Yep, thats the stuff, just make sure you get some chemical resistant gloves because that stuff really does burn your skin pretty bad.... and safety glasses.

 

Thanks for the kind words! Im glad to see people using it...

As far as what is zoop... Zoop Seal is a sealer for polished metal finishes. I haven't ever used it and have heard conflicting stories on it. You can order it from eastwood (one of our sponsors). Its pretty expensive, so I dont know if I'll be investing in it or not. If I do, I'll be sure and post before and after pics so everyone can see exactly how much it hazes the finish when it seals it.

 

Attempting to post a crappy picutre from my Treo:

 

SLP did send out some cars with chrome 17's like Rolltides style as an option. It's not from GM, but is factory, so they can be hard to tell. Just scratch it a little in a place you can't see like around the lugnut. If you go through a clearcoat you'll know for sure.

Also there were some polished 16's in the twisty style. Most of the time the twistys are painted.

I think the majority of the TA's, non-ramair, came with the chromed 16's. Mine did and just about all I've seen are chrome. I think the polished 16's are the rarer ones.

Anyway, I'd like to know more about protecting them. Woudl it be a good idea to clearcoat them after polishing? I was thinking of having mine sent out to be cleared at an auto paint shop. Anyone done that?

 

I've heard that zoop seal looks alot better than clear coating, but haven't seen any before/after pics yet.

I know this is confusing, but the wheels I stripped and cleared were my OEM polished WS6 wheels. On my car right now, I have an aftermarket chrome set that was made by what used to be called aaarims.com.

 

I'm not confused.
Do you think aaarims.com made the rims that SLP offered several years ago? I guess it's possible that SLP simply chromed their own polished rims. I wonder where SLP got their 17" rims in the first place. Surly they don't have the ability to make them, do they? I don't know much about the backstory on that.

Here is another clearcoat I recently saw on another thread. Looks like good stuff, but is pricey.
http://www.alsacorp.com/products/cle...h_prodinfo.htm

 

Here is a pic of my rims currently. They are 3 years old and never been polished. They still look pretty good especially on a black car. Their silver color goes well with the black, but I'm ready to polish these suckers up like chrome. Do you think the Powerball and the Mothers polish would work on these to get a finish like yours?
I was considering just dropping them off at a polishing shop one at a time and have them do it, but your thread has inspired me.
I do NOT do any maintenance on my rims, so polishing every month (or more ) is not an option. So I think I should seal them up afterwards.

Any thoughts?

 

FWIW... While washing my car on Tuesday, I sprayed some wheel cleaner on the wheel I stripped and polished last week. The cleaner had an instant reaction with the aluminum and left some discoloration. I got out the polish and a cloth and was able easily polish it off . I would recommend using soapy water on wheels without clear coat... unless you want to polish them every time. I will try to get the brand of the wheel cleaner I used if I think about it. I'm sure other wheel cleaners may vary...

 

Wheel cleaner? What's that? Soap and water should clean the rubber. If it was designed for the rims then you used the wrong stuff. Certain rim cleaners are designed for clearcoat and others for raw aluminum. You have to make sure you get the right kind.

Is that what happened or am I missing your point?

 

This cleaner said something to the effect of: safe for all aluminum and mag wheels... removes brake dust... etc... etc...

I'm trying to remember the brand, Meguire's (sp?)maybe... I will check.

I think, what it should have said on the bottle is something more like: safe for all aluminum and mag wheels, as long as they are CLEAR COATED!

 

Man, I have been thinking about doing this to my wheels for 2 years now. I was just waiting for others to try it first

I think I'm probably going to do it, because I want to spend money on something besides rims right now, and this will make them serviceable for awhile.

I HAVE to use zoop seal or clear coat them though...there is no way I'll have time to polish them once a month. And I daily drive the car, so they are going to get gross if I don't either polish them often or use zoop seal. I'm going to read about it, and maybe I'll order it, try it, and post on here what I think (along with pics).

If anyone has done this already, please post!

 

RollTideTA, do you think the Powerball and the Mothers polish would work on my rims (below pic) to get a finish like yours? If so I'll buy the stuff and a drill. If not, I'll probably send them out for polishing. I just don't know which to do. Can anyone help me decide?

 

Just finished stripping and polishing my wheels. Just want to add to the steps. When it says to "cake" the auto stripper on the wheels that is a must! I didn't at first and it took forever to get the clearcoat off. I found the sears polishing kit to work better than the mother's powerball. Be sure you don't rush any of this it takes alot of time. It is a big difference once everything is finished. Some people though i bought new wheels when i was finished with it all.

 

I dunno... it sure wouldn't hurt, but you'll probably have to get something more powerful to restore the shine to yours. I believe they (torq thrust 2's)are not clearcoated at all, so your hazing is actually oxidation on the aluminum. Powerball and polish would definitely help, but I just dont know if it will be enough to get them to a chrome like shine. I'd try it and if it didn't work to your satisfaction, then get some more heavy duty wheel polishing stuff. After you do get the wheels to the shine that you want them, the powerball will be a great help in keeping them that way easily.

 

I have one question I plan on doing this to my rims tomorrow, Im wanting to know if its possible to put a clear coat back on it

 

I know this was a couple weeks ago, but yes you can have them re-cleared if you wanted.

 

I noticed Mothers came out with a smaller version of the Powerball. It even comes with a 10" extension. Looks like it would be real good for those tight spaces between the spokes.

 

If infact your rims are NOT clear coated (you can check if they are or not with some regular polish and a cotton ball. If the polish turns really black, you dont have any clear coating.) you could just sand a little bit. I would recommend 1000, 1500 and 2000. Then start the polishing process. It'll come out better than new. Take your time sanding and the results will be better than rushing through it.

 

I just got the Powerball mini and tried it. It made the rims shinier, but they are still a long way from chrome looking. I think I'm either going to drop them off one by one at a polishing shop or else the chrome plater.

 

Thinking about doing this to my ws6 wheels, but cant deal with all the extra cleaning.
Anyone had good results after a re-clear coat, or would it just come back hazy again?