Are the OEM wheels painted or just the bare, polished alloy? The reason I am asking is that I want to take some polish to them to get that finish factory new.

I am also shopping for a set of 4 wheel caps.

 

you came at a great time lol, i just got new factory wheels at the dealer and i'm quite certain there's no paint. if you can actually achieve "new" then you'll be pleased because they're really quite nice.






the center caps (toyota calls it the wheel ornament) also have a metal exterior with the same finish

 

Those look so nice!

 

I believe originally Lexus wheels were polished alloy with a clearcoat finish. The clearcoat makes them look nice and cuts down on maintenance i.e cleaning and polishing. I've noticed that some sellers on eBay offer painted wheels. They look similar to the OEM wheels, but they are painted silver/grey. These would be finished with clearcoat as well. There are sellers who offer the OEM polished wheels also.

 

they ARE nice.... works for Toyota, big discount..

 

thank you, they better for what they cost! one thing that surprised me a bit when taking them out of the box was how little they weigh. gotta love that aluminum! the original, slightly curbed up wheels have the blizzaks and are now relegated to winter duties. the double edged sword of having your grandparents be the original owners i guess lol... they drive gently and always change the oil but tend to be more oblivious and lacking in spatial awareness haha

 

yea the clear coat really gives like a nice richness and depth to them. at some point i want to thoroughly wax/polish the wheels to keep it there!

 

Is there anything I can do with the other type of OEM rim? Sorry, I don't have a pic off hand but it's the one with a bunch of spokes instead of 5. They seem to be allou aswell but the problem is the center cap is definitely NOT metal. It's plastic and the original paint has peeled around the edges leaving a nasty yellow bare plastic.

I was just going to paint them, probably Burnt Bronze or something like that, but is there an alternative? I know Duplicolor has Toyota Classic Silver which is very close.

 

If you'll do that, it will make cleaning them so much easier. I touch mine up with the spray wax all the time. Spray it on a cloth not the wheel so you don't get any on the brake calipers, rotors, or pads.

 

I have five of those OEM wheels 16" in factory chrome. Been trying to sell them locally but not many people want this wheel I'm figuring.

the non chrome wheels can be polished out to shine very nicely though.