powder clearcoated them, they looked amazing, personally better than polished, and i've seen plenty of those sets in person.

They may or may not still be able to do it, but its worth a shot, though i'd expect it to be a bit more than the price ranch is charging for the polishing.

cavazos31

iTrader: (4)

technically....polishing a wheel that has a machined surface, is refinishing. You're changing the finish of the wheel from machined, to polished. By definition, the poster is correct.

4rcFed

I'm with Z28ricer. I think we understand the gist of what he was getting at. We can nerd over what the textbook definition is, but when I think of refinishing, in general, I think of 'refinishing' a given condition back to its original condition.

So if you are taking a wheel of a given used condition and just sanding, polishing, buffing, whatever, that's not refinishing. I would consider refinishing a wheel to take that used condition back down to a base wheel and starting over, back to the way Chevy did them originally.

Z28ricer

iTrader: (2)

re·fin·ish·es; re·fin·ished; re·fin·ish·ing


[+ obj] US: to remove the coating on the surface of (furniture, a floor, etc.) and put on a new coating : to put a new finish on (something)

technically since there is no coating involved in the polishing process, it isnt technically "refinished"

So, if you are going to try to correct me, please at least be correct with your correction.

cavazos31

iTrader: (4)

: to put a new finish on (something)

Is polished not a finish? Just because polishing a wheel isn't coating a wheel, doesn't mean it's not a new finish. Actually, know what...you're right. I'm done arguning semantics, it's childish and beneath me.


Did you have any useful input on the refinishing TGR does on wheels, or did you just want to suggest something that has nothing to do with polished wheels at all?

Z28ricer

iTrader: (2)

The definition says finish as in a coating, polishing is smoothing of the metals surface, that is not a coating nor a finish, it is polishing.

You are the one that started arguing semantics, now you dont like it when it backfires on you ?

Do YOU have some input on refinished wheels ? I provided information about the possibility of having them redone to look like new factory wheels that he was probably unaware of, from someone who's owned both, where is your useful input ?

cavazos31

iTrader: (4)

Sure did. Did you read my post or did you just go directly to correcting people? Believe it not, I've owned both stock and polished wheels too, crazy right? You offer info about something entirely different because technically, what you had done was refinishing, and polishing a wheel really isn't. Has a lot to do with the service (hope that passes) offered by TGR....useful info. Actually when you send them in to get polished, they repaint the inserts and clearcoat the wheel when their done polishing...so you have to agree that is refinishing. Unless removing the clearcoat and applying a new clearcoat, isn't a new coating. A clear "coating" isn't a new coat? I'll give you polishing is not a finish, just to rid myself of an argument, but technically, what TGR offers is to refinish your wheels. You offered no info on the wheels in question, just suggested he have the wheels restored to original condition, which isn't offered by TGR, nor is it uncommon knowledge. I'm sure most people on here are well aware you can have wheels restored to their original condition. I agree they look as good, maybe better than polished wheels, but thats gonna cost more than $250 for the set.

I speak of the wheels in question, in that I compare my results, to the results I've seen of TGRs polished wheels. I've gotten better results polishing up a set of wheels myself and don't think $250 affords enough time to do too good a job, but I'm sure if I'm wrong, you'll correct me.

I didn't offer the initial "technically" my friend, that was you. I really don't care anymore, act childish if you wish. I'll end the argument, by letting you know you're correct. You win, great job.

Z28ricer

iTrader: (2)

Indeed, the repainting is "refinishing" but being that the entire stock wheel has a clearcoat on it, since you still want to try arguing semantics, if they are polishing the face and painting the rest, they are only partially "refinishing" the wheel.

Indeed I didnt offer any information about the specific offering that thirdgenranch does, as i've had experience with offering polished stock thirdgen wheels in the past, going through a local wheel polishing shop, and end product varied quite a bit, some were great, some were not so much, having myself gone after and polishing some wheels to make sure customers were not disappointed when receiving their wheels.

Indeed they may not make mirrors out of them, but for the amount of time it takes someone to strip the clearcoat, do enough sanding to remove the machined lines, and the repainting, the price is reasonable even if they arent mirrors, especially considering at that point it is relatively easy for the owner to improve upon the polishing without too much trouble, and they have saved a lot of time and effort.

