[allenga]

Hi Guys, I can't find anyone local that knows how to do this correctly. Have you had your Snowflakes restored by someone you trust. I would like to send my wheels to them to get restored.

I do not want to buy aftermarket 15x8 WS6 wheels. I am looking to get my stock wheels professionally media blasted, painted/powder coated, cleared and lathed in a gleaming correct gold color (like this image)

If you know someone, could you please let me know.

Thanks!

[ta man]

Where are you located?

[allenga]

Originally Posted by ta man

Where are you located?

Thank you. I am willing to ship them anywhere in the US.

[78w72]

i did mine through texas trans ams... excellent work & great prices.

https://texastransams.com/

i would suggest against powder clear though, it will look very orange peeled & is hard to touch up if/when it gets chipped. powder for the color is ok then the lathe will leave fresh aluminum that is easily cleaned & waxed to maintain. my rims are almost 10 years old now & still look like new.

['ol Pinion head]

Number ONE consideration when examining factory aluminum wheels to qualify them as suitable candidates for the remachine/restore process is how badly are the prospective wheel's machined surfaces damaged by brake dust & corrosion? Many original snowflake wheels are NOT good candidates for the remachining/restoration process. While the wheel restoration shop will TIG weld up curb damage, it is near impossible to eliminate deep pitting from the machined "veins" of the snowflake wheel & the resulting crisp machined surfaces will have small "blackheads"

Having had many snowflake wheels properly restored through the strip/weld/refinish/remachine/clear coat process, I always relished picking up a clean machined surface snowflake wheel that had been lightly curbed & the prehistoric original clear coat was coming off. As cores or restored wheels, factory alum wheels should never be stored face or rear surface directly to a concrete floor.

Choosing a shop. I would search local for a shop to restore the wheels. With today's crazy shipping prices, it's very easy to get $275 in shipping expense back & forth to a wheel restoration source. There are numerous aluminum wheel restorers in many metro areas, & it's not that hard to source the correct argent or gold accent paint. Many longtime factory alum wheel restoration shops will have completed sample wheels as well as paint samples.

[78w72]

very good points about the condition of the wheels before restoration.

but a note on the stated shipping costs... aluminum wheels weigh about 18-20lbs each, fedex will ship these for about $20-25 each cross country. & more like $15-20 if not going cross country. if you can do 2 per box at ~ 40lbs each box they will ship for about $35-40/box. so while shipping is getting more expensive, you can ship 4 wheels both ways for far less than $275 especially to a business address. i just shipped a set of 4 15x8 snowflakes from northern iowa to far south coast louisiana for $73, 2 wheels per box.

[TAKerry]

2018-02-22_09-50-04 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr
I had mine done by AWS ( alloy wheel services). I believe they are a franchise. I had mine done by their Baltimore shop, sourced through my local body shop. I regret not taking a before pic, but they were all pretty bad, one had a dent and severe curb rash. They did a fantastic job. Turn around time was less than 24 hours for all 4 wheels and the cost was $120 per wheel.

['ol Pinion head]

Re: shipping expense to & from
I ship a lot, and most folks I ship to don't have a commercial address. Also, fully insure wheels, it can get expensive.

[78w72]

Originally Posted by 'ol Pinion head

Re: shipping expense to & from
I ship a lot, and most folks I ship to don't have a commercial address. Also, fully insure wheels, it can get expensive.

i ship a lot as well, shipping the wheels to the location will be a commercial address... & most people know someone or work at a business to return ship. but residential is usually only $5-10 more than commercial. just pointing out that 4 alum wheels can be shipped for a lot less than $275... fully insured.

[allenga]

Originally Posted by TAKerry

2018-02-22_09-50-04 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr
I had mine done by AWS ( alloy wheel services). I believe they are a franchise. I had mine done by their Baltimore shop, sourced through my local body shop. I regret not taking a before pic, but they were all pretty bad, one had a dent and severe curb rash. They did a fantastic job. Turn around time was less than 24 hours for all 4 wheels and the cost was $120 per wheel.

How did you match the color with them? Thanks

[TAKerry]

Colour was at the sole discretion of the restorer. I think he did a pretty good job, no idea what it is. In fact, I took the worst wheel I had to be done, just to see what kind of a job they would do. Shop called me, said the guy was there to pick up but wanted to do all 4 at the same time so the colour would match. I got the wheels to him by 2 pm in the afternoon, they were back at the shop by noon the next day!

[Warren Seale]

I used Texas Trans Ams. They did a great job.

I also tried to find local wheel restoration shops and they all pretty much said that the aluminum wheels of that era tend to have bubbles in the cast aluminum. When they lath them the bubbles turn into holes. They said that caused appearance issues that was difficult to correct. This is the reason why they refused to work on them.

Warren

[TAKerry]

2018-02-22_09-53-18 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr
I gave the wrong name. This is the guy that did mine.

[Chief of the 60's]

Originally Posted by TAKerry

2018-02-22_09-50-04 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr
I had mine done by AWS ( alloy wheel services). I believe they are a franchise. I had mine done by their Baltimore shop, sourced through my local body shop. I regret not taking a before pic, but they were all pretty bad, one had a dent and severe curb rash. They did a fantastic job. Turn around time was less than 24 hours for all 4 wheels and the cost was $120 per wheel.

Beautiful! ^^^

I use a company that charges me $75.00 per wheel, but that is wholesale, so $120.00 is about right.

[Tim john]

Restore a muscle car.com located in Lincoln, Nebraska is well known for their work. The Bandit Run is their annual event and are Pontiac specialists. Dave Hall is the owner. Top quality work. Dave purchased my friends 73 SD four speed car for his personal vehicle, he walks the talk.

Tim john---