Hello. I have done some searching on here to try to find some guidance but didn't see anything that really helped me so I thought I'd ask for assistance.

I recently purchased a set of HHR SS wheels that I would like to use on my Cobalt, however while the rims are in decent shape, they are not perfect. The HHR was being parted out and had been sitting for a bit, and the wheels have some oxidation and clear coat peeling/flaking in a few spots on some of them. Nothing too major, but I bought them knowing it would take some work to get them looking better.

My questions pertain to what the best course of action is to get them looking like new again or better. I won't be doing anything until the spring anyway, so I have lots of time to decide on what to do, just looking to see what others have done if anyone has been in a similar situation. In the end I would like them to be as polished as possible, but am unsure if I should tackle just the face of the wheels, or redo the entire things. I've read about getting a good paint stripper and just removing the clear coat altogether, and then polishing the bare aluminum to a good mirror finish. After that, I've seen recommendations on clear coating either with a high quality clear or getting them powdercoated with clear. Another thing I've thought about is just sanding down the face of the rims to clean them up, polish them up, then just spray them with a clear. I hadn't previously realized that the narrow space in the middle of the spokes was painted, because I had never seen these rims up close before, but that's making me lean more towards just sanding the face and just cleaning them up that way to avoid ruining the factory paint inside those small areas.

I realize since these vehicles are no longer made that traffic on forums like these isn't what it used to be, but if anyone has any advice or recommendations it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

If you want them to have the original factory look, I would suggest a professional wheel restoration shop. They have the equipment to do it correctly. Might be costly though.
Trying to do that type work at home by yourself usually ends up badly.

 

Welcome to the site, strangely, I have a set of black chrome Cobalt SS rims and I have the same issues, powder coat does not adhere well to polished rims, removing the clear vinyl like coating is messy, and polishing the alloy underneath the black coating will be a chore.

Decisions decisions.

 

I agree with FMG. A professional rim restoration shop would be best.
Thay can sandblast the original coating off and reapply the powder coating as well as repair any scuffs.
The procedure is not cheap but if that is what you want they can do it.