I have a 92 RS that is a beautiful machine. I love to watch the garage door open and see her in all her glory. I've owned her for all of one month now and the thing that drives me crazy is figuring out why the aluminum wheels, especially the rings, look horrible. The car was garaged kept for 5 years and never saw snow/salt and little rain in that time.
I asked a dealer about it and all he said was, "trade those in for the reconditioned ones (at a cost of 250 each) and that'll solve that problem." No, that still doesn't tell me what's causing the problem nor how to prevent it from happening again. Alum wheels are new to me and I've checked the postings for the last 60 days and see no other mention of it. I assume it's oxidation so what do I use to stop and/or fix this blemish. The rings I can find cheap...the wheels are a different story. I have pictures of the wheels on my webpage (the Terror Core site) and would appreciate any advice. This may seem trivial but to me its not.

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http://redrival.com/heretic/images/camaro.jpg
http://members.xoom.com/Terror_Core/camaro/camaro.htm

Those are clear coated. You have to take it down to the metal, and polish them. Are the reconditioned ones polished or clear coated?

I had a similar problem with the wheels on my 88 IROC. Dont bother trying to sand it down. The stuff is tough as nails. I talked to a GOOD paint and body supply shop and they said there isnt much you can do. They said that if you do manage to sand it down a different clear probably wont apply properly and it will just flake off from stone ships. You can buy brand new wheels for a little over 200 a piece. I had to buy one since I had a miss matched wheel. The wheels are worth the money if you want a perfect car!

I am a paiter at a large bodyshop and we send out our factory wheels to a shop for reconditioning. The cost is exspensive but thet come back looking like the bottom side of a CD (very nice). We have been sending wheels to them for the past 5-6 years and havent had one come back yet. The cost on the other hand is around $200 and up. New factory wheels are more than that which is more than likely the wat they came up with athe prices. Atermarket wheels are cheaper and can be bought polished insead of clearcoated.