What's the deal with polished paddles on Fuchs?

[mmm]

Did the factory ever offer Fuchs with bright (anodized) paddles as original equipment, or have some folks just found that they like the look of them better that way.

Were bright (anodized) paddles ever offered OEM either as original equipment or as an option? If so for what years and models?

What about polished?

(Yes I already did a search to no avail...)

[trj911]

Non painted was the standard factory look on early 911's.

[pwd72s]

Not really "polished"... factory forged alloys were painted by dipping during the early years...dunked in a tank, the spokes left unpainted. "polished" to me means literally that...the anodizing polished off, a high shine finish remaining. I prefer the exposed spokes, but with the original anodized finish. Others prefer high shine polish. A matter of taste thing. Maybe somebody could post pics showing the difference?

[Paulporsche]

Both the paddles and the painted portion seemed to have a satin finish; the former from the anodizing and the latter from the paint. Both, however, could take on a glossier look when treated w/ Vaseline.

[speeder]

A short answer: No.

[masraum]

I don't think any portion of a Fuch has ever been painted from the factory. The black and the clear portions are anodized. It's just that part of the anodization on the wheel is dyed black and part isn't. Also, I don't believe the factory ever polished any portion of a Fuchs. Actual polished or chromed anything is done by a PO. The early cars had natural colored paddles while the late cars had black paddles and some cars even had all black Fuchs, but from the factory, no chrome, no polishing, and no paint.

Please correct me if any of this is incorrect.

[Randy Webb]

The black is paint - the Fuchs wheels were dipped, at least intitially.

[ubiquity0]

The black has always been paint, not anodizing.

Early fuchs were anodized then dipped in black paint to get the 'petal' look.

[Jack Olsen]

If you mean that the spokes of the wheel are lighter than the insets, they yes, that's the original design of the Fuchs, with the insets painted black and the rim and spokes anodized. It created a visual icon that has been associated with Porsche for decades. Later, Porsche painted the entire center of the wheel to give it a more modern look.

I'm personally a big fan of the spoke-exposed look, whether it's polished or anodized. Sometimes they're chromed, which is a little too shiny for my liking, but still not bad.

Some colors and models look better with the center painted, though. The beauty of Fuchs is that they look pretty good no matter what finishing treatment you give them. I guess that's one mark of a good design.

[nostatic]

in general, I think that anodized/polished look best with dark and/or solid colors. I think all black look best with silver and metallics. But there are exceptions...

My favorite though would the the rough anodized RSR-look like Joseph had made. Those would look good anywhere....

[Bob's Flat-Six]

The pedals polished, I don't think so?. The lips polished, rarely, maybe a special model or factory show car but not the norm .
The Fuchs was styled by Heinrich Klie and made by the Otto Fuchs metal factory. Forged out of a solid disc, which makes then very dense, strong and light.
Porsche was after a finish that was durable when exposed to the elements. So they would anodize the wheel, and paint the pedals to protect it.

In general Porsche likes stuff that's purposeful. Kinda all go and not much show. Back then anyway.

[JeremyD]

I looked at a "special wishes" car that had the polished pedals/rims

Polished, but not by the factory...

[mmm]

Thanks all. "Pedals" or "Paddles" or "Petals"?

What I was really getting at was bright paddles (anodized) and bright (anodized) rims with a black "badground" vs. black centers and bright (anodized) rims. Sounds the the former was the standard for some of the earlier cars and the latter the standard for the later cars?

[pwd72s]

I think you've got it...early car pic to follow, anodized, paddles (or petals) left exposed, like the factory "dip" job....my center caps non original, low spots filled in with car color paint...

[Zeke]

Originally posted by ubiquity0
The black has always been paint, not anodizing.

Early fuchs were anodized then dipped in black paint to get the 'petal' look.

I have a collection of wheels at this point and am looking for some 15 x 6 in so-so condition to cut the centers out of.

But, while I agree the early wheels with the bright 'petals' are dipped, the later solid black centers appear to be another type of coating. It turns grey like the anodized body trim. I though it might be the same. Comments?

[exc911ence]

This old ad indicates that the wheels were finished with black recesses and bare paddles...

[pwd72s]

Milt, I'm not sure...but one easy way to check it out, if you're looking at an original wheel is to look at the backside...there are non painted areas inside the paddles, where air bubbles formed during the dipping process...I'm guessing that the later wheels were also dipped, just dunked in deeper? A call to Harvey Weidman (sp?) could probably yield the definitive answer.

[WhyDoIBother]

Gotta love that old ad. Those old silver Fuchs have a look to them. For some reason I like the look of the vented chrome steels too (yeah they're not as good but the 60s look!)

[ubiquity0]

I don't think the later wheels could have been dipped- the 'paint lines' would not occur from dipping in the location that they are. The wheels have a deep groove around the circumference of the paddles that is effectively the 'low point'. The groove isn't painted- this would have filled in if the wheels were dunked.

So I'm guesing the later ones were masked & sprayed. Original finish later wheels have overspray on the backside. the paint is v. hardwearing & dull. It seems to 'wear down' before it chips making it look a little like anodizing.