suganami,

Thanks for the reply. It never occurred to me that the polished surface may not hold the finish well.

I've been starting to lean toward just putting all four wheels on the car and see how it looks. I just don't know how different the wheels will look on the car. I have set the bare wheels out in the sun and the look is not drastically different but noticable. Maybe once they are on the car with the two different wheels on the same side being 8 or ten feet apart, I won't notice the difference between the brilliant wheel and the painted surface type wheel.

I now have a tire changing machine and wheel balancer, so I don't have to rely on the tire store. This will allow me to mount the tires and take a look. If I don't like it, it won't cost me anything to take the tires off again.

Thanks again for your throughts,

I agree that from a distance, it's hard to tell the difference between the painted wheels and the machined wheels.

If you believe the information from other members on this site, it's only 1995 that had machined wheels on the W124. 1992 -1994 were painted.

Over the last several months, I've examined wheels from every C-class and S-class Mercedes that had these kind of 8 hole rims to see if they were polished or painted, and I found no particular pattern. Both finishes were equally common. I don't know what method Mercedes used in determining when to machine finish and when to paint.

I've noticed that on recent Mercedes, they are always painted, a nice silver metallic.

I would like to lay down for the record, though, that my newly finished and clear-coated wheels are incredibly shiney, and it is obvious they are machined, not polished.

__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

I have a scrap wheel with the painted type finish that I have experimented with. After stripping a section, you can clearly see the machine marks that you mention.

If it were stripped chemically with no scraping or rubbing, I expect that the machine marks could be merely cleaned and coated, but I'm not sure.

If the wheel refinishing companies chemically strip, I am curious if they do this in a vat that uses no scraping or whatever.

Have a great day,

Good question.

I'd assume that if they just chemically stripped them, like vat-dipping, you would have a "virgin" machine finish, and could simply cleat coat them.

I could call and ask the folks that did my wheels how they're stripped.

I'll let you know.

__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

I called the wheel refinishing guy today, and he said that if you stripped the paint off, you would have a dull, alloy finish. Wouldn't be appropriate for clear-coating. You'd be looking at a cast alloy finish that you could paint right over if you wanted to paint, but if you like the machine look, you'd have to send them out for machining on a mill.

He confirmed that the wheels are vat-dipped chemically stripped, and was sure the chemical isn't available retail. He couldn't imagine how you could effectively strip them otherwise. Didn't recommend trying it at home.

Fwiw, they only powder coat the clear coat on machine finished wheels.

If they paint them, he uses a urethane based spray-on paint, and they don't always clear coat over paint. If the customer wants a very shiney, silver finish, they just paint them and don't clear coat. He says the urethane is so durable that the finish won't come off. If the paint doesn't need that much gloss, then he clear coats them.

So, Larry, based on my conversation with him, your best bet for a DIY'er is to repaint all 4 wheels yourself. If you want the macine look, you're better off to send them out.

__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

suganami,

Thanks a bunch for the research. It is very helpful.

Have a great day,

You're welcome.

That's why I'm here. I'm just here to be helpful.

__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

Ernesto "Ernie" (Hi-Power) and I took some pics yesterday.

Please notice the SLK center caps. They really are beautiful.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

Here's another:

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

Here's a full-on view angled from the front.

It looks so good, you might need to wear rubber pants before looking at this one:

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

The wheels look great. The "set" I have look okay, but the odd brilliant finish one may look bad on the car. Saturday I mounted my new cheapie tires and balanced them. The balance weight required on these tires ranged from10 to 45 grams total. This is a good sign.

I made one last tweak on my toe adjustment and rotated the tires currently on the car. I will watch them close for even wear while I use up the last little bit left in my old tires. If they wear evenly, I'll go ahead and bolt on the Continentals.

Maybe I'll refinish the wheels at a later date, especially if the mismatch looks particularly odd.

Thanks for all the answers,

PS: I have the SLK centers on my C Class and they look really good.

That 300E looks a million dollars. Is the W124 the best Mercedes ever or what?

__________________
JJ Rodger
2013 G350 Bluetec
1999 SL 500
1993 E300 diesel T
1990 190

I don't think there is a rhyme or reason for when these machine-finished alloy wheels were put on the E320/420, because I just bought a set off Ebay from a '94 E320 for my 300E. Maybe it's an option? These are Hollander # 65159.



Anyhow, it will be interesting to see what shape these machined wheels are in when I see them up close. $440 seems a bit steep but after seeing how amazing they look after being refinished, it might just be worth it! How has the refinish held up so far Paul?

__________________
-Paul-
'01 E430, Sport 72,000 mi
'98 C280, 126,500 mi

The wheels have held up great.

No complaints at all whatsoever.

How much did you pay for the wheels off of E-bay?

I believe the 8 hole wheels (painted silver) came standard on the 400E's in 1992, and then came standard on both E320's / E420's in 94-95.

I was under the impression that only 1995 8 hole wheels were machine polished, though.

__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

Actually the spare is brand new so if I go the refinish route, it won't cost me so much.

I paid $335 ($260 + $75) for all 5 wheels shipped. They have MXV4's on them (80% tread) and a new MXV3 on the spare.

I rarely see these up for auction and I was pleasantly surprised that they didn't sell for more.

I'll post a before and after pic of my current painted 8 holes v. these machined ones after I install them.

__________________
-Paul-
'01 E430, Sport 72,000 mi
'98 C280, 126,500 mi