I just ordered some Bogart Racing wheels. They are polished and Im wanting to make them a little maintence free or less of a PITA! I really really like the Polished look over chrome, so my thoughts since they were brand new never touched with tires/cleaners/polishes would I have any issues with "gassing". My next option is chroming them I guess. IT just seems like aluminum is soo soft and even with little pressue when polishing with a soft rag, it still leaves small scratches..

 

They've got this stuff called clearcoat

Seriously though, it really does help with maintenance on polished wheels.

 

You cant just spray clear on a polished surface..it wont stick. You have to scuff it. I heard Speis has a new waterbased (all paints are going waterbased because of the gov) clear that can be sprayed on polished surfaces with out scuffing or anything and it will stick but its really $$$$$ from what I hear..(im an automotive painter)

 

Honestly I do not know the entire process, but I know atleast 3 people who have had polished wheels clearcoated in the past and they looked great and were a hell of a lot less maintenance than my uncoated TT2s

It is entirely possible that they DID pay good money to have it done, but I'm really not sure.

 

I too have thought about having mine powder coated clear to make them easier to clean

 

It can be done, but the coater needs to use a low outgassing type of powder so theres no bubbles in the finish when its cured in the oven. Experienced coaters should know what to use to make this work. I would DEFINITELY spend the money on this with polished wheels. If done right, it will preserve the look of the way they did when new for life.

 

Clear coating will change the luster of the aluminum. I personally don't like the way clearcoated wheels looks...it will look similar to how a stock wheel is.

... Furthermore, something to consider, it is a sealer but it is not impervious forever meaning that overtime, the aluminum finish will change underneath...air will still penetrate over time...not to mention the clear itself will change from being less transparent.

In the end, you'll have to strip the clear coat off of the wheel, repolish it and seal the wheel again.

Many of our anodized customers use a product called 'zoop seal' which keeps the luster of aluminum better and works quite nice.

You may want to look into that as well. Actually, you may consider waiting and first see how you like the finish and how it is to keep it clean. I really don't think its too difficult to keep clean. Of course if you drive the car as a daily driver and the weather stinks in your area...of course your mileage may vary.

 

There is a site sponsor from Chicago that, from what I've heard, does a very good job on clear powder coating.

 

Zoop Seal, Iv heard of that! Never used it but might look into it. Im just really picky about little light scratches on wheels and my car. I take pride in how good my car looks all the way around. Wheels/paint/under hood ect. Im more into shows than racing but slowley its becoming a race car..I will wait and see how they look when I get them and go from there! Thanks!

 

Some of our anodized customers when they've used it mentioned the wheels are kept perfect.

The nice thing about polished aluminum is that IF you did scratch the wheel...say even a pebble or something else, you can generally buff out any marks. You can't do that with a painted surface.

 

Im very picky..and the scratches Im talking about are from a rag or something. I buy bags and bags and bags of microfiber rags and spend hours cuting the edges off of them, the swen edge will scratch paint, esp. black! Im just too picky and like it to be perfect!!

 

What model wheels did you get? And size?

 

I use a clear powder made just for that purpose. Its made from an acrylic resin. Does not dull the polished metal at all. The thing where powder has an advantage over liquid clears is that it gets alot of its strength by encapsulating the part.. It does not need to adhere to the metal to be strong like clear from a gun does. While powder applied over a blasted surface will still be stronger than without blasting first, it still tends to work just fine as a clear applied directly to the polished metal. The trick is finding a coater like me that works with the stuff, its not the easiest powder to shoot correctly.

 

^Bingo, the guy I was talking about.

 

Awsome I might have to look into doing that! Sounds like he knows what hes doing unlike every local shop around my place!

 

eh..you know, the whole "student of my craft" thing

 

What's someting like that cost for 4 wheels

 

^<Also interested.