AFAIK almost all aluminum wheels are painted silver and clear-coated. If you take the clear-coat & paint off, I think you will be very unhappy with the results. I think you only have 3 real options for better-looking wheels: 1) have them stripped and re-painted by a shop that knows what they're doing, 2) have them chromed (which personally, I don't think would look good at all), or 3) save up for a nice set of after-market wheels....