lex430

I was doing some wheel shopping, and was quoted a few price for polish and silver finish. I thought the silver would be more expensive than the polish, however, it turns out that the polish is more. I am wondering for you wheel experts, is polish shinier than silver?

and between polish and silver, what is better? maintenance, durability wise?

thanks

Lexus_IS300

silver is kind of a flat look while polish is more of a "chrome" look.

Captain Ratman

Hey Lex430,

Hopefully, I can answer some of your questions.....her it goes:

LexusIS300 is correct, the polished look is shiny and looks more like chrome whereas silver is a dull silver that looks painted.

Which is better, polish or silver? It depends upon the look you want. If you want more of a "shiny" look, go with the polish. If you wanted a silvery painted duller look, go with the silver. Also
the rim material also makes a difference of what shade of polished look your looking for. Most rims are aluminum so when polished will look like a very lite bright chrome. Polished metal rims give a darker polished look, much like very shiny gunmetal.

Maintanence-wise, again it depends upon the finish that goes OVER the top of the rim. If BOTH are treated with a clear acrylic paint or epoxy then BOTH will hold-up over time as long as you keep them clean and free of contaminants that will eventually remove that clear coating. Over a very long time the polished-look will eventually start to dull due to the sun. BOTH have virtually the same maintanence and don't require more than washing/drying and occasionally a little wax. Stay with wheels that have a clear coat over the top otherwise your wheels will dull up very quickly and will need to be cleaned more often.

Durabilty-wise both will give you years of near-hastle free service. The strongest rims are the one-piece but if you hit a moderate to deep pothole and dent the rim, then the wheel is toast and you will need to replace it. Two and three-piece wheels can have the damaged parts fixed without replacing the entire rim but can cost much more than a 1 pc. rim.

BTW - The reason for the polished rims being more expensive is
that they are hand polished on a polishing machine thus
more labor hours are put into the rim making it more
costly to produce. Also after polishing, many rims have to
be coated with clear acrylic several times as opposed to
only once on the silver rims thus more $$ are put into the
polished version.

Scott.

lex430

captain,
thanks for the info, a follow up question, you said to stay with a wheel that has clear coat, is that an option you need to ask for when buying the wheel? Or something you get done with wheel shops?

I assume with top quality wheel manufacturer (Works, Weds, Lowenharts specifically), they would be a standard? Or am i assuming wrong?

Captain Ratman

Hey Lex430,

...With top quality manufacturers it should be a standard part of their manufacturing & finishing process. But just to make sure ask the salesman all about the rim including the clear coat. See how good the warranty is on the wheels against fading, pitting, etc. With the wheel brands you mentioned, you shouldn't have any problems what-so-ever and have years of great service.

Scott