Re: yenko chevelle wheels
Whitetop, I have never seen those ads for Torque Thrust wheels. There were a lot of owners that painted their wheels because it was easier to keep them clean or it complimented their car. As far as American offering such a service I have never heard or seen it. Now it is possible that some of the magnesium wheels were done that way.
Now wheels like the ET SUPER, Ansen Top Eliminator, Cragar G/T, Rocket RPM, and other similar wheels were offered in black or gold tone spokes and some even a dark gray matte finish. That was one thing American prided themselves on was unpainted wheels. I am not up on these brands as much as the Americans and some of them were offered in the "as cast" finish also.
Belair62, the gold/gray look was somehow done in the casting process. I have talked with guys that used to work for ARE in the sixties and early seventies and they are pretty quiet about the casting process. I gues they don't want the third world countries to know how we do things or something. From what I gather it was really not the metal they used but maybe something they added to the mold or possibly the casting itself. I do know that if the wheels are ever "bleached" with wire wheel cleaner or similar product they will turn white like most aluminum does from acid. There is no way to duplicate the look of an NOS wheel without painting them. Most of the time I just glass bead the wheel with new beads and then finish polish the rim with 180 emory cloth and then a coat of Mothers mag polish to make them shine a little.
If you get a chance to look at the back of a new Torque Thrust D, they don't always cover the backs of the spokes really well with paint. Look closely and you will notice that there is a pinkish gold tint to the aluminum on the spokes in the rough cast area. There has to be something in the casting process that does that, similar to the earlier wheels. Answer to your earlier question about the magnesium wheel finish, they do have a goldish grey tint at first and then over the years it turns more of a green/grey if they are not taken care of. I am not a big fan of those wheels for a restored street car or show car. But boy do those Halibrand Sprints look awesome when show polished! Looks almost like fine silver.
I too have used the Aluma blast paint on a set of those new wheels and it does look good. It beats having to try and glass bead that powder coating off of them...............RatPack................
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