I did not suggest that he do the reconditioning of the stock wheels instead, I simply let him know of the option, and while you may have known it was available, he may not, whether you know or not obviously doesnt matter as you werent the one asking about getting wheels done.

As to your comment about owning stock wheels and owning polished wheels, unless you've had a set reconditioned to like new condition, which going by your post i'm pretty certain you havent, your post is irrelevant, as the finish is extremely different and having had the set of refurbished stock wheels the finish was far better than any polished set i've seen, not to mention with the powder clearcoat, maintaining them was no issue at all, little dawn and a hose and they were like new again every time.

cavazos31

iTrader: (4)

Done arguing semantics, said so and I meant it. I kindly request we let it die already. Again, you're correct...end

My post was actually quite relevant since he was asking about how their polishing is and if it's worth it. Now you're just getting petty.

When I think of a finish, I think of the surface texture. A frame that has been media blasted, has a satin finish, no coating involved. When I speak of the clarity or the reflection I get in a wheel, I refer to it as the finish, in that sense. Incorrect or not, from a technical stanpoint, people get exactly what I'm talking about. None one has ever gotten confused by my incorrect terminology, but I guess I hadn't run across someone with shop experience.

I've never had a set of refurbished wheels, again you are correct. (Those must look MUCH different than stock wheels since they have been powdercoated clear). What I do have however, is a little experience actually polishing wheels from start to finish, as opposed to having someone do the work and just cleaning them up before handing them over to customers. That being said...

I could not disagree more, nor could you be any more wrong, that the owner can easily improve on the polishing. The conditions of the wheels you've had sent out to get polished varied, due to the sanding of the imperfections, not the polishing of the wheel at all. If the finish is hazed, they've left behind very small imperfections that should have been sanded out. Imperfections left behind on the initial sanding will remain there and can't be removed, since you use finer and finer sandpaper as you sand in stages. Those tiny imperfections deflect light and haze the finish. A smooth surface, free of imperfections deflects light directly back, or reflects light, (hence the term reflection) offering a sharp, clear, colored image. Unless you take the time to sand well enough in the first place, you'll never get a mirror finish, no matter what you do. No way, no how. The polishing you did, pretty much did nothing. The finish was determined by the sanding you didn't do, not the initial polishing and surely not whatever polishing you did. If you received a set of good polished wheels, you wouldn't need to improve them. If you received a poorly polished set, you did nothing to improve them with your polishing, unless you started over and resanded to remove imperfections.

I tried for the better part of a year, on and off, to get the results I wanted. Only when I sanded with grits so aggressive I was uncomfortable, did I get results I was after. These wheels actually have a very good amount of imperfections, which is why you see so few nicely polished sets. While I'm satisfied with my polishing, I'm now in the process of painting up the inserts and inside of the wheels. I've also got to go back over some spots I didn't sand well enough, since I have a few waves in the finish of my first two wheels. They're an extra set, so they're just as much practice as anything else. Maybe they'll see a set of drag radials.

As far as refurbished being better than polished wheels, thats a personal preferance. I happen to agree with you, but good luck finding a clean set of thirdgen wheels that don't require sanding out scuffs or curb marks. I started sanding the lip to remove curb marks, but moved on from there as I started to see good results. Can't you powdercoat polished wheels? And I'm really not too sure a refurbished wheel looks FAR better than a nicely polished wheel.

LHernandezJr

ORDER IN THE COURT!!!

—Luis

LarryD

Ok, so an old thread that needs to be brought current on places to restore wheels. I have a 92 RS and want to get the wheels restored to as close to factory as possible. That means getting the nicks and minor curb rash corrected, then cleaned, color fixed and finished. I have run across the following on the internet.

California Chrome Wheel Inc. http://www.calchrome.com/Repairs

Alloy Wheel Repair Service http://www.awrswheelrepair.com/

Wheel Crafters http://www.specialistsalloywheelrepair.com/

Precision Alloy Refinishing (Denver area) http://precisionalloyllc.com/denver-co-wheel-repair.htm

Woody's Wheel Works (Denver area) http://www.woodyswheelworks.com/

Anybody worked with any of these sources? Should say I am in Seattle and moving to Denver at the end of the month. So, Seattle area or Denver area references are best.

Thanks....

Aaron12873

i just had a set done by Denny at thirdgen ranch and they did a very nice job id recommend them to do work especially the price they charge, very reasonable!!