Fuchs vs. Faches

I want to be sure my Fuchs-style wheels are really Fuchs, since I know there's plenty of aftermarket versions out there. How do I be sure these are actual Fuchs?

For those who have polished them: What's the best way to do it? I want to accomplish this with a minimum of effort (and upper body strength).

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Mark Szabo
1986 911 Targa 3.2

Saw a thread last week on polishing. Involved Easy Off oven cleaner. Haven't tried anything that radical on mine yet.

Take one off. On the inside there should be a 911 part number, and also a picture of a little fox head.

Mark,

I just got through polishing out the rims, not the center black area. I taped of the black center and applied three coats of EasyOff Oven Cleaner, cleaning it off with paper towels between each coat(I left the oven cleaner on for about 20min each time)If you don't want to remove the black paint mask it off carefully and cover the area with newspaper. On the first wheel I got some overspray on the paint and had to repaint the center. Also make sure you remove the center caps, the cleaner will remove anodizing from them.

I bought a flex shaft for a 3/8" drill from Lowe's ($39.00)and two 1/2" buffer pad shanks, and four buffing pads. For polishing I started with a med buffing compond,moved to fine buffing compond, finishing with a fine polishing compound (also avalible at Lowe's)

I removed the wheels and polished them on a bench. I didn't remove the tire or the valve stem, this would have made the process easier. It took me 2-4hrs per wheel depending on the condition, some had some deep scratches in the aluminum that need to be buffed out.

I finished them up by hand polishing them with Mothers Wheel Polish.

They look great (IMHO), I still need to go back and touch up a few areas, but the hard part is done.

Hope this helps, Todd

Real Fuchs have a Fox logo inside the wheels with a 911 part #...

Look inside the flukes of the wheels....

Verified. No problem, they're 7x15 and 8x15 Fuchs.

Are they worth even polishing? They look OK with my fine black satin Krylon job that I did on them last spring.

How nicely do they polish up? As shiny as chrome, or do we just wind up with a satin aluminum finish?

God, I sound like I belong in a double-wide. No offense to the double-wide-residing Porschephiles present.

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Mark Szabo
1986 911 Targa 3.2

Start Rubbing.. The alloy they used polishes very well. I have some photos of my ride on here somewhere with polished wheels. Work down through the compounds and you can get a nice finish. I took mine to a 4 micron diamond polish ( rough optical quality). The problem is maintaining them in that state of shine. I have been just hitting mine with never dull at every wash and wax and re do the polish seasonaly. Lots of work but it does look cool.

david 89 turbo cab

Has anyone tried polishing these things by rotating the wheel itself & holding polishing agents on the wheels while they turn? That's got to be the way they're done at the factory. Don't know if it's worth the trouble to try. Also, if it was done with the back of the car jacked up & the wheels turning, would the transaxle or U joints get ruined? Just a thought..
jlex.

Mark check this out, I polished mine in a similar way to the posts above, I love the way they look!.
http://users.ev1.net/~davmanku/porsche/engine/fuchs.html

The finish on polished aluminum is close to chrome. A few points in care. The aluminum is soft so any touching with dirt involved will leave scratches. Any cleaners that have any acids in them are off limits. They will etch you polish job. They really are not that hard to care for and in my opinion add a nice look.

Hmm, that's what I was looking for. What methods did you guys use to polish, other than the oven cleaner treatment? How long did it take? Is it easier with the tires off the car?

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Mark Szabo
1986 911 Targa 3.2

Mark, mine came from the PO finished. I did finish the center caps and the technique is the same. The oven cleaner is an attempt to remove the anodizing without scratching the surface. On the center caps, I used consecutive finer grades of emory paper and then tripoli and Rouge. The less you scratch the surface in the beginning, the less you have to do in getting them back to a smooth finish.

Does all this sanding not weaken the wheels? If the wheel can withstand being thinned (even if it is only a millimeter or so) would Fuchs not have made then thinner inthe first place (to save weight etc)?

Do Fuchs ever fail? If not, I guess its not an issue.

James

There are a few companies out there that will refinish/polish the wheel for anywhere from $50 each on up..... the company, Wheel Enhancement is the top of the line one, but major $$.... www.fixarim.com does mostly American hot rod cars and did a set for me....looked really nice.

As to polishing and making them weaker....well Porsche REALLY overengineered these wheels, I don't think anything you can throw at them on the street will make them fail, short of a direct hit by a curb....

One of the Fuchs on my car cracked, after being chrome plated by the original owner. And no, it was not just a crack in the chrome, it was one that went all the way though one of the spokes, about 2 inches total length!
Apparently, chroming can make the alloy brittle.
I got rid of all 4 of the rims, as I did not trust them anymore.
Of course, that is chroming, not polishing!
(oh, also, as to Fuchs failing, I think I recall reading in Excellence or somewhere in the last year a piece by Bruce Anderson saying that he has started to see some failing of Fuchs wheels, and that he thinks that given the age of the wheels, we are starting to see some metal fatigue. Anyone else recall seing that, or am I dreaming?!?)


[This message has been edited by Jim T (edited 10-10-2000).]

I can imagine some of the early 70s wheels failing, but these are the original wheels from an 86 Targa. At least I think they are - I got them from the dealer I bought the car from, so who knows?

OK folks. Give me a list of tools. I need to know what I'll need besides elbow grease.

A side note: I *did* repaint these wheels (quite nicely, thanks much) with satin black Krylon last year. Will the oven cleaner take it off of the wheels? Or should I use a stripper first? The little lady might not like me using a stripper, but if I have to...

(Please allow for petty attempts at humor.)

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Mark Szabo
1986 911 Targa 3.2

Look at www.eastwoodco.com. Supply house with lots of neat stuff. Pricey, but neat. They sell a kit for polishing wheels which includes buffing pads, different grit polishes, and rouge.
This is a place you can really spend some $$$
David

Anybody try clear coating the wheels with lacquer or something else after polishing them to keep them from getting dull again? What did you use and did it hold up and work well?